Collect for the
Fourth Sunday in Advent: 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. Amen.
Collect for
the First Sunday in Advent: Stir
up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from
the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever. Amen.
Prayer
of adoration, praise, and supplication: Almighty and eternal God, we adore You as the God and
Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus, and with the whole Church on earth and all
the hosts of heaven we ascribe to You honor and blessing, thanksgiving and
praise. Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord God Almighty; heaven and earth are full
of Your glory. You created us in Your own image and redeemed us with the
precious blood of Your Son. By Your Spirit You sanctified us and called us out
of darkness into Your marvelous light.
Grant that we may with thankful hearts receive these great mercies and
express our gratitude, not only with our lips but also in our lives as we give
ourselves to Your service and walk before You in holiness and righteousness all
our days. Deliver us from sin and error, from the frailties of the flesh, the
allurements of this present age, and the temptations of the devil. Give us
faith that works in love, hope that never disappoints, kindness that never
fails, confidence in You that never wavers, patience that does not grow weary,
and courage always to be ready to confess Christ, that we may live in Your
mercy and die in Your peace; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives
and reigns...
Prayer for a right knowledge of Christ: Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting
life, grant us perfectly to know Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the way, the
truth, and the life, that following His steps we may steadfastly walk in the
way that leads to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns...
Prayer for blessing on the Word: Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed.
Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to
confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to
the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You
have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through
Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives
and reigns...
The
Lord Builds a House for David:
Jesus Christ Who Comes in the Flesh
Jesus Christ Who Comes in the Flesh
When King David “lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his
surrounding enemies,” he piously supposed that he would build a house for
God (2 Sam. 7:1–2 ).
But the Lord would turn it around: He would establish a house for David, and an
everlasting throne. This He has done, not only for David, but also for all His
people, in the Son of David, Jesus Christ, “conceived
by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary” (Apostles’ Creed). That holy
Child, the incarnate “Son of the Most
High,” receives “the throne of His
father David” and begins to reign “over
the house of Jacob forever” (Luke
1:32–33 ). Having given Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the
world, His Body is the true and eternal Temple of God in which His people have
their own place of peace and rest. That is “the
Mystery that was kept secret for long ages” but is now “made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal
God” in order that we may have faith and life in Christ (Rom. 16:25–26 ).
Monday, 12 December 2011—Psalm 19:1 , 4c , 5–6 ; Antiphon, Isaiah 45:8a , b —The antiphon asks that
God would open the heavens and ‘let the clouds rain down righteousness,’
and that, correspondingly, He would open the earth, ‘that salvation and
righteousness may bear fruit.’ Both of these things have come to pass. When
the Son of God assumed flesh, and came to earth to be born a man, righteousness
rained down. And this was not without effect, for He brought salvation which
bears fruit in believers, as they live out their righteousness in Christ.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011—Psalm
89:1–5 —What is the believer’s response to all that the Lord has
done for us through Christ? ‘I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord,
forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.’
In doing so, we join the throngs in heaven (v. 5 ), just as we say in the
Preface to the Lord’s Supper, ‘with angels and archangels, and with all the
company of heaven, we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising
You . . . ’
Wednesday, 14 December 2011—2 Samuel 7:1–11 , 16 —King
David’s desire was to build a permanent structure for the Ark of the Covenant,
that is a permanent place for God to reside with His people. But the Lord tells
David that He will establish a ‘house’ and a kingdom for David, which shall
have no end. We are not to look to Israel for fulfillment of God’s
promise, but to David’s Descendant, Christ Jesus, who has established His
throne of dominion forever, by His defeat of sin, death, and the devil at Calvary .
Thursday, 15 December 2011—Romans 16:25–27 —A fitting end to the book
of Romans, in which St. Paul has so clearly proclaimed Christ as the Savior of
the world, apart from works, this doxology (hymn of praise) is especially
appropriate during this Advent season, as we prepare for the coming of Jesus
Christ, who ‘has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has
been made known to all nations.’
Friday, 16 December 2011—Luke 1:26–38 —What a shock it must have
been for this pious young woman to learn that she, not having known a man,
would give birth to a baby boy. And no ordinary boy, but God Himself, the
second Person of the Trinity! Due to the miracle wrought through the Holy
Spirit, Child born would be ‘true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,
and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary.’ The Blessed Virgin is, therefore,
truly the Mother of God, and her Son, the Savior of mankind, is properly named
‘Jesus,’ that is, ‘Yahweh saves.’
Saturday, 17 December 2011—The hymn of the day, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
(LSB #357), is an ancient hymn based upon seven even more ancient
antiphons (called the ‘O’ Antiphons) which were used in the Office at Vespers
(the evening office) during the last seven days of Advent. Each antiphon and
each hymn stanza refers to a different title for Christ: Wisdom, Adonai (‘Lord’),
Root (or Branch) of Jesse, Key of David, Dayspring, King of Nations, Emmanuel
(‘God with Us’).
Lectionary
summary on front page from LCMS Commission on Worship
Artwork
by Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, ©WELS.
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006
Concordia Publishing House
This week's Time in the Word is written by Pr. Jeff Keuning
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