Fourth Sunday of Advent 12/21
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
DECEMBER 21, 2025
ST. PAUL’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, FALLS CHURCH, VA
✠ ✠ ✠
PRELUDE Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus Setting: Tim Shewmaker
ENTRANCE HYMN (Stand) Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus LSB 338
1 Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art,
Dear desire of ev’ry nation,
Joy of ev’ry longing heart.
2 Born Thy people to deliver;
Born a child and yet a king!
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sin, be our advocate in heaven, and bring us to eternal life. Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, resolved to keep God’s commandments and to live in love and peace with all.
(We kneel)
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we confess that we have sinned against You and against our neighbor in thought, word and deed; through negligence, through weakness, and through our own deliberate fault. We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross, forgive us all that is past, and grant that we may serve You in newness of life, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
KYRIE (Kyrie eleison means “Lord have mercy”) (Stand) LSB 943
Kyrie, Kyrie eleison. Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
For peace in our hearts as we gather for worship, and for the peace of the whole world and the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord:
Kyrie, Kyrie eleison. Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
For the proclamation of the Gospel in this and every place and for the calling of all to faith, let us pray to the Lord:
Kyrie, Kyrie eleison. Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
For grace to await our Lord’s coming again in glory, and for the joyful anticipation of his coming into our hearts today, let us pray to the Lord:
Kyrie, Kyrie eleison. Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
HYMN OF PRAISE (omitted during this penitential season)
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
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. Amen.
✠ ✠ ✠
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST LESSON (Be seated) Isaiah 7:10-17
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 24 (Sung responsively)
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory!
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.
SECOND LESSON Romans 1:1-7
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL VERSE (Stand) LSB 349
Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes,
The Savior promised long;
Let ev’ry heart prepare a throne
And ev’ry voice a song.
GOSPEL Matthew 1:18-25
The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew the 1st chapter.
Glory to You, O Lord.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen. Dear friends in Christ:
The waiting is almost over. Only four more days until Christmas. But, of course, much of the Christmas celebration has already been with us for weeks. We’ve seen and heard it, in many places.
Those of us in the church sometimes lament the rush to Christmas and the consequent neglect of Advent. But this week the lectionary itself rushes to Christmas. The Gospel lesson we just read is Matthew’s Christmas account, brief as it is.
About these verses, perhaps you noticed that they seem to be as much about Joseph as they are about Jesus. Although he never says a word, Joseph is the center of attention, as first he confronts a confounding problem that was not his own doing and then as he watches his carefully worked plan get crumpled up and tossed away.
Regarding those plans, it turns out that Joseph is okay with the change. And certainly, that’s because he knows God’s right thing is always the best thing to do.
Today’s sermon will lead us to consider how God always knows best. And to address this subject, we’ll follow a three-part outline showing how “man proposes, God disposes, and Christ transposes.”
When we examine Joseph’s thoughts and actions as described in today’s Gospel reading, we see how they mirror a standard human pattern. Joseph has a problem – a pregnant fiancé – and like all of us, he confronts his problem by starting to plan.
As Joseph evaluates the situation, we see that he wants to do the right thing. And in his day, doing the right thing meant that he shouldn’t marry a woman who had been unfaithful.
At the same time, Joseph also wants to help Mary. We read that he was “unwilling to put her to shame,” meaning that he was not going to bring charges against her, as was his right, and, according to some, perhaps also his duty.
To accomplish these desires, Joseph comes up with a plan – something he “resolves” to do. His plan is to “divorce her quietly.”
Once his plan is in place, Joseph then continues to “consider these things” as his plan unfolds. Perhaps his ongoing consideration was a second-guessing of himself. Or perhaps he just assumed that there would be other things to deal with too.
In this short description of Joseph’s thoughts and actions, we see all the normal ways humans propose for dealing with their problems. They evaluate, plan, watch, and worry. They do this when they lose a job. They do this when they get sick. And they do this when most any kind of change or issue arises.
To be fair, evaluation and planning are often important strategies to utilize. Through such efforts we can often tackle a problem or overcome an issue.
But sometimes even the best evaluation and planning don’t do the trick. We live in a broken world. And in this broken world, sometimes all we can do is grind through and make the best of things.
Here we must remember that while man proposes, God disposes. In other words, God is the one who determines the actual course of all events, despite our plans.
If that phrase sounds familiar, it’s because “man proposes, God disposes” is a popular line from the great devotional classic The Imitation of Christ written by Thomas à Kempis in the 15th century. Many artists and writers over the years have been moved by the phrase and have produced works based on it. The phrase is a short way of reflecting the thought of Proverbs 19:21, which says: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”
Joseph, being a man of faith and character – a “just man” according to the text – would have known the theology contained in this phrase. He may have even known the verse from Proverbs itself. And this is why Joseph then woke up from his dream and started doing God’s plan.
Joseph trusted the word of God that came to him in his dream. And that’s no small step. Because dreams, as we know, can often be – shall we say – wild and crazy.
We might wonder what it was about this dream that spoke to Joseph so strongly. But the text moves us to think about something else. Matthew’s words suggest that maybe it wasn’t the dream alone that moved him. Rather, it was also the faith and learning that Joseph possessed that helped him evaluate what he had experienced.
Matthew points out how Isaiah had prophesied: “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” Joseph probably knew of this prophecy.
Furthermore, that child of prophecy, born to the virgin, was to be named “Immanuel – which means God with us.” This name fit well with the name the angel gave to Joseph, which was Jesus. Jesus means “savior,” and the angel explained that the child would save his people from their sins. Joseph would have known and believed that only God can save people from their sins.
Because he knew the scriptures, Joseph would have known, too, that God had often furthered his plan of salvation through messages given in a dream. He was far from the only one to receive such a message.
These previous learnings of Joseph, along with the belief that “man proposes but God disposes,” then moved him to go forward with God’s plan instead of his own. Joseph did this because his faith was grounded in God’s Word and not just his own experience.
Perhaps you’ve heard atheists or agnostics say that if there was a God who wanted people to believe in him, then he should show himself more visibly or say things we can all hear. And this may sound like a solid argument to us at first. But what actually counts as evidence or a good reason to believe?
In 1896, when August and Louis Lumière premiered their fifty-second-long silent movie The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station, people screamed and jumped away from the screen, fearing that they would be crushed by the approaching locomotive they were seeing. And Orson Wells famously terrified some listeners who tuned in late to his 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds and panicked at the report of a Martian invasion. Today, the prevalence of deepfakes from AI confirm that the unreliability of “empirical evidence” endures as a problem. And all these examples show that our eyes and ears can deceive us. So, how much should we trust them?
We might think that the angel’s appearance to Joseph in a dream made it easy for him to go forward in obedience. But how readily would you believe what you were “told” in a dream? Trusting our senses or our feelings is always hazardous. We should therefore be grateful that God has spoken to us in his Holy Word. God’s Word tells us the things we all need to hear and describes the things we all need to see.
The story of Joseph – told and described in today’s reading – reminds us that it’s time for us to wake up and follow God’s plans, not ours. God’s plans are those which call us to live justly, mercifully, and purely, according to his commands.
As well, God’s plans are often very different than those we come up with on our own. And they sometimes go against what we would like to do or what makes sense or even what may seem right to us. But they are the best plans – for us and for everyone. God’s right thing is always the best thing to do.
Following God’s plans will not always be easy. Moreover, we will often fail in this task.
But the good news is that God brings help to us in our challenges. Man proposes and God disposes, but Christ transposes – meaning he brings the changes we need so that we can go forward with a life of health and faith.
The greatest change Christ Jesus brings, as stated in his name and as clarified by the angel to Joseph, is that of salvation. Jesus saves us from our sins.
Jesus did this by dying on the cross and paying sin’s penalty. His death is transposing in that he took our sins upon himself and died in our place. It transposes our destiny, since we are no longer under sin’s curse.
What’s more, Jesus transposes our lives by changing our attitudes and beliefs. He teaches us how to do better and leads us to forgive others as he forgives us.
Because of this help from Christ, we no longer need to obsess over the need to figure out solutions to all those things that challenge us nor think interminably about our many problems. Christ is there to calm our fears and move us forward.
When we lose our job, we do our best to find another. But we also trust in the Lord to provide. He will care for us in new ways and teach us new things too.
When we are diagnosed with an illness, we seek out treatment, yes. But we also trust in the blessing and healing of God. And this trust includes knowing that in Christ we have life beyond the grave, secured by his own resurrection.
In these steps of obedience and faith, we find that we are set free from our fears and our hesitance to go forward. Jesus’ victory over sin and death becomes our hope and confidence each day.
And this hope and confidence are reinforced as we remember that the God who became flesh and lived among us in the miracle of Christmas is still living among us through his word and sacraments. These gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are also means of God’s grace, are present and tangible reminders that Christ walks with us through life’s challenges.
In conclusion, we don’t have to wait for a dream to know what God wants us to do. He’s already told us. We are to follow Jesus and do God’s will as expressed in the Bible.
And neither do we need to propose our own solutions to life’s greatest needs and issues. God disposes our days according to his love and mercy. And in Jesus, he transposes our debts and fears.
God has the plan and the answer. So, instead of relying on our own feelings, ideas, and instincts, we rely on God and his plan and his Savior, our Lord Jesus—God with us.
In his holy name. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY (Stand) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel LSB 357
1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear. Refrain
Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
2 O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who ord’rest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go. Refrain
3 O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the Law
In cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain
4 O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s tree,
Free them from Satan’s tyranny
That trust Thy mighty pow’r to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave. Refrain
5 O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery. Refrain
6 O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Refrain
7 O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace. Refrain
APOSTLES’ CREED Hymnal, back cover
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life ✠ everlasting. Amen.
OFFERING
Offerings support the church’s mission work – both here and through our many partners. Offerings may be placed in the box at the sanctuary entrance or sent to the church through our website or the mail. Fellowship Cards help us welcome new people and track participation. Please fill one out and place it in the offering box following the service.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH (Stand)
O God, You have kept Your Word and delivered to us Your only begotten Son, who is the Word made flesh. Guide us to rejoice in the redemption He has won for us by His life-giving death and resurrection. And bless all who proclaim this message of salvation, that many more would come to rejoice in it also. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Holy Lord, You promised the virgin-born Son to reluctant King Ahaz, and in the fullness of time this Son was born to the world. Open our hearts to receive him in your Holy Word and Sacraments – the signs where He is present today. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You raised up Joseph, an honorable and just man, to be the guardian and earthly father to Your Son. Give to our earthly fathers today the same wisdom, patience, pride of duty and, above all, faith and loyalty to Your Word, that knowing Your true Guardianship, they may head their households with godly forbearance. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, You do not bear forever with the tiresome flattery and unbelief of kings and rulers. Have mercy on us, Lord, and spare our nation. Clear away all empty shows of piety, and renew genuine faith in the Virgin’s Son, that His coming at the last may not be a sign against us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
You are the giver of every good gift, O Lord, and You care for us in all our needs of body, mind and spirit. Give healing to the sick, relief to the suffering, peace to the dying, and comfort to those who mourn, especially those on our prayer list and those we name in our hearts at this time… According to Your gracious will, sustain them all by Your grace. And give them patience and courage as they await the unfolding of Your healing. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Grant, Holy Father, that all who commune today at your Son’s feast of joy may be strengthened in faith, grow in their love, and find in his body and blood a blessed foretaste of the feast to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the Dayspring from on high and the splendor of light everlasting. By His coming in the flesh and by His blessed Word, enlighten our hearts with the Gospel, enlighten the hearts of those who sit in the darkness of unbelief with the light of saving faith, and enlighten those who dwell in the shadow of death with the certain hope of the resurrection through Him. Grant that as we recall with thanksgiving His advent in the flesh, we may always confess Him and remain watchful for His advent in glory at the Last Day; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERTORY (Stand) LSB 621
1 Let all mortal flesh keep silence
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly-minded,
For with blessing in His hand
Christ our God to earth descending
Comes our homage to demand.
2 King of kings yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heav’nly food.
✠ ✠ ✠
THE LITURGY OF HOLY COMMUNION
PREFACE TO HOLY COMMUNION
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose way John the Baptist prepared, proclaiming Him the promised Messiah, the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and calling sinners to repentance that they might escape from the wrath to be revealed when He comes again in glory. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
HYMN LSB 339
1 Lift up your heads, you everlasting doors,
And weep no more!
O Zion’s daughter, sing,
To greet your coming King;
Now wave the victor’s palm
And sing the ancient psalm:
“Lift up your heads, you everlasting gates!”
Your King awaits!
4 “Worthy is Christ!” The Lamb who once was slain
Now lives to reign.
He rules our earthly ways
As Lord of Ancient Days—
O join the endless song
Sung by the ransomed throng:
“Worthy is Christ!” The Lamb be praised again!
Amen! Amen!
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father:
Endless is Your mercy and eternal your reign.
You have filled all creation with light and life;
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Through Abraham you promised to bless all nations.
You rescued Israel, your chosen people.
Through the prophets you renewed your promise;
And, at this the end of all ages, you sent your Son,
Who in words and deeds proclaimed your kingdom
and was obedient to your will, even to giving his life.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
PROCLAMATION OF CHRIST
As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Therefore, gracious Father; with this bread and cup
We remember the life our Lord offered for us.
And believing the witness of his resurrection
We await his coming in power to share with us
The great and promised feast.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Join our prayers with those of your servants of every time and place,
And unite them with the ceaseless petitions of our great high priest
Until he comes as victorious Lord of all.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
PAX DOMINI
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
Amen.
AGNUS DEI LSB 963
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world;
grant us Your peace,
grant us Your peace.
DISTRIBUTION (Be seated)
Those wishing to commune at the foot of the steps should come forward first. Those wishing to commune at the altar rail should come forward after these, front rows first, from both sides of the aisle. After receiving, all should return to their seats. A common dismissal will be given at the end.
DISTRIBTION HYMNS Once He Came in Blessing LSB 333
1 Once He came in blessing,
All our sins redressing;
Came in likeness lowly,
Son of God most holy;
Bore the cross to save us;
Hope and freedom gave us.
2 Now He gently leads us;
With Himself He feeds us
Precious food from heaven,
Pledge of peace here given,
Manna that will nourish
Souls that they may flourish.
3 Soon will come that hour
When with mighty power
Christ will come in splendor
And will judgment render,
With the faithful sharing
Joy beyond comparing.
4 Come, then, O Lord Jesus,
From our sins release us.
Keep our hearts believing,
That we, grace receiving,
Ever may confess You
Till in heav’n we bless You.
Come, Thou Precious Ransom, Come LSB 350
1 Once He came in blessing,
All our sins redressing;
Came in likeness lowly,
Son of God most holy;
Bore the cross to save us;
Hope and freedom gave us.
2 Now He gently leads us;
With Himself He feeds us
Precious food from heaven,
Pledge of peace here given,
Manna that will nourish
Souls that they may flourish.
3 Soon will come that hour
When with mighty power
Christ will come in splendor
And will judgment render,
With the faithful sharing
Joy beyond comparing.
4 Come, then, O Lord Jesus,
From our sins release us.
Keep our hearts believing,
That we, grace receiving,
Ever may confess You
Till in heav’n we bless You.
BENEDICTICUS Sing Praise to the God of Israel Sts. 1, 4 LSB 936
1 Sing praise to the God of Israel!
Sing praise for His visitation!
Redeeming His people from their sin,
Accomplishing their salvation,
Upraising a mighty horn within
The house of His servant David!
4 O bright, rising Sun, now shine on us
In need of illumination;
Come scatter the shades of sin and death
And shatter their domination.
Be guiding our footsteps on the path
Of peace, in Your presence dawning!
POST-COMMUNION COLLECT (Stand)
BENEDICTION
SENDING HYMN Arise, O Christian People LSB 354
1 Sing praise to the God of Israel!
Sing praise for His visitation!
Redeeming His people from their sin,
Accomplishing their salvation,
Upraising a mighty horn within
The house of His servant David!
4 O bright, rising Sun, now shine on us
In need of illumination;
Come scatter the shades of sin and death
And shatter their domination.
Be guiding our footsteps on the path
Of peace, in Your presence dawning!
ANNOUNCEMENTS (Be seated)
POSTLUDE Arise, O Christian People Setting: Anne Krentz Organ
FELLOWSHIP: Board of Evangelism
Those serving:
8:00 a.m.
Greeter: Steve Berg
Comm. assist: Jim Easterly
Reader: Rich Kauzlarich
10:30 a.m.
Greeter: Lynn Jacquez
Comm. assist: Dede Dixon
Reader: Bill Muller
Acolyte: Joshua Wang
AV Assistants: Hannes Buuck, Andreas Buuck
CHRISTMAS WORSHIP SCHEDULE
Christmas Eve Worship – Wednesday, December 24
5:00 p.m. Candlelight service for families
7:30 p.m. Music of the Season
8:00 p.m. Candlelight service with Holy Communion
Christmas Day Worship – Thursday, December 25
10:00 a.m. Celebration of Christ’s Birth
with Holy Communion
Acknowledgments
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 © 2025 Concordia Publishing House.
943 Kyrie — I Text: Traditional Tune: Jacques Berthier, 1923–94 Text: Public domain Tune: © 1978, 1980, 1981 Ateliers et Presses de Taizé, Taizé Community, France, admin. GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
349 Hark the Glad Sound Text: Philip Doddridge, 1702–51 Tune: Thomas Haweis, 1734–1820 Text and tune: Public domain
621 Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence Text: Liturgy of St. James, 5th cent.; tr. Gerard Moultrie, 1829–85, alt. Tune: French, 17th cent. Text and tune: Public domain
339 Lift Up Your Heads, You Everlasting Doors Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955 Tune: Paul Liljestrand, 1931–2011 Text: © 2003 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: © 1970 The Hymn Society, admin. Hope Publishing Co. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
963 Agnus Dei — II Text: Traditional; tr. International Consultation on English Texts, alt. Tune: Jeffrey N. Blersch, 1967 Text: © 1975 International Consultation on English Texts. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: © 2001 Jeffrey N. Blersch. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
936 Sing Praise to the God of Israel Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955 Tune: Christoph E. F. Weyse, 1774–1842 Text: © 1992 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: Public domain
338 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus Text: Charles Wesley, 1707–88, alt.
Tune: Southern Harmony, 1835, New Haven Text and tune: Public domain
357 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Text: Latin, c. 12th cent.; Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum, 1710, Köln; tr. John Mason Neale, 1818–66, alt.
Tune: French, 15th cent. Text and tune: Public domain
333 Once He Came in Blessing Text: Johann Horn, c. 1490–1547; (sts. 1, 4): tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; (sts. 2–3): tr. Lutheran Service Book, 2006
Tune: Michael Weisse, c. 1480–1534 Text (sts. 2–3): © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Text (sts. 1, 4) and tune: Public domain
350 Come, Thou Precious Ransom, Come Text: Johann Gottfried Olearius, 1635–1711; tr. August Crull, 1845–1923, alt. Tune: Neu-verfertigtes Darmstädtisches Gesang-Buch, 1699, Darmstadt Text and tune: Public domain
354 Arise, O Christian People Text: Valentin Thilo, 1607–62; tr. Arthur T. Russell, 1806–74, alt. Tune: New Catechismus Gesangbüchlein, 1598, Hamburg, alt. Text and tune: Public domain
