Advent 1B
November 30, 2014
10 am Holy Communion Service
Grace Evangelical Lutheran
Today’s Worship
Participants:
Pastor: Rev. Megan
Rohrer
Music Director: Dorothy
Clazie
Assisting Minister: Laurel
Reader: Mary Ann
Welcome to worship at
Grace!
Welcome to long-time Lutherans, Christians from every tradition, and
people new to faith. Welcome to all who have no church home, want to follow
Christ, have doubts, or do not believe. Welcome to new visitors and old
friends. Welcome to people of every age and size, color and culture, every
sexual orientation and gender identity, socio-economic status, marital status,
ability and challenge. Welcome to believers and questioners, and to questioning
believers. This is a place where you are welcome to celebrate and sorrow,
rejoice and recover. This is a place
where lives are made new.
Special Welcome to
Newcomers
Welcome to our small community of
faith. While we are small in numbers, we
have big hearts and a desire to grow. In
order to help you follow along, we have included all the materials you need for
worship in this bulletin.
Please join us for worship any Sunday at
10am that you are able. If you cannot
join us in person, you can also join us online via live stream or by watching
the archives of our worship and Bible Study that Doesn’t Suck anytime during
the week at our website (www.gracesf.com), or on our mobile phone app, Bible Study that Doesn’t Suck, is
available on Google Play and ITunes.
If you have any questions about the service
or about Grace, you can fill out the form in pew to let our pastor know you’d
like to chat. Or you can contact Pastor
Megan Rohrer at pastor@gracesf.com.
Prelude: Handel: Allegro for Clarinet (Erin
Dunning)
Greeting: Candles a lit and water is poured into the baptismal font.
The
Grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be
with you all. C And
also with you.
Opening Hymn: Verses 1-3
Welcome
Prayer of
the Day:
God of new beginnings, help
us to find strength in you. Show us the
way to become in sync with your creation.
Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah:64:1-9
64 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence— 2as when fire
kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to
your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3When
you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains
quaked at your presence. 4From ages past no one has heard, no ear
has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who
wait for him. 5You meet those who gladly do right, those who
remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid
yourself we transgressed.
6We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8Yet, God Most HIgh, you are our Parent; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9Do not be exceedingly angry, God Most High, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.
L Word of hope, word of life. Thanks
be to God
Psalm 80 (read responsively)
1Give ear,
O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned
upon the cherubim, shine forth 2before Ephraim and Benjamin and
Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
3Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
4O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? 5You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
8You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 11it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. 12Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15the stock that your right hand planted. 16They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
17But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. 18Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
3Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
4O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? 5You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
8You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 11it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. 12Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15the stock that your right hand planted. 16They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
17But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. 18Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
19Restore us,
O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be
saved.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the
will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God that
is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be
saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I give thanks to my God
always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ
Jesus, 5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech
and knowledge of every kind— 6just as the testimony of Christ has
been strengthened among you— 7so that you are not lacking in any
spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He
will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful; by him you were called into
the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Artist of the Month: Laurel Kapros Rohrer
In
the pictures my cousin showed me, her mother was a young blond girl, pretty
with full lips and large eyes. She told me a story I had never heard before
about her, about Eva, and how she had been saved.
Eva
liked to take me to the Met. She had been my only family when I
lived in New York
and wanted me to be able to see Don Giovanni and The Marriage of
Figaro. Eva was my grandmother's first cousin and they were like
sisters. They certainly fought like sisters, one always mad at the other
for some slight none of us could figure out. Everyone always said Eva was
a little crazy, because she had survived a camp when she was young during the
war.
I
hear folks talk about salvation sometimes. Being saved by a higher power,
saved by something bigger than themselves. This isn't something I wholly
understand, but lately I've been thinking about Eva. Eva was taken to
Auchwitz with her mother and brother. I don't really know why she was
taken and my grandmother and her family were spared. I heard one story
that it was because my grandmother's father was a war hero. But Eva's
family wasn't so lucky. The story my cousin told me was that in the camp Eva
had been in line with her mother and brother and a guard noticed her.
Perhaps it was her pretty blonde hair? He told her to move to another
line, away from her family. She protested, she didn't want to leave her
mother. The guard told her that it would be okay, she would see her
mother soon. the guard was wrong, she never saw her family again.
Her life, and the
life of her mother and brother, didn't mean a lot in Auchwitz. Yet that
life was preserved by the enemy, by the very people that took her family away
from her. Eva survived, she lived, and she made it out, grew up, married,
had a daughter, and she took me to the opera and made me feel at home.
Was she that vine that grew when the ground was cleared through hatred and
violence? Did she take root because she had to, because she was alive
when others weren't? Eva never seemed too crazy to me, though she had the
marks of the camp on her body and soul. She was loving and funny, and
reminded me a lot of my grandmother who she fought with so much. This is
the kind of salvation I can try to understand.
L Word of hope, word of life. Thanks
be to God
Special
Music: Let All the People Praise Thee, Grace
Choir
Gospel Reading: Mark 13:24-37
24“But in those days, after that
suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25and
the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be
shaken. 26Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with
great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the angels, and
gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of
heaven.
28“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its
branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So
also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the
very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will
pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
The gospel of the God most high. Praise
to you, O Christ.
Sermon: Silence for reflection follows the sermon. The assembly stands to proclaim the word of
God in song.
Hymn of the
Day: Verses 1-3
Prayers of Intercession
A During this season of Advent, we pray that
the Holy Spirit will bring us patience, compassion and eyes to see God alive and
at work in the world around us. A brief silence.
Creating
God, help us repair broken relationships, to clean up our messes and debts and
to ask for help when we need it. Particularly, help us work to forgive others
and get along with our family, neighbors and friends during the holiday
season. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Parent
God, bless all who are parents, the family and staff of the Grace Infant
Care Center
and all who have created families. Particularly
during this season, be with those who are working on their fertility, caring
for developing embryos and who are getting ready to become parents. Help us become better at loving and receiving
love from others. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God,
guide our civic leaders and enable them to be good stewards of public trust,
resources and properties. Be with our
bishops Elizabeth and Mark, our pastor Megan and all the staff and leaders of
our congregation. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We
give thanks for all who work in healing and caring professions. Support doctors, nurses, partners, parents
and friends who love and support others.
Provide healing and hope for those whose minds, bodies or spirits are in
need of care. Help us to live as fully
as we can as we await the day all pain and suffering will end. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For
whom and what else do the people of Grace pray?
(Please offer - silently or aloud- petitions
to God. End spoken petitions with “God
in your mercy.”)
P
Our prayers rise like incense and are held by a loving God who yearns for us to
be our best. May we sleep well, worry
less, and live convinced that God is on our side. Amen.
Peace
The presiding minister and the assembly greet each
other in the peace of the risen Christ.
P The peace of Christ be with you always. C
And also with you.
The people may greet one another with the sign of
Christ’s peace, and may say, “Peace be with you” or similar words. Then, the assembly is seated.
Offering
An offering is gathered for
the mission of the church, including the care of those in need.
Offertory:
Offering
Prayer:
After the offering is
gathered, the assembly stands.
A Let us
pray. God, bless all that we have to offer. May our financial support
match the generosity of our lives. Help
us to be good stewards of our financial and emotional investments. Amen.
Communion:
P It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise . . . we
praise your name and join their unending hymn:
P On the night in which he was betrayed, our God
most high Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his
disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for
the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took
the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new
covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of
sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
The
Lord’s Prayer
C
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your
will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us
our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen
Blessing
Announcements
Closing Hymn (next page)
Dismissal
A: Go in peace and serve our God. C: Thanks
be to God.
Postlude
Sending Hymn : Verses 1-3
Please join
us for coffee and refreshments downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.
To get to the Fellowship
Hall, exit to the right of the communion railing at the front of the church.
Announcements
You can find more information and find archived
sermons and worship live streams at our website: www.gracesf.com or on our blog: www.sfgrace.blogspot.com
There will be no bible study this week, so the pastor
can get a root canal L
·
December 4 – 18
- Holden Evening Prayer, 6:30pm: Each
Thursday night in Advent.
·
December 6 –
Beatles Mass, 7pm
·
December 11-13 – West Coast LGBTQ Conference for Christian College Students
·
December 13 – Grace Under Fire Awards Dinner, 6-10pm: A fundraiser for Grace.
·
December 24 – Christmas Eve Service of Carols, 9:30pm
Scripture in this service is
adapted from The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation, by
Priests for Equality. 2009, Sheed
& Ward. Kindle Edition. The traditional Lutheran
liturgy is from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2014 Augsburg Fortress. All
rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies
Annual License #28429. Hymns used with permission for worship and
podcast under OneLicense.net #A-723548.
