Scripture
– NASB
Isaiah
40:1-11 –
"Comfort,
O comfort My people," says your God.
"Speak
kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her
iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD'S hand Double for
all her sins."
A
voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make
smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
"Let
every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the
rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the
glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the
mouth of the LORD has spoken."
A
voice says, "Call out."
Then
he answered, "What shall I call out?" All flesh is grass, and all its
loveliness 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 stands forever.
Get
yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice
mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the
cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"
Behold,
the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His
reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend
His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He
will gently lead the nursing ewes.”
Psalm
85:1-2, 8-13 –
O
LORD, You showed favor to Your land; You restored the captivity of Jacob. You
forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah.
I
will hear what God the LORD will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to
His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is
near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. Lovingkindness
and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Truth springs from the earth, And righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed,
the LORD will give what is good, And our land will yield its produce.
Righteousness will go before Him And will make His footsteps into a way.
2
Peter 3:8-15a –
But
do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one
day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is
not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,
not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
But
the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away
with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth
and its works will be burned up.
Since
all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you
to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of
the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and
the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are
looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore,
beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in
peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.
Mark
1:1-8 –
The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in
Isaiah the prophet: "BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL
PREPARE YOUR WAY; THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ' MAKE READY THE
WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.'"
John
the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and
all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan
River, confessing their sins. John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a
leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. And he
was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I,
and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I baptized
you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Bob’s
thoughts:
We arrived
right before church started and were warmly greeted as we entered and during
the Passing of Christ’s Peace.
Most
of the sanctuary’s paneled ceiling has large wooden beams and a massive
concrete arch that frames the chancel. The wall has a large gold cross suspended
in front of a long red curtain. The overall effect is impressive. I felt the stained-glass
windows down the sides directing my eye to the chancel.
The
message began with the 8th Commandment as an example of the dual-sided
coin of Law and Grace. A strong point was made that God loves us all exactly
the same, even those we do not love. The message was developed well with appropriate
Scripture references.
We didn’t
get to look around much but the signage to the rest rooms was good. We were
thankful to talk to some members after the service, and I was grateful to meet
the owner of the angelic singing voice. We hope to meet the pastor if God
brings us back.
Jan’s
thoughts:
We
arrived with about two minutes to spare before the service began. As we entered
the building, we were greeted immediately and given bulletins while several
folks introduced themselves and welcomed us. One of the women greeted Bob with
a “Semper Fi, Brother!” and said she was a Corpsman, so I knew we’d be chatting
later.
The
sanctuary is quite large and beautiful, with an elongated arch to the high ceiling.
The rear of the chancel was backed with a bright red, floor-to-ceiling backdrop
and a large cross in front of it, which looked stunning.
Even
with the size of the sanctuary and the height of the ceiling, I had no trouble
whatsoever with the acoustics. I could hear and understand what was spoken and
sung.
The
chancel was flanked by the huge Christmas tree on the right, and on the left a
mostly empty creche. A paragraph in the bulletin told the rest of the story: “During
the four weeks of Advent, the creche in the chancel moves from an empty manger
to a fuller symbol of Christ’s presence among us as ‘the Word becomes flesh.’
For this second week in Advent, we add animals to our manger scene, symbolizing
that all of God’s creation is involved in our fall into sin and in our waiting
for the coming Lord.” How imaginative!
Having
the entire service printed in the bulletin is extremely helpful for people like
us who were not brought up in the Lutheran tradition.
The
untitled sermon began with the plain fact that Christmas is 15 days away for us
all whether we are prepared or not. That is good news for those who are ready,
but worrisome for those who still have preparations to make.
She
continued with examples of the conviction of the Law and protection of Grace: from
the perspective of good news, God loves us all; from the perspective of the law,
God loves all people even those in whom we see nothing lovable. Everyone is equally
precious to God and they are worthy because God loves them just as He loves us.
Communion
was celebrated today, which I found especially uplifting.
The
pastor had to leave immediately afterward to preach at another church, but we
enjoyed an extended conversation with the corpsman/woman we met before worship
and her husband.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we lift up Your church to You and ask for Your guidance to discern Your direction
for their future. Amen.
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