I have a two part today: First is a reflection on the church year and second is a series of reading and hymns that we did at church on Sunday
Happy New Year! I am
not just early for December 31st.
Today is the church’s New Year.
Just like our daily lives are ordered by days, weeks and months, our
church life together is ordered times and seasons. The church year tells a story, it tells the
most important story ever told, the story of God and his love for us. Today, with the great proclamation that
Christ is King, we come to end of the story.
Next week, we start the story all over again with the first Sunday of
Advent. This morning as we gather for
Worship on what is really New Year’s Eve, I want to walk with you through the
church year.
Our Year begins with Advent, with the wait and hope for the
Messiah. For hundreds of years, God’s people were living in fear, doubt and
struggle while holding onto the promise spoken through the prophets, God’s promise heard through the prophet
Isiash: A voice cries out: ‘In the
wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be
lifted up, and every mountain and hill
be made low; the uneven ground shall
become level and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all people shall see it together
After all this time of doubt and hope, we get to the season
of Christmas, when that long expected savior is born: In the words of Galatains 3: But
when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born
under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we
might receive adoption as children
After Christ our savior is born, we come to the time of
Epiphany, when people around the world, starting with the 3 kings, piece
together and figure out that this child born on Christmas truly is God with us. At Epiphany, we see the words of the prophets
and the promises of God fulfilled: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are
by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.
After this, we come to the time of Lent, Holy week and
Easter. Here, we see the means of our
salvation. In Jesus words reported from Mark 8:
Jesus began to teach them that the
Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the
chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
After these things
happen, we come to Pentecost, the birthday of the church, the time as reported
in Acts 2, when Divided tongues, as of
fire, appeared among the disciples, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of
them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as
the Spirit gave them ability. After this, Peter stands up, delivers the
first reported sermon and the church begins its work of proclaiming Christ
Crucified and risen for the forgiveness of our sins. The time after Pentecost in our church year
(sometimes called ordinary time) centers about the teaching and work of Jesus
as well as the life and work of the early church.
Here's what we actually did at church
Advent
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly
to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has
received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: ‘In
the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be
lifted up, and every mountain and hill
be made low; the uneven ground shall
become level and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has
spoken.’ A voice says, ‘Cry out And I
said, ‘What shall I cry? All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower
of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord
blows upon it; surely the people are
grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand
for ever. Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O
Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities
of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’ See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm
rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will
feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry
them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel vs 1-4 (ELW # 257)
Christmas
Galatians 3:24-4:7
The law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we
might be justified by faith. But now
that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in
Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no
longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are
one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong
to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the
promise. My point is this: heirs, as
long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners
of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the
date set by the father. So with us;
while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the
world. But when the fullness of time had
come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem
those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.
And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our
hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a
child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Song: Hark the Herald
Angels Sing (ELW # 270)
Epiphany:
Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child
who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and
have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened,
and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and
scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the
rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people
Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the
exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,
“Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me
word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king,
they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its
rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that
the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house,
they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him
homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to
Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Song: We Three Kings of Orient Are (insert)
Lent:
Mark 8:31-38
Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo
great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the
scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite
openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and
looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For
you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ He called
the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my
followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For
those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life
for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it
profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can
they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be
ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Song: O Sacred Head Now Wounded ELW # 351
Easter
1Corinthians 15 1-4
Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good
news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you
stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the
message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. For I
handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was
buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the
scriptures
Song: Christ the Lord is Risen Today (ELW # 369)
Pentecost
John 20:19-23
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week,
and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of
the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After
he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced
when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the
Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them
and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any,
they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
and
Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together
in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a
violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Prayers
Time after Pentecost:
1 John 1:5-2:2
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to
you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that
we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not
do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we
have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us
from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will
forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we
have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little
children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if
anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only
but also for the sins of the whole world.
Confession and Forgiveness
Christ The King
Ephesians 1:11-23
In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been
destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according
to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on
Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him,
were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of
our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his
glory. I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all
the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I
remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to
know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what
is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious
inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his
power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put
this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at
his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and
power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age
but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has
made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the
fullness of him who fills all in all.
Songs: Crown Him With Many Crowns (ELW # 855)
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