FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
November 27, 2022
at 10:00AM

Service and Readings

•••

THE SERVICE BEGINS IN SILENCE.

•••

Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever. Amen.

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open,
all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy Name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

•••

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. 

Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily
To us the path of knowledge show and teach us in her ways to go.

 Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, O come, thou Lord of might, who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the law, in cloud, and majesty, and awe.

Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! 

O come, thou Branch of Jesse’s tree, free them from Satan’s tyranny
that trust thy mighty power to save, and give them victory o’er the grave.

Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! 

O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home:
Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.

Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! 

O come, thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadow put to flight.

Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! 

O come, Desire of nations, bind the hearts of all mankind;
Bid thou our sad divsions cease, and be thyself our King of Peace.

Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! 

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

•••

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

•••

THE FIRST READING

A Reading from the Book of Isaiah.

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

•••

THE PSALM
Psalm 122

I was glad when they said to me, *
"Let us go to the house of the Lord."

Now our feet are standing *
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built as a city *
that is at unity with itself;

To which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord, *
the assembly of Israel,
to praise the Name of the Lord.

For there are the thrones of judgment, *
the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: *
"May they prosper who love you.

Peace be within your walls *
and quietness within your towers.

For my brethren and companions' sake, *
I pray for your prosperity.

Because of the house of the Lord our God, *
I will seek to do you good."

•••

THE SECOND READING

A Reading from the Letter to the Romans.

You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

•••

HYMN
Awake, My Soul
(#11, The Hymnal 1982)

•••

THE GOSPEL READING

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.

•••

THE HOMILY
The Rev. Edward Sunderland

•••

THE NICENE CREED

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

•••

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Let us pray for the Church and for the world.

Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name
may be united in your truth,
live together in your love,
and reveal your glory in the world.

SILENCE. 

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Guide the people of this land,
and of all the nations,
in the ways of justice and peace;
that we may honor one another
and serve the common good.

SILENCE.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation,
that we may use its resources rightly
in the service of others
and to your honor and glory.

SILENCE. 

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours,
and grant that we may serve Christ in them,
and love one another as he loves us. 

SILENCE.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Comfort and heal all those who suffer
in body, mind, or spirit;
give them courage and hope in their troubles,
and bring them the joy of your salvation.

SILENCE.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We commend to your mercy all who have died,
that your will for them may be fulfilled;
and we pray that we may share
with all your saints in your eternal kingdom.

SILENCE. 

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

(The People may add their own petitions.)

SILENCE.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

For yours is the majesty,
O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
yours is the kingdom and the power,
and the glory, now and forever. 

Amen.

•••

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

•••

Almighty God have mercy on you,
forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ,
strengthen you in all goodness,
and by the power of the Holy Spirit
keep you in eternal life.

Amen.

•••

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.

•••

THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

•••

HYMN
Earth And All Stars
(#412, The Hymnal 1982)

•••

THE HOLY COMMUNION

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

Because you sent your beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life; that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.

Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosana in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

We give thanks to you, O God, for the goodness and love which you have made known to us in creation; in the calling of Israel to be your people; in your Word spoken through the prophets; and above all in the Word made flesh, Jesus, your Son. For in these last days, you sent him to be incarnate from the Virgin Mary, to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. In him, you have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy to stand before you. In him, you have brought us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.

On the night before he died for us, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Therefore, according to his command, O Father,

We remember his death,
We proclaim his resurrection,
We await his coming in glory;

And we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to you, O Lord of all; presenting to you, from your creation, this bread and this wine.

We pray you, gracious God, to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts that they may be the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new Covenant. Unite us to your Son in his sacrifice, that we may be acceptable through him, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In the fullness of time, put all things in subjection under your Christ, and bring us to that heavenly country where, with all your saints, we may enter the everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of our salvation.

By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever.

Amen.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

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,
for ever and ever. Amen.

•••

Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
Therefore let us keep the feast.

•••

(A prayer for those who cannot physically be in the Church today.)

My Jesus,
I believe that you are truly present
in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
I love you above all things,
and long for you in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally,
come spiritually into my heart.
As you have already come,
I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you;
never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.

•••

O Lamb of God,
that takes away the sins of the world,
have mercy upon us.  (2x)

O Lamb of God,
that takes away the sins of the world,
grant us thy peace.

•••

The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.

•••

HYMN
Judge Eternal, Thron’d In Splendor
(#596, The Hymnal 1982)

•••

Let us pray.

Eternal God, heavenly Father,
you have graciously accepted us
as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ,
and you have fed us with spiritual food
in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
Send us now into the world in peace,
and grant us strength and courage
to love and serve you
with gladness and singleness of heart;
through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

•••

THE BLESSING

May Almighty God, by whose providence
our Savior Christ came among us in great humility,
sanctify you with the light of blessing and set you free from all sin. 
Amen.

May Jesus whose second coming in power and great glory
make you steadfast in faith, joyful in hope, and constant in love.
Amen.

 May you, who rejoice in the first Advent of our Redeemer
at the second Advent be rewarded with unending life.
Amen.

And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you for ever.
Amen.

•••

THE DISMISSAL

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

•••

The service ends in silence.

•••