Fourth Sunday in Advent                                          December 19, 2021

Today’s Theme for Worship: When the Lord Comes Near, He Lifts up the Humbled. The season of Advent has humbled us. Perfect! Being made aware of our weaknesses does not disqualify us from God's care, it does the opposite. It is what prepares us for the work he does best. Our God is a God who lifts up the humbled.

 

Order of Service: Service of Word and Sacrament

 

Opening Hymn 58 See in Yonder Manger Low

 

1  See in yonder manger low, Born for us on earth below,

See-the gentle Lamb appears, Promised from eternal years.

Refrain:

Hail the ever blessed morn; Hail redemption’s happy dawn;

Sing through all Jerusalem, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

 

2  Lo, within a stable lies He who built the starry skies,

He who, throned in height sublime, Sits amid the cherubim.

Refrain:

Hail the ever blessed morn; Hail redemption’s happy dawn;

Sing through all Jerusalem, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

 

3  Sacred Infant, all divine, What a tender love was thine,

Thus to come from highest bliss Down to such a world as this.

Refrain:

Hail the ever blessed morn; Hail redemption’s happy dawn;

Sing through all Jerusalem, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

 

4  Teach, oh, teach us, holy Child, By thy face so meek and mild,

Teach us to resemble thee In thy sweet humility.

Refrain:

Hail the ever blessed morn; Hail redemption’s happy dawn;

Sing through all Jerusalem, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

 

Text: Edward Caswall, 1814-78, alt.

 

 

Order of Service: Service of Word and Sacrament

 

P: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you.

 

Confession of Sins

P: God invites us to come into his presence and worship him with humble and penitent hearts. Therefore, let us acknowledge our sinfulness and ask him to forgive us.

C: Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful, and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions.  I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good.  For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity.  But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray:  Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

P: God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

C:  Amen.

 

Lord, Have Mercy

P: For all that we need in life and for the wisdom to use all your gifts with gratitude and joy, hear our prayer, O Lord.

C: ♬ Lord, have mer-cy.

P: For the steadfast assurance that nothing can separate us from your love and for the courage to stand firm against the assaults of Satan and every evil, hear our prayer, O Christ.

C: ♬ Christ, have mer-cy.

 

P: For the well-being of your holy Church in all the world and for those who offer here their worship and praise, hear our prayer, O Lord.

C: ♬ Lord, have mer-cy.

 

P: Merciful God, maker and preserver of life, uphold us by your power and keep us in your tender care:

C: ♬ A-men.

 

P: The works of the Lord are great and glorious; his name is worthy of praise.

 

♬ O Lord, Our Lord

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

Al-might-y God, mer-ci-ful Father,

you crown our life with your love.

 

You take a-way our sin; you com-fort our spir-it;

you make us pure and ho-ly in your sight.

You did not spare your on-ly Son, but gave him up for us all.

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

 

O Son of God, e-ter-nal Word of the Fa-ther,

you came to live with us;

you made your Fa-ther known;

you washed us from our sins in your own blood.

 

You are the King of glo-ry; you are the Lord!

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

 

Prayer of the Day

P: Let us Pray.

Stir up your power, O Lord, and come. Take away the burden of our sins, and make us ready for celebration of your birth, that we may receive you in joy and serve you always; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

First Lesson: Micah 5:2-5a

2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans of Judah,

from you, will go out the one who will be the ruler for me in Israel.

His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity.

3Therefore the Lord will give them up,

until the time when the woman who is in labor bears a child.

Then the remaining survivors from his brothers will return to the people of Israel.

4He will stand and shepherd with the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

They will dwell securely, for at that time he will be great to the ends of the earth.

5This one will be their peace.

 

Special Music   The Magnificat

 

Second Lesson: Hebrews 10:5-10

5Therefore when he entered the world, Christ said:

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but you prepared a body for me.

6You were not pleased

with burnt offerings and sin offerings.

7Then I said, “Here I am.

I have come to do your will, God.

In the scroll of the book it is written about me.”

8First he said:

Sacrifices and offerings that were offered according to the law,

both burnt offerings and sin offerings,

you did not desire,

and you were not pleased with them.

9Then he said:

Here I am.

I have come to do your will.

He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10By this will, we have been sanctified once and for all, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ.

 

Verse

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:39-55

39In those days Mary got up and hurried to the hill country, to a town of Judah. 40She entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41Just as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44In fact, just now, as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy! 45Blessed is she who believed, because the promises spoken to her from the Lord will be fulfilled!”

46Then Mary said,

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

47and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,

48because he has looked with favor on the humble state of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed,

49because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

51He has shown strength with his arm.

He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

52He has brought down rulers from their thrones.

He has lifted up the lowly.

53He has filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he has sent away empty.

54He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, remembering his mercy,

55as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.

 

Hymn of the Day: 23  Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

 

1  Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

 

2  Oh, come, O Root of Jesse, free Your own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell your people save, And bring them vict’ry o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

 

3  Oh, come, O Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by your drawing nigh;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

 

4  Oh, come, O Key of David, come, And open wide our heav’nly home.

Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

 

Text: Latin hymn, c. 12th century, abr.; tr. John M. Neale, 1818-66, alt.

 

Sermon

 

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.  For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and became fully human.  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.  He suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.  We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church.  We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

 

Offering Prayer

 

 

Offering

You can give your offerings from your smartphone with the new Vanco Mobile app, which can be downloaded for free at Google Play or the App Store.  You can also give at holytrinitylutheranwyoming.com by clicking the Offerings link at the top of the page. If you have any questions about any of these options, please contact Dave Vogel at financialsecretary@holytrinity-wels.net or 616-808-6320.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Prayer of the Church

 

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done

 on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who

trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom

 and the power and the glory

 forever and ever. Amen.

 

The Sacrament

 

P: The Lord be with you.

C: ♬ And also with you.

 

P: Lift up your hearts.

C: ♬ We lift them up to the Lord.

 

P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C: ♬ It is right to give him thanks and praise.

 

P: Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In love he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Through his holy prophets, he promised a King to bring light to those living in darkness and in the shadow of death. Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and thanks and honor and glory for ever and ever.

 

♬ Holy, Holy, Holy

Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of your glo-ry.

 

You are my God, and I will ex-alt you.

I will give you thanks, for you have be-come my sal-va-tion.

Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of your glo-ry.

 

 

Words of Institution

P: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

 

P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: ♬ A-men.

 

♬ O Christ, Lamb Of God

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

have mer-cy on us.

 

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

have mer-cy on us.

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

grant us your peace.

A-men.

 

Distribution Hymn: 274  My Soul Now Magnifies the Lord

 

1  My soul now magnifies the Lord; My spirit shall in God rejoice.

My humble state he did regard, Exalting me by gracious choice.

 

2  Henceforth shall people call me blest, For great things he has done for me.

The mighty God is now my guest; The Holy One has set me free.

 

3  His mercy is on all who fear, Who trust in him from age to age.

His arm of strength to all is near; The proud he scatters, though they rage.

 

4  He brings down rulers from their seat And raises those of low degree.

He fills the hungry souls with meat; The rich depart in poverty.

 

5  He helped his servant Israel, Rememb’ring his eternal grace,

As from of old he did foretell To Abraham and all his race.

 

6  So praise with me the Holy One, Who comes in all humility.

To our Redeemer, God’s own Son, Be glory in eternity!

 

Text: Hermann Bonnus, c. 1504-48; tr. John T. Mueller, 1885-1967, alt.

 

Thank the Lord

Thank the Lord and sing his praise.

Tell ev-'ry-one what he has done.

 

Let all who seek the Lord re-joice

And proud-ly bear his name.

He re-news his prom-is-es and leads his peo-ple forth

in joy with shouts of thanks-giv-ing.

 

Al-le-lu-ia! Al-le-lu-ia!

 

Prayer

P: Hear the prayer of your people, O Lord, that the lips which have praised you here may glorify you in the world, that the eyes which have seen the coming of your Son may long for his coming again, and that all who have received in his true body and blood the pledge of your forgiveness may be restored to live a new and holy life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: A-men.

 

 

Blessing

M: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another.  Serve the Lord with gladness.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

C: (sing) Amen. Amen. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn: 233 All People That on Earth Do Dwell

 

1  All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.

Him serve with fear; his praise forthtell; Come ye before him and rejoice.

 

2  Know that the Lord is God indeed; Without our aid he did us make.

We are his folk; he doth us feed, And for his sheep he doth us take.

 

3  Oh, enter then his gates with praise; Approach with joy his courts unto.

Praise, laud, and bless his name always, For it is seemly so to do.

 

4  For why? The Lord, our God, is good; His mercy is forever sure.

His truth at all times firmly stood And shall from age to age endure.

 

5  To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, The God whom heav’n and earth adore,

From us and from the angel host Be praise and glory evermore.

 

Text: William Kethe, d. c. 1593, alt.