December 6, 2020 - The Promise - Comfort, Comfort
“Tested by families, for families (and others too). Church at Home is an interactive, weekly worship service to be held from the safety of your own home. Each service will be centered around one theme and will have 3 songs, readings, and prayers, a short (4-5 min) message for children, and a longer (10 min) message for the whole family.”
Thank you for joining us for our Church at Home service!
Directly below in English and here in Spanish is an at-home worship service to be held with the family or as an individual or small group. Included are links to songs and pastoral messages (English, Spanish, Bilingual, and children's message) which will be made available every Saturday on Youtube. The head of the household can lead (L) and others can respond (C) or everyone can take turns. Use the links for the songs and messages at the appropriate time. Please do not feel pressured to go through the whole thing in one sitting. Rather, use each element of this service so that it serves as a blessing to you and your family.
If you have any prayer requests, or if you worship in this way this weekend, please use or fill out our online connect card, or linked below in the service. Comment to let us know how it went and any suggestions you may have!
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May God bless your Church at Home worship service this week.
Pastor William Dunn
The Promise
Comfort, Comfort
Advent is a time of promises. In our families, we may end up making promises about family vacations over the Christmas holiday or promises about items on the Christmas gift list. Sadly, promises often get broken. The toy is sold out or too expensive. The family trip can’t happen because of illness. The promise of a “good Christmas” doesn’t seem to hold true. Thankfully, when God makes a promise, he keeps his promises, and his promises do not disappoint. In our worship series for Advent, we will be encouraged by 3 promises from the book of Isaiah and the greatest promise from the Gospel of Luke.
Today we see how God the Father promises his children comfort and forgiveness.
Opening Song - Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old
Invocation
L. In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
Confession and Absolution
We begin the service by recognizing how we have fallen short of God’s will and desire for our lives, and we receive the good news that we are forgiven in Jesus Christ.
L. Let us approach God with a true heart and confess our sins, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.
C. Lord of life, I confess that I am by nature dead in sin. For faithless worrying and selfish pride, for sins of habit and sins of choice, for the evil I have done and the good I have failed to do, you should cast me away from your presence forever. O Lord, I am sorry for my sins. Forgive me, for Jesus’ sake.
L. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. In his great mercy, God made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in our sins. Hear the word of Christ just as he proclaimed to the paralytic: "Take heart, your sins are forgiven.” Let us take this forgiveness to heart and proclaim it to each other in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer of the Day
L. 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.
C. Amen.
First Lesson - Isaiah 40:1-11
In this reading, God through his prophet Isaiah prophesies of the Messiah and also of the prophet who was going to prepare his way. The message of both consists of law and gospel. "All flesh is grass ... grass withers ... but the Word of our God stands forever."
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call out to her. Her warfare really is over. Her guilt is fully paid for. Yes, she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice is calling out: In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD. In the wasteland make a level highway for our God. 4 Every valley will be raised up, and every mountain and hill will be made low. The rugged ground will become level, and the rough places will become a plain. 5 Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh together will see it. Yes, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry out?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like a wildflower in the countryside. 7 Grass withers, flowers fade, when the breath of the LORD blows on them. Yes, the people are grass. 8 Grass withers, flowers fade, but the Word of our God endures forever.
9 Get up on a high mountain, O Zion, you herald of good news. Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, you herald of good news. Lift it up! Do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 Look, God the LORD will come with strength, and his arm is ruling for him. Look, his reward is with him. The result of his work is in front of him. 11 Like a shepherd he will care for his flock. With his arm he will gather the lambs. He will lift them up on his lap. He will gently lead the nursing mothers.
Second Lesson - 2 Peter 3:8-14
Saint Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, describes God's patience, his desire for all men to repent, and the sudden second coming of Christ. We await his coming, we await the “new heavens and a new earth” without fear while leading thankful lives because we know that salvation is ours in Christ Jesus.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: For the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness. Instead, he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will be dissolved as they burn with great heat, and the earth and what was done on it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be destroyed, what kind of people ought you to be, living in holiness and godliness, 12 as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God? That day will cause the heavens to be set on fire and destroyed, and the elements to melt as they burn with great heat. 13 But according to his promise we look forward to new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, dear friends, as you look forward to these things, make every effort to be found in peace, spotless and blameless in his sight.
Gospel - Mark 1:1-8
Before Jesus Christ our Savior came into the world, God sent John the Baptist to prepare the hearts of men, fulfilling what he had prophesied through the prophet Isaiah. His message was a message of "repentance for the forgiveness of sins." Today, this message that John proclaimed in the desert helps us prepare our hearts for the second coming of Christ.
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 This is how it is written in the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare the way for you. 3 A voice of one calling out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.”
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6 John was clothed in camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He preached, “One more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals! 8 I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Children's Message
Song - Comfort, Comfort, All My People
English Sermon -or- Bilingual Sermon
Confession of Faith - The Apostles' Creed
We speak the truths of the faith that have united the church for thousands of years.
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.
Offering - Facebook or PayPal
Out of thanksgiving for God’s message of grace and forgiveness, if you would like to support our ministry with a financial gift you may do so with zero fees through our Facebook page or with a small fee included through Paypal. We thank you for your gracious support.
Online Connection Card
Please use the link to connect with us online! Let us know that you worshiped with us or submit a prayer request.
General Prayer
Use this time to pray to God about anything that is on your heart and mind. Remember who God is and how he describes himself in the Bible. Focus on his eternal perspective. Consider not only your own life, but also the lives of others. Finally, pray with confidence knowing that God hears you, and pray in the name of your savior, Jesus Christ.
The Lord's Prayer
Pray the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.
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.
The Blessing
Just as God told Aaron to bless his people in this way, we ask God’s blessing on us as we go forth in our lives.
L. The Lord bless us and keep us.
The Lord make his face shine on us and be gracious to us.
The Lord look on us with favor and ☩ give us peace.
C. Amen