The
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Contemporary
As We Gather
God chose a faithful young woman to be the mother of
our Savior. She recognized that in the
world’s eyes she was not highly regarded but God set the might of the world in
motion to bring her and Joseph to Bethlehem for Jesus to be born. He brings
down rulers from their thrones but lifts up the humble. During this Advent time
and always may we, like Mary, humbly serve the Savior of the Nations.
Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O
ancient doors,
that the King
of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD,
strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O
ancient doors,
that the King
of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of
hosts, he is the King of glory!
Psalm 24:7-10
Pre Service Music:
Joan Kern Flute
Opening Medley:
The Glory of the Heavens
Comfort, Comfort All My People
LIGHTING THE
ADVENT WREATH - THE FOURTH CANDLE:
P As we light
the Fourth candle on our Advent wreath, we rejoice that God chose the Virgin
Mary to be the mother of Immanuel, God with us, our Savior, Jesus. May we join with Mary in magnifying the Lord
for doing great and mighty things through such a lowly birth in Bethlehem. Let
us also humble ourselves to prepare for the Savior of the Nations to come.
C Savior
of the nations, come,
Virgin’s Son, make here Your home!
Marvel now, O heav’n and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.
Here a maid was found with child,
Yet remained a virgin mild.
In her womb this truth was shown:
God was there upon His throne.
SONGS OF ADVENT ANTICIPATION
Emmanuel
Jesus Name Above All Names
Collect of the Day
P ... Stir up Your
power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us
down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with
the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Reading from the Book of Concord
The
Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article VIII, 12, 13.
We believe, teach, and confess that Mary
conceived and bore not merely a man and no more, but God’s true Son. Therefore, she also is rightly called and
truly is “the mother of God.”
We also believe, teach, and confess that it
was not a mere man who suffered, died, was buried, descended to hell, rose from
the dead, ascended into heaven, and was raised to God’s majesty and almighty
power for us. But it was a man whose
human nature has such a profound, indescribable union and communion with God’s
Son that it is one person with Him.
Old Testament Reading 2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16
1Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his
surrounding enemies, 2the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now,
I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” 3And
Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
4But that same night the word
of the Lord came to Nathan, 5“Go
and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord:
Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6I have not lived in a house
since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I
have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7In all places
where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any
of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying,
“Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 8Now, therefore, thus
you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following
the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9And I
have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from
before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great
ones of the earth. 10And I will appoint a place for my people Israel
and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed
no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11from
the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you
rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord
declares to you that the Lord will
make you a house. . . . 16And your house and your kingdom shall be
made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”
P Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
C Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem
P Behold, your king is coming to you;
C righteous
and having salvation.
P Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the
Lord.
C From the house of the Lord we bless you.
Response
to the Reading of God’s Word
Lift Up Your Heads
Epistle Lesson Romans
16:25–27
25Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to
my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the
mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26but has now been
disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all
nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the
obedience of faith— 27to the only wise God be glory forevermore
through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Choral
offering
Mary, Did You Know?
Fred
Huff
Verse
P Behold, the virgin shall conceive and
bear a son,
C and they shall call his name Immanuel.
Matt. 1:23a
Holy Gospel Luke
1:26–38
26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a
man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was
Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the
Lord is with you!” 29But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and
tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30And the
angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his
name Jesus. 32He 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, 33and
he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be
no end.”
34And Mary said to the angel,
“How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35And the angel answered her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of
God. 36And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also
conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37For
nothing will be impossible with God.” 38And Mary said, “Behold, I am
the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel
departed from her.
Sermon
Song
Glorious Light
Music During the collection of
the offering
Sung by the Worship Team
Emmanuel
Offertory
On Christmas Day
Closing
Praise
the God of Grace and Glory
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