Entrance Hymn:  LBW #34 “Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel”

Prayer of the day: 

Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

First Reading:

Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
           because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
           he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
           and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
           and the day of vengeance of our God;
           to comfort all who mourn;
³to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
           to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
           the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
           the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
⁴They shall build up the ancient ruins;
           they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
           the devastations of many generations. . . .

⁸For I the Lord love justice;
           I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
           and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
           and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
           that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
¹⁰I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
           my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
           he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
           and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
           and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
           to sprout up before all the nations.

Psalm 85:8-9, 12-13; antiphon: Psalm 85:7

L: Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
C: and grant us your salvation.
L: Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
C: for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
L: Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
C: that glory may dwell in our land.
L: Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
C: and our land will yield its increase.
L: Righteousness will go before him
C: and make his footsteps a way.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L: Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
C: and grant us your salvation.

Epistle:

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24

¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise prophecies, ²¹but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil. ²³Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Gospel:

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. . . .

¹⁹This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²²So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” ²⁴(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) ²⁵They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, ²⁷even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Message Hymn:  LBW #35 “Hark, the Glad Sound!”

Closing Hymn:  LBW #25 “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers”