Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
14722 Morris Ave, Allen Park, MI 48101 (313) 429-3085
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - English District
Rev. Joel M. Holls, Pastor
christourredeemerlutheran.com
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT
December 3, 2023
Divine Service Setting Three – Page 184
As We Gather: Welcome to the season of waiting! Not only is Advent a period of preparation for Jesus’ first coming at Christmas, but this sacred season readies our hearts for Jesus’ ultimate coming when He, as King of kings and Lord of lords, returns in power on the Last Day, when every knee will bow before Him and every eye will see Him as the One who reigns in sovereign majesty over all things. Until the arrival of that glorious Day, we wait for Him in confident faith, strengthened by His Word and Meal, trusting that He has redeemed us by His cross and resurrection. With the expectant people of old, may our worship together lead us to say: “Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield” (Psalm 33:20).
The Opening Hymn: “The Advent of Our King” LSB 331
The Confession and Absolution page 184
The Introit Psalm 25:1-3; antiphon: Zechariah 9:9b, alt.
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation.
To You, O LORD,
I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed.
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed.
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
Glory be 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.
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation.
Continue with the Kyrie (Lord, Have Mercy) page 186
(During Advent the Gloria in Excelsis is omitted)
The Old Testament Reading Isaiah 64:1-9
Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence.
As fire burns brushwood, As fire causes water to boil, To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence.
For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned - In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.
But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities.
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.
Do not be furious, O LORD, nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look - we all are Your people!
L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
The Gradual Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 118:26, alt.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming
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to you; He is just and having salvation,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.
The Epistle Reading: I Corinthians 1:3-9
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
(During Advent The Alleluia is omitted)
The Holy Gospel Reading Mark 11:1-10
P: The Holy Gospel selection is recorded by the Gospel writer Mark, in the 11th chapter, beginning with the 1st verse.
C: Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."
So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?" And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go.
Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their
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clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their
clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
The Creed: THE NICENE CREED page 174
The Hymn of the Day:
“Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here” LSB 414
The Sermon
The Offering & the Offertory page 192
THE INSTALLATION OF THE CHURCH OFFICERS
The Prayers of the Church
We pray for those in need.
(After our petitions) Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our Father and Redeemer, from everlasting You are God.
With joy and thanksgiving, we acknowledge that we are indebted to You for our existence.
Without You we cannot live, and apart from You, life has no meaning.
Bend down Your ear and listen as we pray.
For permitting us to enter another church year,
we give You thanks.
For finding us and leading us like a shepherd through Your Word,
accept our heartfelt praise.
For keeping Your promise and sending us the Savior,
we praise Your holy name.
In spite of Your loving kindness, O Lord, we have often strayed from Your path like lost sheep.
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You love righteousness and hate wickedness, yet we have no righteousness of our own to offer You.
We all fade as leaves, and because of our sin we are in constant danger of being blown away from Your presence.
For the many times we have caused You displeasure, we ask Your forgiveness.
As we begin another year in Your kingdom of grace, send us Your Holy Spirit.
May the welcome of Your Son Jesus Christ into our hearts continue throughout the year.
Help us to acknowledge Him as Lord of our life not only for today, but for always.
Grant that in Him we may be enriched in our speech and knowledge.
Keep us watchful and alert that we may be ready to meet Him on that last great day.
As we prepare for festivities of celebrating our Lord’s birth, grant us true spiritual insight that we may recognize Him as David’s Son and David’s Lord. Amen.
Continue with the Service of the Sacrament page 194
Hymn during The Distribution:
“Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” LSB 338
The Nunc Dimittis page 199
The Closing Hymn:
“The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns” LSB 348
Welcome to Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
We are happy that you have joined us today. Our hope is that you enjoyed the service and were inspired by God’s Word, that you will join us again very soon. If you are interested in membership, please talk to Pastor Holls or
one of our Elders.
.Daily Readings this week are in our hymnal, page 303, beginning today. If you can’t be with us, follow Divine Service 3 on page 184.
Lectionary Readings for next Sunday, the second Sunday in Advent, are on page xvi, at the front of the hymnal. These are our Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel readings to preview for our worship next Sunday, December 10th.
Free Will Offering Those who wish to give an offering,
The offering plate is located at the entrance by the organ. Offerings, donations, and envelopes can be placed there.
Prayer List: Russ, Margie, Landon, Sheryl, Leda, Martha, Bill, Jody, Shirley W, Carrie, Glenn, Matthew, Scottie, Steve, Andy, Terry, Samson, Buddy, Vicki. If you need someone on this permanent prayer list or they can be taken off, please see Sarah Lange.
This Week’s Events:
Today, December 3rd: Worship at 10:00 a.m.
Installation of Officers. We would like to have all Church Council members as well as all our Elders to be part of this service for Installation.
Advent By Candlelight will be held Today, December 3rd at 6:00 p.m.
Please join us for our most inspiring evening to prepare for the coming of our Lord. It is always memorable and fun to look forward to Christmas in this way. If you don’t have enough people to fill your table, we have a list of our members to join you! If you haven’t signed up, please see Roxanne.
Looking Ahead:
Christ Our Redeemer Christmas Party, December 16th, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. This is a family fellowship event, so we hope you will invite your families to join you. This has always been a fun and exciting night! Our menu will include sauerkraut and kielbasa, chicken, au gratin potatoes, salad, corn, rolls. Get tickets from Sarah Lange for $12.00 each.
As approved by Council: Services for Christmas/New Year:
Sunday, December 24 – Christmas Eve only. No services Sunday a.m. or Monday a.m.
Sunday, December 31 – Sunday morning only. No services Sunday evening or Monday a.m.
At the Voters meeting in October, we made some revisions as well as an addendum for the firearm policy. We voted for these to be permanent. This notice is to advise the members of Christ our Redeemer that these revisions are available for you to read, and if you feel the need, to discuss, have the opportunity prior to the next voters’ meeting. Copies have been emailed and are also available at the church entrance. We will vote to make these permanent at the February Voters’ meeting.