St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

313 4th Street, Manistee, MI 49660

www.StPaulsManistee.com

facebook.com/SPLCManistee

Pastor Dennis Himm (810) 252-5821

December 14, 2024 Advent 3

ADVENT – THE IMMENENT ARRIVAL

OF THE BRANCH OF PEACE

WELCOME

HYMN 16 “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” (Stand for the last verse) SERVICE OF THE WORD - pages 38-44

PRAYER OF THE DAY:

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. By his coming, give us strength in our conflicts, and shed light on our path through the darkness of this world; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Sung) Amen.

FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 11:1–10

Through God’s Word and the messengers who proclaim it, the Lord encourages his people to return to him in humble repentance.

1 A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.3 He will be delighted with the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, nor will he render decisions based on what he hears with his ears, 4but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and he will render fair decisions in favor of the oppressed on the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death. 5 Righteousness will be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his hips. 6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together, and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze together, and their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the cattle. 8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand into a viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM 24 – page 73

Let the LORD enter; He is the King of Glory!

SECOND LESSON: Romans 15:4–13

We have endurance, encouragement, and hope through the Scriptures knowing that God’s good news is for both Jew and Gentile. This continues to be our joy in Christ.

4Indeed, whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that, through patient endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we would have hope. 5 And may God, the source of patient endurance and encouragement, grant that you agree with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6so that with one mind, in one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7For this reason, accept one another as Christ also accepted you to the glory of God. 8For I am saying that Christ became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs. 9 He also did this so that the Gentiles would glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: For this reason I will praise you among the Gentiles, and I will sing to your name.10 And again it says: Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people. 11And again: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples give him praise. 12And again Isaiah says: There will be a Root of Jesse, and he is the one who will rise up to rule the Gentiles; on him the Gentiles will place their hope.13 Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

VERSE OF THE DAY:

Alleluia. Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. And all people will see God’s salvation. Alleluia.

(Sung) Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

GOSPEL: Matthew 3:1-12

John the Baptist prepared people to meet their Savior by preaching a message of repentance and forgiveness.

1 In those days, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, 2“Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near!” 3 Yes, this is he of whom this was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.”4John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him. 6 They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit in keeping with repentance! 9 Do not think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10Already the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I baptize you with water for repentance. But the one who comes after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

P: The Gospel of the Lord.

C: (sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!

HYMN 47 “Behold, a Branch is Growing”

SERMON: Isaiah 11:1–10 (written by our Circuit Pastor John Eich)

The Branch of Peace

APOSTLES’ CREED - page 41

PRAYER & LORD’S PRAYER (Traditional)

HYMN 23 “Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel”

PRAYER - page 43 C: (sung) Amen.

BLESSING - page 44 C: (sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.

HYMN 14 "Arise, O Christian People"

ANNOUNCEMENTS & REFRESHMENTS

THANKOFFERING BASKET BY DOOR

The members of St Paul's & the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) have joined together to do the Lord’s work here and around the world. Our guests may but are not expected to participate in this offering which supports our church’s ministry. The basket is located next to the water dispenser.

PLEASE SIGN OUR GUEST BOOK IF YOU ARE VISITING.

It’s located in the entryway by the stairs going to the basement.

CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP: Join us at 5 pm on Wednesday, December 24th for our celebration of our Savior’s birth. Remember to invite your family, friends, and neighbors for the service of Word, songs, and praise.

CHRISTMAS DAY WORSHIP: You are invited to Redeemer Ev. Lutheran Church in Scottville for their joint Christmas worship service with the members of Our Savior in Hart. The service is at 10 am.