This is an older version, which Norma Boeckler mentioned.
Third Sunday in Advent
Comfort, comfort Ye My People #61
Introit
Rejoice in the Lord alway, and against I say, Rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men: the Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing: but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.
Lord, Thou hast been favorable unto Thy land: Thou has brought back the captivity of Jacob.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
Collect
Lord, we beseech Thee, give ear to our prayer and lighten the darkness of our hearts by Thy gracious visitation, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, world without end, Amen.
Gradual
Thou that dwelest between the cherubin, shine forth: shine forth: stir up Thy strength and come.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel. Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
Stir up Thy strength and come and save us. Hallelujah!
The advent of or King Our prayers must now employ
And we must hymns of welcome sing In strains of holy joy.
We Are There
The Gospels of Mark and John begin with the public ministry of Jesus. But Matthew and Luke describe the very beginning of the infant's appearance. So there is a gap of sorts. Of course, the brevity is a work of art from the Holy Spirit.
Our traditional TLH hymnal (is there any better?) gives us a broad expression for the worship service, page 15. If we try to balance The Lutheran Hymnal, the emphasis is universal. So the experts of the past give us a great view. But time has to be measured in real time, as predicted by the prophets and the singular prophet, Jesus Himself.
The entire world is filled with the signs of human folly and destruction, as if each grouping had a bizarre goal to wreck themselves and many others. We love Christmas because the main characters - the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds and the angels - are nothing to most others at first. Later the rabbi Jesus is known, admired, but also hated for His divinity.
People must stand back and realize we are living out of Luke 21 (among other passages). If Jesus warned them at that time, how much closer are we to fulfilling all the Promises of the Bible? It reminds me of The Sound of Music, which began as an escape from the Germans and ended developing their skills in America.
Most leaders - if not all of them - are determined to have their way with their countries, parties, warlords, and worse. That is as if God is withdrawn only to watch at a distance.
No matter how insistent people are, viewing themselves, they will be included in the Savior, Good Shepherd, Son of God. The many expressions of Jesus center on the Messiah Himself. Everything began at the start of the universe, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. To be more precise, Jesus is the Word in John 1:1, expressed 3 times in one verse.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That provides a clear signal that Jesus revealed Himself as God - at the very beginning - and shared His divinity - as the Word - to everyone willing to listen.
I would like to say to the clergy and clergy - "The issue is not what we do but whom we trust - relying on the Savior, His Promises, His love for us." I have published hundreds of bad examples - printed! published! - these proud charlatans - boasting about how they have created magical outcomes of their business practices (Church Growth), but they are too ashamed to use that term now. Fads run away with people.
We should be more enchanted with God's own management. I used to sit down in the rose garden to get a closer look on His Creation. Every part of it has value and merit. When I found something new about the smallest items, it was even more enchanting. For instance, plants swapping materials through their roots, each one having needs and sharing needs for the other. That changed early America, because so many European animals and plants fertilized the soil.
Some people responded to Creation. Others go the hardware stores and sprays.
Announcements
We have members and friends in NW Washington. Pray on behalf of those suffering from the overwhelming storms.
Assisted Living - I am talking to them this weekend.