Lighting of Advent Candle
Opening Hymn – The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns (LSB 348)
The King shall come when morning dawns
And light triumphant breaks,
When beauty gilds the eastern hills
And life to joy awakes.
Not as of old a little child,
To bear and fight and die,
But crowned with glory like the sun
That lights the morning sky.
The King shall come when morning dawns
And light and beauty brings.
Hail, Christ the Lord! Your people pray:
Come quickly, King of kings!
Opening Sentences – Jeremiah 23:5–6; Acts 2:34–35; Luke 1:32–33
P: Jeremiah wrote, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch.
C: And this is the name by which He will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ ”
P: David wrote, “The Lord said to my Lord,
C: ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ ”
P: Gabriel told Mary, “The Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David,
C: and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Psalm – Psalm 145:1–13a; antiphon: v. 13a
P: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
I will extol You, my God and King,
and bless Your name forever and ever.
C: Every day I will bless You
and praise Your name forever and ever.
P: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and His greatness is unsearchable.
C: One generation shall commend Your works to another,
and shall declare Your mighty acts.
P: On the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
and on Your wondrous works, I will meditate.
C: They shall speak of the might of Your awesome deeds,
and I will declare Your greatness.
P: They shall pour forth the fame of Your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
C: The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
P: The Lord is good to all,
and His mercy is over all that He has made.
C: All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,
and all Your saints shall bless You!
P: They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
and tell of Your power,
C: to make known to the children of man Your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
First Reading – Psalm 6:1-10
O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?
Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
P: O Lord, have mercy on us.
C: Thanks be to God.
Second Reading – Acts 2:22–36
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
P: O Lord, have mercy on us.
C: Thanks be to God.
Third Reading – Luke 1:26–33
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
P: O Lord, have mercy on us.
C: Thanks be to God.
Responsory – Based on Jeremiah 23:5–6; Acts 2:36; Luke 1:32–33
P: I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
C: and of His kingdom there will be no end.
P: God has made Him both Lord and Christ,
C: and of His kingdom there will be no end.
P: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,
C: and of His kingdom there will be no end.
Hymn – Abide with Me (LSB 878)
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
I need Thy presence ev’ry passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for ev’ry plea.
Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.
Sermon – I’m Feeling Grief
