Celebrations!Sunday, December 20, 2015 10:45 am Gathering in God’s Name

As We GatherAdvent is a time to focus on what ultimately matters. Amid all of the other “must-dos” of this season, the one thing that matters most is receiving what Jesus gives and then sharing these gifts with others. Today’s Readings prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus, opening our eyes and hearts to receive His saving grace and His perfect peace. Our Savior shows us what truly is “excellent” and what matters most.

Pre-service Music ”O Come Emmanuel” Brynn Stebbe Cello, Diane Stebbe Piano

Welcome, Announcements, & Community Greeting

Opening Song (Please remain standing) “O Come Emmanuel” 1.Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!

2.Oh, come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here;Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

3.Oh, come, Thou Wisdom from on high, And order all things far and nigh; To us the path of knowledge show, And cause us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

4.Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind All peoples in one heart and mind; Bid envy strife and quarrels cease;Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

1

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Gathering Prayer

2

Lighting of the Advent Candle (The First Set of Candles for Hope & Peace, the Rose Candle for Joy, and the Final Blue Candle for Love)

P: Throughout the Scriptures, our God is acclaimed and worshiped as the King of kings. In our time and place, we welcome our Advent King with the words:

C: O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

P: Jesus Christ is the Light of the world,C: the light no darkness can overcome. [John 8:12; John 1:5]

Hymn of Praise We Light the Advent Candle tune LSB 3431. We light the Advent candle And wait for Christ to come.

With hope, we trust the promise That He will bring us home.Our hope is in our Savior Who wins for us God’s favor.We wait with growing light Till God makes all things right!

2. We light the Advent candle And thank the Lord for rest.With peace, we know our Jesus Has come to be our guest.This peace beyond all knowing Within our hearts is glowing.We wait with growing light Till God makes all things right!

3. We light the Advent candle And sing with cheerful heart.With joy, we spread the message That God would us impart.Our joy is never ending; The Son to us is sending.We wait with growing light Till God makes all things right!

4. We light the Advent candle And share the wondrous Word.With love, we tell of Jesus Till all around have heard.God’s love is for all nations Throughout His whole creation.We wait with growing light Till God makes all things right!

Children’s Message (Please be seated) Pastor Kurt Ebert

“Hallelujah” Paul Brakke-Soloist

3

4

God’s Word for UsOld Testament (Please be seated) Malachi 3:1-7b

1“Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, 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 sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. 4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. 5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. 6“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

L: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.Epistle Philippians 1:2-11

2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

L: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.

Holy Gospel Luke 3:1-14

5

1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3And he 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 Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying 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 become straight,and the rough places shall become level ways, 6and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

7He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to You, O Christ.

Song of the Day (Please be seated) “O Magnify the Lord”

6

Sermon Thanking Him with Our Lives

Rite of Fellowship (Welcome! Please add your name to the fellowship pad.)

Gathering of Offerings (As an act of worship and thanksgiving, we offer to God what He has first given to us: the first and best of our lives, time, talents and financial gifts. We trust Him to supply all our needs. If you would like to give your offering electronically, you can use www.clcs.org/donate or the QR code here.)

Special Music “I Hear the Prophet Callin'” Calvary Chorale- with soloist Del Olsten

Prayer of Confession (Please stand)

P: O God our Father,C: Since You have set forth the way of life for us in Your beloved Son, we

confess with shame our slowness to learn of Him, our failure to follow Him, our reluctance to bear the cross.

P: Forgive us the poverty of our worship and our neglect of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ;

C: Forgive us for our infrequent use of Your sacraments and our hesitat-ing witness for Jesus

P: Forgive us for evading our responsibilities for Christian service and our selfish use of Your gifts;

C: Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.P: Forgive us that so little of Your love has reached others through us. Forgive us

that we have too often been thoughtless in our judgments and hasty in our con-demnations.

C: Forgive us that we have been grudging in forgiveness, slow to seek reconciliation, and unwilling to help our neighbors as You desire.

P: Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your steadfast love;

7

C: Create in us clean hearts, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us.

8

Assurance of Forgiveness

P: In Christ Jesus, the hand of God has reached out and rescued us from sin and death. Christ bore the judgment on the cross for us, and He was raised from the dead to confirm that God’s salvation is complete. By the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I, a called and ordained servant of the Word, forgive you all your sins. Believe and receive His gifts to you; in the name of the Father and of the Son T and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen! Thanks be to God.

Song of Advent:

9

Prayer of the Church

Lord's PrayerP: Trusting in Jesus Christ, we pray in His name and as He has taught us: C: 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.

Sent with His BlessingBlessingP: The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ, the steadfast love of God, and the fellowship

of the Holy Spirit be with you all. C: Amen!

Sending Song “Joy to the World”

1. Joy to the World, the Lord is come!Let earth receive her King;Let every heart prepare Him room,And Heaven and nature sing,And Heaven and nature sing,And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

2.Joy to the earth the Savior reignsLet men their songs employWhile fields and floodsRocks, hills and plainsRepeat the sounding joyRepeat the sounding joyRepeat, repeat the sound joy

3.No more let sins and sorrows grow,Nor thorns infest the ground;He comes to make His blessings flowFar as the curse is found,Far as the curse is found,Far as, far as, the curse is found.

4.He rules the world with truth and grace,And makes the nations proveThe glories of His righteousness,And wonders of His love,And wonders of His love,And wonders, wonders, of His love.

10

Post-Service Music

11