Advent 2

Sunday, December 5, 2021

PRELUDE – O Come, O Come Emmanuel   – arr. Michael Burkhardt

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Confession and Forgiveness

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
Amen.

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Most merciful God, we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you  in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Gathering Song  264 Prepare the Royal Highway

Greeting 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.

Come now, o prince of peace

Prayer of the Day 
The Lord be with you
And also with you.
Let us pray: Stir up our hearts, Lord God, to prepare the way of your only Son. By his coming give to all the people of the world knowledge of your salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Children’s time

First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4
A reading from Malachi.

¹See, 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. ²But 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 fullers’ soap; ³he 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. ⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Litany and Lighting the Advent Wreath
John the Baptist proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

And the people went out to him and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

And John said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful that I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.

He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

We light the first Advent candle to remind us to keep awake and be ready.

We light the second Advent candle to remind us to change our ways.

Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11
A reading from Philippians.

³I thank my God every time I remember you, ⁴constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, ⁵because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. ⁹And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation 

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
The holy gospel according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, 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, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as 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.  
 ⁵Every 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;  
 ⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

 The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon 

Hymn of the Day – 249 On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry

NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,*
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession
Response: Your mercy is great.

Peace 
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

Moment for mission
ELCA Global Mission

Our offering is a form of worship, taking part in God’s transforming mission in this world. Each dollar we give contributes to changing lives. Each week we will take a moment to remember one way that our offerings do that.

This week, we remember ELCA Global Mission. Our church partners with churches in over 90 countries, walking together in mission through supporting development projects and funding missionaries.

We will now receive our offering.

Offering Prayer 
Let us pray.

God of abundance, we bring before you the precious fruits of your creation, and with them our very lives. Teach us patience and hope as we care for all those in need until the coming of your Son, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God,
through our Savior Jesus Christ.
You comforted your people with the promise of the Redeemer,
through whom you will also make all things new
in the day when he comes to judge the world in righteousness.
And so, with all the choirs of angels,
with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven,
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, Holy, Holy (ELW p. 108)
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
you have brought us this far along the way.
In times of bitterness you did not abandon us,
but guided us into the path of love and light.
In every age you sent prophets
to make known your loving will for all humanity.
The cry of the poor has become your own cry;
our hunger and thirst for justice is your own desire.
In the fullness of time, you sent your chosen servant
to preach good news to the afflicted,
to break bread with the outcast and despised,
and to ransom those in bondage to prejudice and sin.

In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.

Send your Holy Spirit, our advocate,
to fill the hearts of all who share this bread and cup
with courage and wisdom to pursue love and justice in all the world.
Amen.

Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Invitation to Communion 
Come to the banquet, for all is now ready.

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
grant us peace, grant us peace.

Anthem – The Yearning – Craig Courtney
There is a yearning in hearts weighed down by ancient grief and centuries of sorrow. 
There is a yearning in hearts that in the darkness hide and in the shades of death abide, 
A yearning for tomorrow. 

There is a yearning,  A yearning for the promised one, the firstborn of creation. 
There is a yearning for the Lord who visited his own and by his death for sin atoned to bring to us salvation. 
Emmanuel, Emmanuel 
Within our hearts the yearning. 

There is a yearning that fills the hearts of those who wait the day of his appearing. 
There is a yearning when all our sorrows are erased and we shall see the one who placed within our hearts the yearning. 

Communion Hymns:
256 Comfort, Comfort Now My People
246 Hark, A Thrilling Voice is Sounding

Post-Communion Blessing
May the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in God’s grace. Amen

Prayer after Communion 
Let us pray. God for whom we wait, in this meal you give us a foretaste of that day when the hungry will be fed with good things. Send us forth to make known your deeds and to proclaim the greatness of your name, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Blessing
Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. Amen.

Sending Song 239 Hark The Glad Sound

Dismissal 
Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.

POSTLUDE Hark the Glad Sound  – arr. Paul Manz