Welcome to worship at
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!
PRELUDE “Wake, Awake!” F. Mendelssohn
CONFESSION AND FORGIVNESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God,
whose home is heaven and earth,
whose salvation is sure.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God
and of one another.
Long-expected God,
we confess that we look to ourselves
for the peace and security only you can provide.
We reach for swords and spears,
reluctant to release our grip on the ways of
war.
We become impatient while waiting
and weary of keeping awake.
Free us from self-reliance,
and teach us to live in harmony with our
neighbors.
Increase our trust in God’s timing,
and awaken us to your advent among us,
that we may abound in the hope you have
promised.
Amen.
God judges us not as we deserve,
but according to God’s own righteousness.
You are freed and forgiven,
saved by grace,
and ready to welcome the Savior.
Amen.
HYMN Prepare the Royal Highway #264
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, Watch for
Messiah”
#240 v. 1,2
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Children's message
First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10
1 A
shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge for the
poor
and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his
waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb;
the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of
the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a
signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall
be glorious.
Psalm: Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
1 Give
the king your jus- | tice, O God,
and your righteousness to | the king’s son;
2 that he may rule your | people
righteously
and the | poor with justice;
3 that the mountains may bring prosperity | to
the people,
and the | hills, in righteousness.
4 Let him defend the needy a- | mong
the people,
rescue the poor, and crush | the oppressor. R
5 May he live as long as the sun and | moon
endure,
from one generation | to another.
6 Let him come down like rain upon | the
mown field,
like showers that wa- | ter the earth.
7 In his time may the | righteous
flourish;
and let there be an abundance of peace till the moon shall | be
no more.
18 Blessed are you, Lord God, the | God
of Israel;
you alone do | wondrous deeds!
19 And blessed be your glorious | name
forever,
and may all the earth be filled with your glory. A- | men.
Amen. R
Second Reading: Romans 15:4-13
4 Whatever
was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by
steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have
hope. 5 May the God of
steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another,
in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so
that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
7 Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ
has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8 For
I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the
truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the
ancestors 9 and that the gentiles
might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will confess you among the gentiles
and sing praises to your name”;
10 and again he says,
“Rejoice, O gentiles, with his people”;
11 and again,
“Praise the Lord, all you gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him”;
12 and again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the gentiles;
in him the gentiles shall hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
1 In
those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea,
proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This
is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”
4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a
leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then
Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to
him, 6 and they were baptized
by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore,
bear fruit worthy of repentance, 9 and
do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I
tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even
now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does
not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but
the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to
carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His
winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will
gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable
fire.”
SERMON
HYMN On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist Cry #249
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
GREAT THANKSGIVING
SANCTUS
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
POST COMMUNION PROCLAMATION AND PRAYER
BLESSING
HYMN There’s a Voice in the Wilderness #255
DISMISSAL
POSTLUDE Trumpet Tune on “Venez divin Messie” David Laskey
Liturgy and hymns printed and streamed with permission through OneLicense. A-710659
