P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
336 LO! HE COMES WITH CLOUDS DESCENDING
1 Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for ev’ry sinner slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of His train:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Christ the Lord returns to reign.
2 Ev’ry eye shall now behold Him
Robed in glorious majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall their true Messiah see.
3 Those dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshipers.
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!
4 Yea, amen, let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow’r and glory,
Claim the kingdom as Thine own.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and Thou alone!
Text: Public domain
SALUTATION AND COLLECT OF THE DAY
P Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Malachi 4:1–6
1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
4“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and just decrees that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
5“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
PSALM Psalm 50:1–15; antiphon: v. 15
1The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its
setting.
2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3Our God comes; he does not keep
silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his
people:
5“Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by
sacrifice!”
6The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge!
7“Hear, O my people, and I will
speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually
before me.
9I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is
mine.
12“If I were hungry, I would not
tell you,
for the world and its fullness are
mine.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify
me.”
EPISTLE Romans 15:4–13
4Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
8For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”
10And again it is said,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”
12And again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the
Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”
13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
HOLY GOSPEL
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the twenty-first chapter.
25[Jesus said:] “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ CREED
SERMON
Isaiah says,
“The root of
Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”
That’s one of several quoted verses in today’s epistle reading, Romans 15. It’s about us, Gentiles, Gentiles meaning all the nations of the world. People from all nations including ours are being brought into the kingdom and gracious rule of our Lord and King, the sprout from the family tree of Jesse, the father of King David and that great dynasty of Biblical kings. Jesus is the final and fulfillment of the line of Kings of God’s Kingdom. In him we Gentiles hope. Jesus gives us hope. He came into this world to be our Savior, born in such lowly circumstances and laid in a manger. He is coming again in glorious circumstances on the last day, when we “will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” And even now He has begun His reign in His Kingdom. So in Him we hope, even if the world crumbles down around us, we endure in hope.
Hope is when we believe the Lord and wait for His promises to come true.
That’s how this epistle passage ends:
Romans 15:13 --May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Paul has to tell us Christian people about hope. He spurs us on to abound in hope. He has to encourage us to hold onto hope -- We need to encourage each other to hold onto hope -- because there are so many things around that would steal our hope away, namely, the devil, the world and our sinful nature. The devil is doing what he’s always done, sowing seeds of doubt. He hates it when you hope. He wants you to fear and doubt. He asks, “Did God really include you in his promises? Are you the kind of righteous person God has in mind for his kingdom? Sure he forgives, but look at what you do, what you say, how you think, how you doubt? How can you hope for forgiveness and mercy when you are such a mess?
Likewise the world seems to be trying to suck all the hope out of the air. There are new fears in every 24 hour news cycle. And not just in the mass media, but in the private conversations, there is hopelessness, despair. They way people are talking, you’d think we are the first ones in all of God’s creation to have problems. Don’t let them make these present problems become bigger than your hope.
But now we can’t just blame the devil and the world around us. We also gotta take a good hard look at ourselves and our attitudes, the results of our broken sinful nature. When you get angry at someone you are just making matters worse. You get angry and think, “Those people, they are ruining everything.” “All that’s good is being destroyed. We are hopeless.” When you get so worked up, you don’t hope in the Lord.
When you lust and covet, wanting things not given to you, you’re working with this attitude that there’s nothing worth waiting for, nothing good to hope for, so you gotta take what you can get now, however you can get it.
When you get all greedy, because you think that things, the resources of this world and this life will give you the lasting security you desire, your not hoping in the Lord. And if your hope is not in the Lord but in some lesser commodity, your hope will run out, about the time the commodity does.
Dear Christian
friends, never give up hope. That’s what Scriptures are for. Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
All those times when God had the ancient writers put His words down, it was because he wanted you to hang on to hope. Even the words of warning are to encourage you to hope. Jesus warns you that in the end there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. The creation will be shaken to the core. But when you see that, lift up your heads, your salvation is drawing near.
For you who believe, you baptized Gentiles who have been brought into the rule of the Savior, you’ve got every reason to have the highest hope. Even at the worst of the destruction, The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. God had Malachi write that down in the Scriptures, that we might have hope.
Lets hold on to that hope. The devil says, “Nah, you can’t believe it.” You say, “Get behind me Satan. My hope is in the Lord.” The world says, “Ya, you can hope if you want to, but look at all these horrible things going on. Old religion can’t help us with our real problems.” You can say, “My only hope, my only help is from God the maker of heaven and earth. He made it and He can end it when He chooses and He assures me He’s got it all under control. In Him, is my hope.” Your sinful nature will balk against hope with it’s worries and weaknesses. You count yourself dead to sin, and alive in Jesus.
Abound in
hope. Today and everyday until we see Him and His Kingdom come. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
P In peace, let us pray to the Lord:
C Lord, have mercy.
P For steadfastness in the Word of Christ, our incarnate Judge, that ever mindful of His coming, we may live in harmony with one another and together glorify Him, let us pray to the Lord:
C Lord, have mercy.
P For the congregations and ministers of the Church, especially our Synod President Harrison; our District President Saunders; and our Circuit Visitor Mueller, that by them the Father would continually call sinners to repentance and comfort them with the healing of the Sun of righteousness, let us pray to the Lord:
C Lord, have mercy.
P For the Lord’s gift of marriage, that He would preserve it against the ravages of sin, the schemes of the devil and the raging of the world; and for the couples and families of our congregation, that God would strengthen them in love for one another and establish them on the foundation of His Word, let us pray to the Lord:
C Lord, have mercy.
P For harmony, that God would defeat the plans of all who would stir up violence, destroy the weapons of those who delight in bloodshed, and, according to His will, end all conflicts in our nation and our world, let us pray to the Lord:
C Lord, have mercy.
P For the Holy Spirit, that by God’s Word, He would search our hearts to root out all evil that would lead to strife and discord so that we may be at peace with all people; and for zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone can bring peace beyond understanding, let us pray to the Lord:
C Lord, have mercy.
P Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
C 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 forever and ever. Amen.
BENEDICTION
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.
C Amen
#352
1 Let the earth now praise the Lord,
Who has truly kept His word
And at last to us did send
Christ, the sinner’s help and friend.
2 What the fathers most desired,
What the prophets’ heart inspired,
What they longed for many_a year,
Stands fulfilled in glory here.
3 Abram’s promised great reward,
Zion’s helper, Jacob’s Lord—
Him of twofold race behold—
Truly came, as long foretold.
4 As Your coming was in peace,
Quiet, full of gentleness,
Let the same mind dwell in me
Which is Yours eternally.
5 Bruise for me the serpent’s head
That, set free from doubt and dread,
I may cling to You in faith,
Safely kept through life and death.
6 Then when You will come again
As the glorious king to reign,
I with joy will see Your face,
Freely ransomed by Your grace.
Text: Public domain
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Divine Service, Setting Three from Lutheran Service Book
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2020 Concordia Publishing House.
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