Here is the order of worship we will be following for our midweek Advent reflection.
HYMN: LSB 338; Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Colossians 1:15–20; John
14:6–9, alt.
Pastor: [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation.
People: For by Him all
things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through
Him and for Him.
Pastor: And He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together.
People: And He is the Head
of the Body, the Church.
Pastor: He is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead,
People: that in everything
He might be preeminent.
Pastor: For in Him all the fullness of
God was pleased to dwell,
People: and through Him to
reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by
the blood of His cross.
Pastor: Jesus said, “I am the way, and
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you
had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him
and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him,
People: “Lord, show us the Father,
and it is enough for us.”
Pastor: “Whoever has seen Me has seen
the Father.”
PSALM Psalm 103:1–18; antiphon: v.13
Pastor: As a father
shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.
Pastor: Bless the
Lord, O my soul,
People: and
all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Pastor: Bless the
Lord, O my soul,
People: and
forget not all His benefits,
Pastor: who forgives
all your iniquity,
People: who
heals all your diseases,
Pastor: who redeems
your life from the pit,
People: who
crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
Pastor: who
satisfies you with good
People: so
that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Pastor: The Lord
works righteousness and justice
People: for
all who are oppressed.
Pastor: He made
known His ways to Moses,
People: His
acts to the people of Israel.
Pastor: The Lord is
merciful and gracious,
People: slow
to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Pastor: He will not
always chide,
People: nor
will He keep His anger forever.
Pastor: He does not
deal with us according to our sins,
People: nor
repay us according to our iniquities.
Pastor: For as high
as the heavens are above the earth,
People: so
great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;
Pastor: as far as
the east is from the west,
People: so
far does He remove our transgressions from us.
Pastor: As a father
shows compassion to his children,
People: so
the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.
Pastor: For He knows
our frame;
People: He
remembers that we are dust.
Pastor: As for man,
his days are like grass;
People: he
flourishes like a flower of the field;
Pastor: for the wind
passes over it, and it is gone,
People: and
its place knows it no more.
Pastor: But the
steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear
Him,
People: and
His righteousness to children’s children,
Pastor: to those who
keep His covenant
People: and
remember to do His commandments.
All: 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.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.
BIBLE READING Jeremiah
31:31-40
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
CATECHISM The Third Article of the Apostles’
Creed
Pastor: I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
What does this mean?
People: I believe that I
cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to
Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with His
gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
IN the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole
Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true
faith.
In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the
sins of all believers.
On the last day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to
me and all believers in Christ.
This is most certainly true.
This is most certainly true.
SERIES HYMN: LSB 342; What Hope! An Eden Prophesied
SERMON
OFFERING
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
LORD’S PRAYER (Matthew 6:9–13)
People: 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.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: Lord Jesus,
Lamb of God, when You walked this earth as one of us, You revealed our heavenly
Father’s true nature;
People: so
now graciously open our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that in our life
and conduct we may show that we abide within the love streaming from the
Father’s heart.
Pastor: Hear
our prayer, Lord Jesus, Lamb of God,
People: and
show us the Father’s heart.
LUTHER’S EVENING PRAYER
Pastor: Let us pray.
People: I thank You, my
heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously
kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have
done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend
myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that
the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Pastor: Hear our prayer, Lord Jesus,
Word of God Incarnate,
People: and show us the
Father, our Creator.
BENEDICTION
Pastor: The blessing of almighty
God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—be
upon you now and forever.
People: Amen.
HYMN: LSB 336; Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending
DISMISSAL
Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the
Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
[The following copyright notice must appear on each reproduction.]
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series B, Part 1. Copyright ©
2014 Concordia Publishing House.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous[b] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,[c] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ---I Corinthians 6:9-10
ReplyDeleteIf you are an LCMS Lutheran, how often have you heard an LCMS pastor's sermon, or read an LCMS pastor's blog article, on the sin of Divorce (divorce other than for infidelity), the sin of Adultery, the sin of Fornication, or the sin of being a Drunkard?
Now compare the number of times that you have heard or read an LCMS pastor preach from his pulpit or from his blog on the damning sins of Divorce, Adultery, Fornication, and Drunkenness with the number of times you have heard the same LCMS pastor preach about the sin of Homosexuality from his pulpit and blog. I will bet that the number of sermons condemning Homosexuality will exceed the total of all the other sins combined.
But, not only is the sin of Homosexuality preached against (attacked) more frequently from the pulpits and blogs of LCMS pastors, but the name calling against the perpetrators of this particular sin far exceeds the name calling against divorcees, adulterers, fornicators, and drunkards. "Sodomites", "Perverts" "Boy Sodomizers", "Degenerates" are perfectly acceptable terms for the perpetrators of the sin of Homosexuality, but the cute, little cashier at the corner market who has shacked-up with her boyfriend for the last two years is not referred to as "that Fornicator", nor is the drunkard standing in front of the LCMS altar, pronouncing the Words of Institution, referred to as a "vile and evil Drunk". No. The good pastors of the LCMS have decided that just one of the sins in the above Bible verse, and the perpetrators of that one sin in the above Bible verse, deserve their greatest attention, condemnation, and vilification.
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod...officially...will tell you that LCMS Lutheran Christians hate Homosexuality but love the people "afflicted" by the sin of Homosexuality. In other words, the official position of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is: "Hate the sin, but love the sinner."
But the reality is, that a very significant percentage of pastors in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod hate homosexuals. They really, really hate homosexuals! Homosexuals make their skin crawl and their stomachs squeemish. Yes, you read that previous sentence correctly. A significant percentage of LCMS pastors hate gays and lesbians.
Don't believe me? Look at the evidence for yourself.
I challenge you to go onto the blogs of some of the most popular LCMS pastors' blogs and do a topic search on "homosexuality". Read the articles, but more importantly, read the comments below the articles. In the comment section, you will find some of the most vile, vicious, anti-gay hate speech, most often written by the pastor's gay-bashing, gay-hating, God-fearing conservative Christian readers---such as the infamous "Carl Vehse", otherwise known (without his white robe and hood) as Richard Strickert of Austin, Texas---all written without any censoring or rebuke from the LCMS pastor/blog owner/moderator...and... sometimes you will even catch one of these Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod "men of God" spewing this vitriolic hate speech himself.
Conclusion: A significant percentage of pastors in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod are gay-bashing Peddlers of Hate, and for this reason the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod must be placed on the Hate Watch lists of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU, and every other human rights organization in the United States---until the leadership/hierarchy of this Christian denomination finally develops the backbone and intestinal fortitude to put an end to this hateful, un-American, disgraceful behavior.