THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT

December 12, 2021

AS WE GATHER
Today we rejoice. Zephaniah the prophet calls for rejoicing because the Lord is in the midst of His people. In Paul’s letter to the Church in Philippi, he repeatedly encourages the Church to rejoice, because the Lord’s coming is at hand. Our Lord came to us once, He will return, and even now is with us in Word and Sacrament. So rejoice!

BIBLE READINGS

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Zephaniah 3:14–20 (Rejoice; the Lord is in your midst. He will rejoice over you.)

EPISTLE READING: Philippians 4:4–7
(Rejoice for the Lord is at hand.)

HOLY GOSPEL: Luke 7:18–28
(The promised Messiah has indeed come.)

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT

December 5, 2021

AS WE GATHER
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. These words of greeting from the pen of the apostle Paul are so familiar to us that we may miss what they convey. Grace: God’s riches at Christ’s expense; the favor of the Lord God for sinners like us; the unrelenting, unstoppable love of Jesus revealed in places like the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb. Peace: wholeness and completeness that is simultaneously out of this world yet fully in this world; union with the Father through the forgiveness earned by His Son! As we continue our Advent journey today, our gracious God comes to us through His Means of Grace to deliver His perfect peace.

BIBLE READINGS

FIRST READING: Malachi 3:1–7b
(The Lord sends His messenger to His people.)

EPISTLE READING: Philippians 1:2–11 (We thank Jesus for our partnership in the Gospel.)

HOLY GOSPEL: Luke 3:1–14
(John preaches repentance for the forgiveness of sins.)

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT

November 28, 2021

AS WE GATHER
While the secular calendar won’t switch to 2022 for another month, the Church Year begins anew today. Advent is a season of waiting and preparation. One Advent tradition is to mark the four Sundays in Advent with four words that encompass what Jesus brings as He comes into the world to be our Immanuel—God with us. These four words are hope, peace, joy, and love. Today we focus on hope. There is a lot of suffering in the world, but hope exists in Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, and return.

BIBLE READINGS:

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Jeremiah 33:14–16
(A righteous Branch will spring up for David.)

EPISTLE READING : 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13
(“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love.”)

HOLY GOSPEL: Luke 19:28–40 (Jesus’ triumphal entry)

LAST SUNDAY OF THE CHURCH YEAR—
PROPER 29

November 21, 2021

AS WE GATHER
Today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year. Next week we will turn our attention to Advent and preparations for the celebration of Christ’s incarnation. But as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s first coming, we also anticipate His second coming. Christ’s return in glory is the focus of this service. Jesus calls on His followers to stay awake and remain prepared for His coming. He warns that no one knows the day or the hour of His return. But He promises He is returning and returning soon.

BIBLE READINGS

FIRST READING: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

EPISTLE READING: Revelations 1:4b-8

HOLY GOSPEL:   Mark 13:24–37 

Glory Everlasting

November 14, 2021

AS WE GATHER
As the Church Year is approaching its close, we turn our focus to the last things. The very last thing that we confess in the Apostles’ Creed is that we believe in the life everlasting. In Revelation, John describes the heavenly city of God and tells us that the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. Brilliant brightness has always been associated with the seeing of God, from the time when Moses had to veil his face because it reflected the dazzling presence of the almighty Lord. As we come into His presence for worship, we have a partial sense of that glory as we await that time beyond time, when we shall experience it fully in the life everlasting in His heavenly kingdom.

Bible Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Daniel 12:1–3
(Those who are named in the Book of Life will be delivered.)

EPISTLE READING: Hebrews 10:11–25
(The Lord will not remember the sins of the faithful anymore.)

HOLY GOSPEL READING: Mark 13:1–13
(The one who stands firm to the end will be saved.)

God’s Blessed and Beloved Children

November 7, 2021

AS WE GATHER
This Sunday we observe the feast of All Saints’ Day. While many congregations use this service to remember those saints who have departed this life in faith, we do well to remember that “saint” is simply another word for “believer” or “follower of Jesus.” All of those who gather to confess Jesus as Lord are indeed already saints. The Gospel for today is a section of the Sermon on the Mount known as the Beatitudes. Jesus begins this sermon by recounting the present reality of those who have faith: they are blessed. Even when it looks as though the faithful are the opposite of blessed, they are indeed blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. They are a part of the reign and rule of God. All saints, including you, are a part of the reign and rule of God; therefore, you are blessed.

Bible Readings

FIRST READING: Revelation 7: 9–17

EPISTLE READING: 1 John 3:1–3

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 5:1–12

Abide in Jesus ~ October 31, 2021

AS WE GATHER: We are rightly proud of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, of our Lutheran Confession, and especially the Augustinian monk whose name became attached to this confession and church, Martin Luther. Reformation Day marks the day in 1517 that Luther posted his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. “The eternal gospel” (Revelation 14:6) issued from the very first stroke of the pen when he wrote, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” So this day we celebrate the entire life of believers by proclaiming the eternal gospel of repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ. In the Lutheran liturgy, we have preserved for us from the time of Luther the one place God wants to be worshiped, namely, in Christ.

Bible Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Revelation 14:6–7
(“Fear God and give Him glory.”)

EPISTLE READING: Romans 3:19–28
(All have sinned; all are justified by His grace.)

HOLY GOSPEL: John 8:31–36
(Listen to Jesus and be set free.)

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Third Sunday after pentecost

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray.
Blessed Lord, since You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sunday, May 30, 2021

the holy trinity

READINGS

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 6:1–8
(The prophet Isaiah is given a vision of the Lord.)

Psalm
Psalm 29

EPISTLE READING: Acts 2:14a, 22–36 (Peter attests to the resurrection of Jesus.)

HOLY GOSPEL: John 3:1–17 (The love of God is shown to the world in Jesus.)

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen

Sunday, May 23, 2021

THE DAY OF PENTECOST

READINGS

Old Testament: Ezekiel 37:1–14
(The Valley of Dry Bones)

Psalm
Psalm 139″1-12

Epistle: Acts 2:1–21
(The coming of the Holy Spirit)

Gospel: John 15:26–27; 16:4b–15
(The work of the Holy Spirit)

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray.
O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.