Second Sunday in Advent December 9, 2018
December 9, 2018 Advent 2 6541 Eastern Ave cristoreylutheran.com Bell Gardens CA 90201 (323) 395-8062 Pastor Matt Behmer pastor@cristoreylutheran.com Welcome to Cristo Rey Lutheran Church! We are a Christian church centered on Jesus Christ. Our mission is to share the good news of eternal life through Christ with you. We are both an established, yet new church. We have been serving Bell Gardens since the 1970s. At the same time, we recently began a partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod to revitalize our mission and ministry. It s a privilege to worship with you today. Please worship with us again very soon. Worship Information This service folder is your guide for today s worship. Much of our service is responsive between the pastor and the congregation. The pastor will lead the sections marked (M). The congregation is invited to join on the sections marked (C). Children are always welcome to our worship services and are encouraged to participate as they are able. If a child needs a break from the worship service, a nursery is available in the back of our sanctuary. Restrooms are in the back of our church. They are assessible through the hallway along the north side of our building, or through the door to the right of our altar area. Worship Acknowledgements Liturgy and hymns taken from Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal and Christian Worship Supplement. Reprinted with permission under One License A-726822. Scriptures Lesson from Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. 2
OPENING HYMN On Jordan s Banks the Baptist s Cry OPENING RITE Based on Psalm 24 M: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. M: The earth is the Lord s, and everything in it, C: the world, and all who live in it; M: For he founded it on the seas C: and established it on the waters. M: Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, C: that the King of glory may come in. 3
M: Who is this King of glory? C: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. M: Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, C: that the King of glory may come in. M: Who is he, this King of glory? C: The Lord Almighty he is the King of glory. M: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. C: And also with you. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION M: Beloved in the Lord: let us draw near Amados en el Señor: acerquémonos with a true heart and confess our sins con corazón sincere y confesemos nuestros to God our Father, asking him in the pecados a Dios nuestro Padre, pidiéndole name of our Lord Jesus Christ en el nombre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo to grant us forgiveness. que nos concede el perdón. C: I confess to almighty God and Yo confieso ante Dios todopoderoso to you, my brothers and sisters, y ante ustedes, hermanos, that I have greatly sinned, que he pecado mucho in my thoughts, words, and actions de pensamiento, palabra y obra through my fault, por mi culpa through my own fault, por mi propia culpa through my own most grievous fault. por mi propia gran culpa Therefore, I ask God to have mercy Por eso ruego a Dios que tenga on me; forgive me all my sins; piedad de mi, perdone todos mis and bring me to eternal life. pecados y me lleve a la vida eterna. M: God, our heavenly Father, has been Dios todopoderosos, nuestro Padre merciful to us and has given his only celestial, ha tenido Misericordia de Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our nosotros y nos ha dado a su único Hijo sins. Therefore, as a called servant of para morir por nosotros. Por tanto como 4
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. pastor llamado y ordenado por su iglesia, te perdono todos tus pecados en el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. C: Amen. Amén. LORD, HAVE MERCY M: In peace, let us pray to the Lord. C: Lord, have mercy. M: For the peace that comes from above and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord. C: Lord, have mercy. M: For peace throughout the world, for the wellbeing of the church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord. C: Lord, have mercy. M: For this family of faith and for all who here offer their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord. C: Lord, have mercy. M: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, merciful Lord. C: Amen. 5
GLORY BE TO GOD 6
PRAYER OF THE DAY M: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. By his coming give us the 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. C: Amen. FIRST LESSON Malachi 3:1-4 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, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. SECOND LESSON Philippians 1:3-11 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It 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. 7
VERSE OF THE DAY Matthew 24:42 Alleluia. Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. All mankind will see God s salvation. Alleluia. GOSPEL John 5:19-24 1 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 2 during 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. 5 Every 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. M: This is the Gospel of our Lord. C: Praise be to you, O Christ! 8
HYMN OF THE DAY Arise, O Christian People! 9
SERMON Looking Forward and Being Prepared Luke 3:1-6 Esperando y estando preparados Lucas 3:1-6 APOSTLE S CREED I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 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. Creo en Dios Padre todopoderoso, creado del cielo y de la tierra. Creo en Jesucristo, su único Hijo, nuestro Señor, que fue concebido por obra del Espíritu Santo, nació de la virgen María, padeció bajo el poder de Poncio Pilato, fue crucificado, murió, y fue sepultado. Descendió al infierno. Al tercer día resucitó de entre los muertos. Subió al cielo, y está sentado a la diestra de Dios Padre todopoderoso. De ahí vendrá de nuevo a juzgar a los vivos y a los muertos. Creo en el Espíritu Santo, la santa iglesia cristiana, la comunión de los santos, el perdón de los pecados, la resurrección del cuerpo y la vida eterna. Amén. OFFERING The members of Cristo Rey work together to support the work of the Lord in their community and around the world. Visitors should not feel obligated to participate. 10
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH The pastor leads the congregation in the prayer of the church. LORD S PRAYER Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen. Padre nuestro que estás en el cielo, sanificado sea tu nombre. Venga a nos tu reino. Hágase tu voluntad. Así en la tierra como en el cielo. Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día. Peronda nuestras ofensas como también perdonamos los que nos ofenden. No nos dejes caer en la tentación mas líbranos del mal. Porque tuyo es el reino el poder y la gloria Por los siglos de los siglos. Amén. CLOSING PRAYER M: Almighty and merciful God, we have again worshiped in your presence and received both forgiveness for our many sins and the assurance of your love in Jesus Christ. We thank you for this undeserved grace and ask you to keep us in faith until we inherit eternal salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. C: Amen. BLESSING M: 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: Amen. 11
CLOSING HYMN Comfort, Comfort All My People 12