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Bethany Lutheran Church
10 AM Central Time
The First Sunday in Advent, 2024
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #67 The Bridegroom Now Will Call Us - Loy translation
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Introit
Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul:
O my God, I trust in Thee.
Let me not be ashamed:
let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Yea, let none that wait on Thee: be ashamed.
Psalm. Show me Thy ways, O Lord:
teach me Thy paths.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come,
that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
The Epistle and Gradual
Gradual
All they that wait on Thee shall not be ashamed, O Lord.
V. Show me Thy ways, O Lord:
teach me Thy paths. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Show us Thy mercy, O Lord:
and grant us Thy salvation. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 290 We Have A Sure Prophetic
The King Comes to Us
The Hymn #306 Lord Jesus Christ
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #68 The Advent of Our King
Prayers and Announcements
- Zoom has another step in W-9, one year ago.
- December 4th, 2002. Walter Boeckler, Norma's husband, passed into eternal life.
- Midweek Advent Vespers, Wednesday, 7 PM.
- In treatment - Kermit Way; Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris; Sarah Buck; Dr. Lito Cruz and Lynn, and grandson Theodore.
- Those suffering from emotional and metabolic stress.
KJV Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
KJV Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
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| Norma A. Boeckler |
First Sunday in Advent - Viet Dietrich
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee, we bless and praise Thee forever, that Thou didst send Thy Son to rule over us poor sinners, who for our transgressions did justly deserve to remain in the bondage of sin and Satan, and didst give us in Him a meek and righteous King, who by His death became our Savior from sin and eternal death: We beseech Thee so to enlighten, govern and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may ever remain faithful to this righteous King and Savior, and not, after the manner of the world, be offended with His humble form and despised word, but, firmly believing in Him, obtain eternal salvation; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.The King Comes To Us
KJV Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
I recall Lenski saying - Jesus was friends with the owner, because the instructions were so specific. Others have explanations too, and a few are puzzled that we start with the Passion story as part of the Virgin birth of Christ. Luther said it best when he observed the King comes to us to bestow His blessings upon us - the primary one - faith in Him. This is extremely important because almost the entire world thinks they are giving to the King. They are so pious that they give themselves honors so that the King will be grateful.
Three seminaries built or lavishly remodeled their chapels, and all three have fewer and fewer students to fill them. But how much did they accomplish with superfluous, gaudy cathedrals and so little sound doctrine (the latter a requirement).
The King brings us to faith, as early as a baby's birth and baptism. The baby is tiny, fussy, and needy - but the child believes. Faith comes from the Good Shepherd. If we have gone astray, the Good Shepherd pursues and brings us home again, not once but many times over. Notice all the details in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The word "good" is now considered bad but the Good Shepherd and the Good Samaritan are Jesus - one and the same. (The Good Samaritan do-gooders think they are the ones fixing everything up, not forgiving but always demanding works, because "that will make Planet Earth a better place.")
There had been an earlier entrance to Jerusalem. And people cheered for their hero. 1 Maccabees is often mentioned. That certainly built up hope that Jerusalem would be free again, but that freedom only lasted a short time. Several happened after the resurrection of Christ, 40 years later, then one last revolt, Bar Kokhba about 136 AD.
So, for sceptics, there was a lot of turmoil and hope for Jewish freedom. This entry was a march toward the cross, with Lazarus there, proof of resurrection.
3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Historians have a lot to write about - but this is the direct connection between the Scriptures (Old Testament) and the soon-to-be New Testament, the evidence from Lazarus, Jesus' death, resurrection, and Ascension. Riding on a horse would have signified a warrior general or a political king. The two went together, because a king was expected to be both political and military leaders.
Luther - "Again it also shows the pomp and conduct of the disciples towards Christ who bring the colt to Christ, set him thereon, and spread their garments in the way; also that of the multitude who also spread their garments in the way and cut branches from the trees. They manifested no fear nor terror, but only blessed confidence in him as one for whom they dared to do such things and who would take it kindly and readily consent to it."
Jerusalem means "a place of peace," and Jesus fulfilled that name, because He alone brought peace to the earth, a peace that spread throughout the world, even though that came from persecution rather than mission boards. Abraham Malherbe had us write 20 page papers on the Greek word "peace" in the New Testament. (Irene is peace in Greek) He said - after we were done - the word peace is always connected to forgiveness in the New Testament.
This first Sunday in Advent emphasizes the meaning of the birth of Jesus, born in the most humble circumstances and yet saluted by the Star of Bethlehem and the angel chorus. Likewise, the message was for only a few at first, so the disciples spread the Gospel in midst of turmoil, threats, persecution, and jails. That only increased the spread of Christianity, because the Word could not be stopped. Even now people make clowns of themselves to produce great triumphs while giving up the meaning of the Scriptures.
6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
The joy comes from faith in the King. We may know about a famous figure and even see him, but there is another faith, which is detached and objective, but it is not personal. Vast numbers do not make faith their own. I asked a colleague if he believed all the basics of Jesus Christ, because he was miserable about worries and his future. "You believe in all those truths about Jesus Christ and do not believe He will watch over you and provide for your family?" He smiled and cried at the same time. Confidence literally means "with faith."
We live in a world where the Bible is a sideline, OK for mottoes but not foundational. But the voice of the Savior is always comforting, because He has died and risen to show His power of forgiveness. I know from various people that they have found the Christian Faith far more powerful by listening to and reading from the Word of God itself. Nothing can stand between an individual and the Son of God. And He also dispatches His angels all the time, not just for children but also for people of all ages and abilities. Luther says we should pray for forgiveness every day, because that keeps us focused on the Good Shepherd, who watches over us against perils and hardships and also blots out sin from our faith in Him.
9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
The Son of David is a wonderful title. I get to take classes through the Old Testament year around (except Christmas), 50 weeks a year.
- First, we have ancient Abraham having faith that he would be the father of constellations of children. Sarah was not so sure. She laughed.
- Second, King David became the historical marker 1,000 years later, with a horrible record of infidelity, yet he repented and wrote the Psalms of contrition, asking for forgiveness.
- Third, Jesus was born another 1,000 years later, marked by the Star of Bethlehem and sung by angels. The apex of this timeline has the crowds raising their voices in faith, holding their children who added to the cheers.
- Here we are, with 4,000 years between Abraham and us - KJV Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
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| The God of Abram Praise |