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 - 16, 17
Psalm 16
A Miktam of David.
[1] Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
[2] I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
[3] As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
[4] The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
[5] The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
[6] The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
[7] I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
[8] I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
[9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
[10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
[11] You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 17
A Prayer of David.
[1] Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
[2] From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
[3] You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
[4] With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
[5] My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
[6] I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
[7] Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
[8] Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
[9] from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
[10] They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
[11] They have now surrounded our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
[12] He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
[13] Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
[14] from men by your hand, O LORD,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
[15] As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
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 3:8–15
[8] For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD,
defying his glorious presence.
[9] For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.
[10] Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
[11] Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
[12] My people—infants are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your guides mislead you
and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.
[13] The LORD has taken his place to contend;
he stands to judge peoples.
[14] The LORD will enter into judgment
with the elders and princes of his people:
“It is you who have devoured the vineyard,
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
[15] What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
New Testament - 1 Thessalonians 4:1–12
[1] Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. [2] For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. [3] For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; [4] that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, [5] not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; [6] that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. [7] For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. [8] Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
[9] Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, [10] for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, [11] and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, [12] so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Gospel - Luke 20:41–47
[41] But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? [42] For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
[43] until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
[44] David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
[45] And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, [46] “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, [47] who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
[1] Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, [2] and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. [3] And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. [4] For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
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.