Sunday Bulletin

Hymn: O Lord, How Shall I Meet You                                 LSB 334
 

Exhortation (p.184)
Corporate Confession (p.184)
Stand

Introit (responsively by whole verse) 1 Sam. 2:1b, 2, 5b–7; ant.: Luke 1:46b–47
P   My soul magni- | fies the Lord,*
            and my spirit rejoices in God my | Savior.
C   My mouth derides my | enemies,*
            because I rejoice in your sal- | vation.
P    There is none holy | like the Lord;*
            there is none besides you; there is no rock | like our God.
C    The barren has borne | seven,*
            but she who has many children | is forlorn.
P    The Lord kills and | brings to life;*
            he brings down to Sheol and | raises up.
C   The Lord makes poor and | makes rich;*
            he brings low and | he exalts.
C    Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
            and to the Holy | Spirit;
        as it was in the be- | ginning,*
            is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
P     My soul magni- | fies the Lord,*
            and my spirit rejoices in God my | Savior.

Nine-Fold Kyrie (LSB 944)

(The Gloria in Excelsis is omitted during Advent)

Collect of the Day
P  Let us pray.
Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C  Amen.
 
Old Testament Reading: Micah 5:2–5a
² But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
       who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
       one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
       from ancient days.
³Therefore he shall give them up until the time
       when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
       to the people of Israel.
⁴And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
       in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
       to the ends of the earth.
⁵And he shall be their peace.

L  This is the Word of the Lord.
C  Thanks be to God.

Gradual                                       Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 118:26, alt.
C   Rejoice greatly, O daughter of | Zion.*
             Shout aloud, O daughter of Je- | rusalem.
      Behold, your king is com- | ing to you;*
             righteous and having sal- | vation.
      Blessèd is he who comes in the name | of the Lord.*
             From the house of the Lord we | bless you. 

Epistle: Hebrews 10:5–10
⁵When Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
         but a body have you prepared for me;
⁶in burnt offerings and sin offerings
         you have taken no pleasure.
⁷Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
         as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
⁸When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), ⁹then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

L  This is the Word of the Lord.
C  Thanks be to God.

Stand
Alleluia (p.190)

        ³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
        ⁴⁶And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
  ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
  For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
  and holy is his name.
⁵⁰And his mercy is for those who fear him
  from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;
  he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
  and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
  and the rich he has sent empty away.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
  in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers,
  to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

L  This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C  Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

Nicene Creed (p.191)

Sit
Hymn of the Day: My Soul Rejoices                                    LSB 933

Sermon

Stand
Offertory (p.192)
Prayer of the Church

Preface (p.194)
Sanctus (p.195)
The Lord’s Prayer (spoken)
The Words of Institution (p.197)
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei (p.198)

Sit
Distribution of the Sacrament                            

Distribution hymns
From Heaven Above to Earth I Come                                   LSB 358
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence                                         LSB 621
Come, Thou Precious Ransom, Come                                  LSB 350

Stand
Nunc Dimittis (p.199)
Post Communion Collect (p.201)
Benedicamus & Benediction (p.201)

Sit
Announcements
Hymn: From God the Father, Virgin-Born                           LSB 401

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 © 2024 Concordia Publishing House.

 

Prayers – For the home-bound: St. John’s – Alfred Larson; Our Savior – Charlotte Scepaniak, Doris Vilhauer, Betty Zundel, Ken & Dorothy Maas, Loretta Podoll, Betty Meints, Verdena Dabbert, Lorraine Krage, and Lloyd Jerde. For the children we sponsor through Mission Haiti: Michelet Voltaire, Michel Djoury, and Orgea Djouna; For Nathaniel Wendt, Michael Wendt, Lloyd Dennert, Phyllis Yeske, Butch Podoll, and Kevin Fehn. And for the families of Ray Schnabel and Viola Schnaidt as they mourn.

St. John’s
Organist: SOS
Ushers: Mike & Molly Ringgenberg
Next Week: Mic & Jen Daggett
Last Week: Attendance – 28; Offering – $1,191

Our Savior
Organist: SOS
Elders: Douglas Klipfel & Don Hoops
Ushers: David Johnson & Glen Rausch
 Altar Guild: Amy Johnson & Ally Johnson
Acolytes: Teigan McKown & Cassie McKown
Last Week: Attendance – 101; Sunday School – 27; Wed. – 75
Offering: General Fund $4,272; Sunday School $2.52;
Sunday School Christmas Service $227;  Total $4,501.52

Schedule for the Week
Sunday            St. John’s Divine Service – 8:15 am
                       Our Savior Bible Study – 9:45 am
                       Our Savior Divine Service – 10:45 am
Monday           Mat Ladies – 1:00 pm
                       Deacons – 3:30 pm
Tuesday          Christmas Eve Candlelight Services –
                       St. John’s 5:00 pm; Our Savior 7:00 pm
Wednesday      Christmas Day Divine Service at Our Savior – 9:00 am
Next Sunday    St. John’s Divine Service – 8:15 am
                       Our Savior Bible Study – 9:45 am
                       Our Savior Divine Service – 10:45 am
 

 
Our Savior –
Christmas Break – There will be no Sunday School on December 22^nd or 29^th. There will be no Wednesday night activities on January 1^st.

Youth Fundraiser – The youth are selling hand-made gift bows for free-will donations. The bows are on a long table in the fellowship hall, and will be available until after Christmas.

The LWML Christmas Stocking Ingathering raised $201.81 for our missions. Thank you for your donations!

For All –
Christmas Services:
Christmas Eve Candlelight Services: St. John’s at 5:00 pm
                                                           Our Savior at 7:00 pm
Christmas Day Divine Service: Our Savior at 9:00 am
New Year’s Day Divine Service: Our Savior at 10:00 am

Lutheran Witness – The December issue of LW is available in the narthex. Featured articles include “The Gift of the Holy Family” and “The Family of the Last Adam”. What does it mean for the church to be a “family”? And how can congregations work to operate like one? LW is full of excellent information from a confessional Lutheran perspective, and includes the insert about our own South Dakota District. Pick one up today!

Higher Things Youth Conference:  We plan to take the high school aged youth from both congregations to the Higher Things conference at Concordia University Nebraska (CUNE) in Seward, NE next summer.  The dates are July 7-12 (including travel).  We will need to register our youth and chaparones by January 31 to get the early bird discount of $565/person.  If interested, speak to Eric Johnson or Pastor Schopp.  Check out higherthings.org
 
Rev. Dr. Scott Sailer has been serving as President of the South Dakota District LCMS for 10 years. He will be retiring after the February 2025 District Convention. The SD District Board of Directors would like to recognize his service to Christ’s Church and the SD District with some thank you notes and gifts. If you’d like to write a letter or note of thanks, please bring it to the church office by January 1^st. They will all be taken to the convention to be presented to the Sailers.
The SD District Board of Directors is also hoping to honor his years of service by sending Rev. Scott and Sarah Sailer on a trip (to be determined). Thank you for the donations that were given to support this gift.

LCMS Stewardship Ministry – Advent 4
Luke 1:45 – “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” The Lord always fulfills what He promises. We can be certain of that, and He has proven it over and over again. This faith in the Lord’s own faithfulness is what gives us the courage to follow the Lord’s commands in the face of the world’s anger and resistance, just as it gave Mary the courage to carry on in her seemingly embarrassed circumstances.

Building Healthy Families: What do you do in your home to keep your family focused on the true meaning of Christmas? Time spent together without technology, taking turns reading aloud the “original” Christmas story from Luke 2 is one great idea. Praying together is another. Perhaps at Christmas dinner, invite your family to read a Christmas song as a prayer before the meal, with each member given a verse to share. The text from Martin Luther’s “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come” (Lutheran Service Book #358) would be a beautiful family prayer. A blessed, peaceful and joyful celebration of Jesus’ this Christmas to you and yours ­­­­­­­­from your friends at Lutheran Family Service!
Lutheran Family Service  www.LutheranFamilyService.org.                              

Main Street Living – 10:00 AM- “Christmas on Main Street” – The Christmas message at a mission brings a grandson and his grandfather together.   10:30 AM- Rev. Matthew Harrison, President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, presents a Christmas message. Watch Main Street Living on Sunday mornings on KDLT NBC TV. The worship segment also airs on Saturdays at 5:00 pm. Past shows are archived at www.mainstreetliving.com.   

The Lutheran Hour – Jesus sets a good example, but good examples can't help dead people. Only God's Son can make us alive again. Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler delivers the message "Does It Matter If Jesus Is God?” based on Luke 2:10-11. Listen to The Lutheran Hour on Sunday mornings at 9:00 on KAWZ 88.1 FM, or on Sirius-XM Family Talk 131 at 9:00 am. Sermons are also archived on the website www.lutheranhour.org.

SACRED MUSIC & TALK FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON… You can listen 24/7 to sacred talk and music for the 12 days of Christmas at issuesetc.org, lutheranpublicradio.org, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, TuneIn, Apple HomePod and the Lutheran Public Radio mobile app.  
 
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod’s Statement on Close Communion:
 The Lord’s Supper is celebrated at this congregation in the confession and glad confidence that, as He says, Our Lord gives into our mouths not only bread and wine but His very body and blood to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins and to strengthen our union with Him and with one another. Our Lord invites to His table those who trust in His words, repent of all sin, and set aside any refusal to forgive and love as He forgives and loves us, that they may show forth His death until He comes.
 
Because those who eat and drink our Lord’s body and blood unworthily do so to their great harm and because Holy Communion is a confession of the faith which is confessed at this altar, any who are not yet instructed, in doubt, or who hold a confession differing from that of this congregation and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and yet desire to receive the Sacrament, are asked to first speak with the Pastor.
(CTCR, Admission to the Lord’s Supper, Nov 1999)