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 8, 2024 Advent 2
A REAL CHRISTMAS IS ROOTED IN REPENTANCE
WELCOME
HYMN 12 “Hark the Glad Sound! The Savior Comes”
(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: Malachi 3:1-7b
Through God’s Word and the messengers who proclaim it, the Lord encourages his people to return to him in humble repentance.
1“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. 5So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. 6“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my
decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.
P: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
PSALM 24 – page 739
Let the LORD enter; He is the King of Glory!
SECOND LESSON: Philippians 1:3-11
God began his good work in us at our baptism, empowering us to love, to demonstrate discernment, and to produce fruits of repentance.
3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
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: Luke 3:1-6
John the Baptist prepared people to meet their Savior by preaching a message of repentance and forgiveness.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: (sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!
HYMN 16 “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry”
SERMON: John 5:25-29
A Real Christmas is Rooted in Repentance
APOSTLES’ CREED - page 41
PRAYER & LORD’S PRAYER (Traditional)
HYMN 11 “Comfort, Comfort All My People"
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.
Service of the Word © 1993 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved.
All Scripture readings are from the NIV 2011. Used by permission.