Season of Advent
Hopeful waiting. Expectancy. Longing. Things are not right within us nor in the world around us, so we wait. We wait for the arrival of King Jesus. The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning“coming” or “arrival.” During Advent we remember the first coming of Jesus and we long for his second coming. Robert Webber explains Advent as, “a corporate spiritual journey that calls for expectant waiting and readiness for the coming of the Christ. When the Church travels this journey and treats it as a discipline of life and prayer, the joy of Christmas is immeasurably intensified.”
- Calling -
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim Your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia!
Our King and Savior now draws near:
Come, let us adore him. Alleluia!
- Constitution -
Read/Listen, Meditate, Pray, and Contemplate on God’s Word, remembering that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you.
THE PSALMS - 5 & 6
Psalm 5
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
[1] Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my groaning.
[2] Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
[3] O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
[4] For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
[5] The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
[6] You destroy those who speak lies;
the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
[7] But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
[8] Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
[9] For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
[10] Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
[11] But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
[12] For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.
Psalm 6
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
[1] O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
[2] Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
[3] My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?
[4] Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
[5] For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
[6] I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
[7] My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
[8] Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
[9] The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
[10] All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen
Old Testament- Isaiah 1:21–31
[21] How the faithful city
has become a whore,
she who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
but now murderers.
[22] Your silver has become dross,
your best wine mixed with water.
[23] Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
[24] Therefore the Lord declares,
the LORD of hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
and avenge myself on my foes.
[25] I will turn my hand against you
and will smelt away your dross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
[26] And I will restore your judges as at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city.”
[27] Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
[28] But rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
[29] For they shall be ashamed of the oaks
that you desired;
and you shall blush for the gardens
that you have chosen.
[30] For you shall be like an oak
whose leaf withers,
and like a garden without water.
[31] And the strong shall become tinder,
and his work a spark,
and both of them shall burn together,
with none to quench them.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
New Testament - 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12
[1] For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. [2] But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. [3] For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, [4] but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. [5] For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. [6] Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. [7] But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. [8] So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
[9] For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. [10] You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. [11] For you know how, like a father with his children, [12] we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Gospel - Luke 20:9–18
[9] And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. [10] When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. [11] And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. [12] And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. [13] Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ [14] But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ [15] And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? [16] He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” [17] But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?
[18] Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
- Communion -
Pray for yourself, others, our church, our neighbors, and the world.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer & the collect of the week
Our Father who art in heaven...
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
- Commission -
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Amen. (Romans 15:13)
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.