Welcome to worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!
PRELUDE “Sacred Song” Felix Mendoelssohn
CONFESSION AND FORGIVNESS
All may make the sign of the cross, the
sign that is marked at baptism, as the presiding minister begins.
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God,
alive in the world, reviving creation,
arriving soon. Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God
and of one another.
Silence is kept for reflection.
God of mercy,
we confess that we have sinned.
We trust earthly powers and human authority
alone.
We grow fearful. We cling to false comforts.
God of might,
we confess that we have sinned.
We have turned away from our neighbors.
We have trusted false promises.
God in our midst,
we confess that we have sinned.
We plead: come to us.
Bring your mercy to birth in us.
A righteous branch springs forth:
it is Christ the Lord, our Savior,
in whom we have forgiveness, life, and mercy.
By the power of the Holy Spirit,
receive the grace and forgiveness of God
through + Christ Jesus,
whose day draws near.
Amen.
HYMN Prepare the Royal Highway #264
GREETING
The grace of our Lord, Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also
with you.
KYRIE
HYMN OF PRAISE “Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah” v. 1-2
PRAYER OF THE DAY, Children's
message
First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4
1 See, I am
sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek
will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you
delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of
hosts. 2 But who can
endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like
washers’ soap; 3 he will sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi
and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of
Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years.
Word of
the Lord. Thanks be to God
Psalm: Luke 1:68-79
68 Blessed are you, Lord, the | God of Israel, you
have come to your people
and | set them free.
69 You have raised up
for us a | mighty Savior, born of the house of your | servant
David.
70 Through your holy
prophets, you promised of old to save us | from our
enemies, 71 from the hands of | all who hate us,
72 to show mercy | to our forebears,
and to remember your | holy covenant.
73 This was the oath you
swore to our | father Abraham:
74 to set us free from the hands of
our | enemies,
free to worship you | without fear, 75 holy and righteous
before you, all the days | of our
life.
76 And you, child, shall be
called the prophet of | the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to
prepare the way,
77 to give God’s people
knowledge | of salvation by the forgiveness | of their sins.
78 In the tender
compassion | of our God the dawn from on high shall | break upon us,
79 to shine on those who
dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into
the | way of peace.
Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11
3 I thank my God for every remembrance of
you, 4 always in
every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy 5 for your partnership in
the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until
the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all
of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you are my partners in God’s
grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the
gospel. 8 For God is
my witness, how I long for all of you with the tender affection of Christ
Jesus. 9 And this is
my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full
insight 10 to help you
to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure
and blameless, 11 having
produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the
glory and praise
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
The Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke the 3rd
chapter. Glory to you O Lord.
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of
Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and
Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the
wilderness. 3 He went into
all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is
written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make
his paths straight. 5 Every valley
shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked
shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth,
6 and all flesh shall see
the salvation of God.’ ”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O
Christ.
SERMON
HYMN On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist Cry #249
APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God, the
Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born
of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day
he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right
hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE, PEACE, OFFERING,
COMMUNION PRAYER
LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever
and ever. Amen
DISTRIBUTION
OF COMMUNION
HYMN Let Us Break Bread Together #471
POST
COMMUNION PROCLAMATION AND PRAYER
BLESSING
HYMN Love Divine, All Loves Excelling #631
DISMISSAL
POSTLUDE “Rejoice Greatly, O My Soul” S. Karg-Elert
