The livestream may be found here.
The order of worship is below.
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
You have hidden
your face from us,
and have delivered
us into the hand of our iniquity.
Do not be
exceedingly angry, O LORD,
and do not remember
iniquity forever. Isaiah
64:7b, 9a
Silence for reflection and self-examination.
God for whom we
wait,
we confess to you our sin in thought, word,
and deed,
in what we have done and in what we have left
undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
For the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ,
forgive us our sins.
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts,
show us the light of your countenance,
and we shall be saved. Amen Psalm 80:3
Hear Paul’s words
to the church in Corinth,
and hold fast to their
promise:
‘God will
strengthen you to the end,
so that you may be
blameless
on the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ.’ 1
Corinthians 1:8
As a called and
ordained minister of the Church of Christ,
and by his
authority,
I declare to you
the entire forgiveness of all your sins,
in the name of the
Father, and of the + Son,
and of the Holy
Spirit.
Amen
THE HOLY COMMUNION
APOSTOLIC
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.
And also with
you.
KYRIE
ELEISON
In peace, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.
For the peace from above,
and for our salvation, let us pray to the
Lord. Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world,
for the well-being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the
Lord. Lord, have mercy.
For this holy house,
and for all who offer here their worship and
praise,
let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.
Help, save, comfort and defend us, gracious Lord. Amen
' Blessing OF THE ADVENT WREATH
First
Sunday of Advent
We praise you, Father, for this
evergreen crown
that marks our days of preparation
for Christ’s advent.
Rouse us from sleep, that we may be made ready
to greet our Lord when he comes with all the saints and angels.
Enlighten us with your grace,
and prepare our hearts to welcome him with joy.
Grant this through Christ our
Lord,
whose coming is certain and whose
day draws near.
Amen
PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Stir up your power, O
Lord, and come.
Protect
us by your strength
and save us from the threatening dangers of
our sins,
for you live and reign
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen
Strengthen the testimony of Christ among us, O God,
that we may not lack in any spiritual gift
as we wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:6-7
Let us hear the Word of the Lord.
Sit
First READING Isaiah 64:1-9
1O 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, O Lord, you
are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity forever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 80:1-7, 17-19
The psalm is read responsively between the pastor and the people.
1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel,
leading Joseph | like a flock;*
shine forth, you that are
enthroned up- | on the cherubim.
2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, | and Manasseh,*
stir
up your strength and | come to help us.
3 Restore us, O | God of hosts;*
show the light of your
countenance, and we | shall be saved.
4 O Lord | God of
hosts,*
how
long will you be angered
despite the
prayers | of your people?
5 You have fed them with the |
bread of tears;*
you have given them bowls of |
tears to drink.
6 You have made us the derision | of our neighbors,*
and
our enemies laugh | us to scorn.
7 Restore us, O | God of hosts;*
show the light of your
countenance, and we | shall be saved.
17Let your hand
be upon the one at | your right hand,
the one you have made so strong | for
yourself.
18And so will we never turn a- | way from you;
give us life, that we may call up- | on your name.
19Restore us, O Lord| God of
hosts;
let your face shine upon us, and we | shall be
saved.
SECOND READING
1 Corinthians
1:3-9
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.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to
God.
Stand
VERSE
Alleluia. Show us your steadfast love, O
Lord,
and give us your salvation. Alleluia.
Psalm 85:7
Gospel Mark
13:24-37
The
Holy Gospel according to St. Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus said:] 24“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 Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sit
SERMON
For Only One Short Hour, or, The Seamstress - Anna Blunden (1829-1915)
HYMN OF THE DAY Lo!
He Comes with Clouds Descending
Please meditate on the text of the hymn as
it is played.
1 Lo! He comes with clouds
descending,
once for
favored sinners slain;
thousand
thousand saints attending
swell the
triumph of his train:
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
Christ the
Lord returns to reign.
2 Ev’ry eye
shall now behold him
robed in
glorious majesty;
those who set
at nought and sold him,
pierced and
nailed him to the tree,
deeply
wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
shall their
true Messiah see.
3 Those dear
tokens of his passion
still his
dazzling body bears,
cause of
endless exultation
to his
ransomed worshipers.
With what
rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
gaze we on
those glorious scars!
high on thine
eternal throne;
Savior, take
the pow’r and glory,
claim the
kingdom as thine own.
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
Thou shalt
reign, and thou alone!
Text:
Charles Wesley, 1707-1788, alt.
Stand
CONFESSION
OF FAITH
The pastor and people confess the faith of the Church in
the words of the Nicene Creed.
We believe in one God,
the
Father, the Almighty,
maker of
heaven and earth,
of all
that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only
Son of God,
eternally
begotten of the Father,
God from
God, Light from Light,
true God
from true God,
begotten,
not made,
of one
Being with the Father.
Through
him all things were made.
For us
and for our salvation
he
came down from heaven;
by
the power of the Holy Spirit
he
became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and
was made man.
For our
sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he
suffered death and was buried.
On the
third day he rose again
in
accordance with the Scriptures;
he
ascended into heaven
and
is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will
come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and
his kingdom will have no end.
who
proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the
Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has
spoken through the prophets.
We
believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We
acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look
for the resurrection of the dead,
and the
life of the world to come. Amen
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all
people according to their needs.
A brief silence is kept.
God, our Father, awaken us to the promise of the coming King, and give
us eager longing for the day of his revealing. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Stir up among us the gifts of your Spirit, and make us blameless on the
day of Christ. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Give your wisdom to those in authority, that in their words and actions
they may imitate Him who will come to bring justice. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Give your peace to the dying, your strength to the suffering, your
healing to the sick, your relief to the poor and needy, and hope to all,
especially to those whom we name now before you:
The People
may offer silent or spoken intercessions and thanksgivings.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We give you thanks for the elect
who have gone before us. Strengthen us to the end, so that we may join with
them in praise when your Kingdom has fully come. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Into your hands, merciful Father, we commend all for
whom we pray, trusting in your steadfast love, through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Amen
PEACE
The peace
of the Lord be with you always.
And also with you.
The
people exchange a sign of peace with the simple words, Peace be with you.
Sit
Stand
PRAYER OF
PREPARATION
As the grain once scattered
in the fields
and the grapes once dispersed
on the hillside
are reunited on this table in
bread and wine,
so, Lord, may your whole
Church soon be gathered together
from the corners of the earth
into your kingdom.
Amen
GREAT THANKSGIVING
The
Great Thanksgiving begins with the Preface, leading into the Sanctus:
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.
You sent him to redeem us from sin and death
and to make us inheritors of everlasting life; that when he shall come again in
power and great triumph to judge the world, we may with joy behold his
appearing and in confidence may stand before him.
And so,
with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join
their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy LORD, God of power and might!
Heaven and earth are full of your glory;
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the LORD!
Hosanna in the highest! (Isaiah 6:3, Matthew 21:9)
The pastor leads the people
in praying the Eucharistic canon:
Blessed are you, O Adonai, Most High and Holy God,
for the wonder of your goodness
which creates, establishes,
and permeates
the heavens and the earth.
We praise you for
the promises you made to the Patriarchs,
as you led your chosen people
out of slavery
into the land of
promise,
giving them your Law on Sinai’s
heights.
You promised,
through the prophets,
that the Messiah would come,
the very branch of Jesse –
before whom all nations would
keep silent.
Then, at the
appointed time,
you sent your beloved Son, Jesus
our Emmanuel,
the key of David born of Mary by
the power of the Spirit.
He came to rescue
the uprooted,
to bring life to the lifeless
and voice to those
who were without hope;
on Calvary’s heights gave His
life
to draw all people to Himself
and to your promise
of mercy.
In the night in
which He was betrayed
our Lord 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.
Together, let us
proclaim the mystery of faith:
O Christ, you are the splendor
of life everlasting:
We laud your death
and resurrection,
and await your
return in glory.
Blessed are you, O
Adonai, Lord of might.
You fulfilled your promises
in the death,
resurrection and ascension of your Son,
the King of all nations.
We praise you for
embracing us
as the people who now dwell in
the brightness of His glory.
Send now your holy
and life-giving Spirit
upon this Bread of Life and this
Cup of Salvation,
that we, in this holy communion,
may be united to Him who is our
cornerstone,
the One who gives us His very
body and blood
to sustain us in His forgiving
love.
With all the people
of your promises,
we await our Lord’s final coming
when we will share in that feast
which shall never end.
Amen. Come, O precious Ransom, come!
In the presence of Christ, we pray to his Father
using the words he gave us.
Christ
is in our midst.
By the power of the Spirit,
we pray to his Father, saying:
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 (Matthew 6:9-15)
O
Christ, you come to us in this holy meal;
Give us life, that we may call upon your name. Psalm 80:18b
We adore Christ with the words of the Agnus Dei (Lamb
of God).
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 peace. (John
1:29, see also Luke 17:13)
DISTRIBUTION
Admission to the Sacrament is by
invitation of the Lord, presented through the Church to those who are baptized.
They may receive the
Lord’s Body and Blood who are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, who commune in their home churches, and who believe
that Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is truly present in, with, and under the
forms of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
The
communicants will be invited forward one family unit at a time. Please do not
come forward until the pastor directs you to come forward, do not approach all
the way to the table until the pastor has retreated, and please do not remove your mask until you
have reached the table with the elements on it.
When the pastor says ‘The body of Christ,
given for you,’ eat the bread. When the pastor says, ‘The blood of Christ, shed
for you,’ drink the wine. Please take
the plate and the glass(es) and place them on the table that is indicated.
Please put your mask on before returning to your seat.
Please meditate
on the text of the hymn as it is played.
O Lord, How Shall I Meet You
1 O
Lord, how shall I meet you,
how
welcome you aright?
Your
people long to greet you,
my
hope, my heart’s delight!
Oh,
kindle, Lord most holy,
your
lamp within my breast
to
do in spirit lowly
all
that may please you best.
2 Your
Zion strews before you
green
boughs and fairest palms;
and
I, too, will adore you
with
joyous songs and psalms.
My
heart shall bloom forever
for
you with praises new
and
from your name shall never
withhold
the honor due.
3 I
lay in fetters, groaning;
you
came to set me free.
I
stood, my shame bemoaning;
you
came to honor me.
A
glorious crown you give me,
a
treasure safe on high
that
will not fail or leave me
as
earthly riches fly.
4 Love
caused your incarnation;
love
brought you down to me.
Your
thirst for my salvation
procured
my liberty.
Oh,
love beyond all telling,
that
led you to embrace
in
love, all love excelling,
our
lost and fallen race.
5 Rejoice,
then, you sad-hearted,
who
sit in deepest gloom,
who
mourn your joys departed
and
tremble at your doom.
Despair
not; he is near you,
there,
standing at the door,
who
best can help and cheer you
and
bids you weep no more.
6 He
comes to judge the nations,
a
terror to his foes,
a
light of consolations
and
blessed hope to those
who
love the Lord’s appearing.
O
glorious Sun, now come,
send
forth your beams so cheering
and
guide us safely home.
Text: Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676; tr. composite
When all have
received, the congregation stands at the direction of the pastor.
The body and blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace. Amen
Lord, now you let your servant
go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the
salvation
which you have prepared in the
sight of every people:
A light to reveal you to the
nations
and the glory of your people
Israel.
Glory 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 Song
of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32)
O God, in this meal
we have been given a foretaste
of the feast that is to come.
Help us always to be alert
to your gifts in our midst;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
BENEDICTION
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,
or else he may find you asleep when he comes
suddenly.
Keep awake. Mark 13:35-36, 37b
Amen
Almighty God, Father, +Son, and
Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
Amen
DISMISSAL
Go
in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
CLOSING MUSIC O Come, O
Come Emmanuel
OUR STEWARDSHIP of GOD’S GIFTS
Last Weekend’s Attendance: 7 + 17 = 24
Offering: 11/55/2020
Towards
Budget: $ 1,796.00
Itemized Non Budget:
Flowers: $ 14.00
Food Pantry: $ 200.00
Total: $ 2,020.00
The Altar
Flowers are given to the Glory of God
in memory of George Saupes.
V IN YOUR PRAYERS
Linda Armento,
at home
Matthew Armento, at home
Mary Jo Bondi, at home
Ruth Duessel, at
Concordia, Rebecca
Pastor Carl
Hendrickson, at home
Elsie Kemmler and Bill Roth at Concordia, South Hills
David Noel, at Kane Rehab, Scott Township
Geneva Schrag, at Consulate Health Care, Canonsburg
William Wetzel
at Concordia, Cabot
REMINDERS FOR THOSE PLANNING TO
ATTEND WORSHIP SERVICES
·
If
you wish to attend worship, you will need to pre-register every week
by either calling the office or sending an email.
·
Registration
ends Saturday at 12 noon.
·
Masks
are required to be worn while in the building.
·
Upon
entering and leaving the church, you must sanitize your hands or wash them with
soap and water.
·
Everyone
must sign in when entering the church. This way we can keep track of who was in
the church and when.
WORSHIP SERVICES are held every Saturday evening at 6:30 PM and Sunday morning
at 10:30 AM. Pastor Frontz also livestreams Compline (Prayer at the Close of
the Day) on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. and Vespers (Evening Prayer) on Wednesday at 7
p.m. These can be accessed on the church’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ststephenpittsburgh).
CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY
SERVICES: Please register beginning Monday
by calling the church office or emailing office@ststephenpittsburgh.org. Please let us know the number who will be attending
and which service you prefer; also, whether you are able and willing to attend
the other service if necessary. If more register than there are slots
available, we will hold another service earlier on Christmas Eve. Please
note that we will also be streaming the services on Facebook Live.
THERE
WILL BE NO in-person
mid-week Advent Vespers this year;
however, please join in with Evening Prayer every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on
Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/ststephenpittsburgh
FOOD BANK SUNDAY
is next weekend. Please consider bringing any non-perishable
food items to church next weekend to be donated to the food pantry of St Andrew
Lutheran Church in East Carnegie. Monetary donations are also accepted. Thank
you.
CHRISTMAS POINSETTIAS: Please order Christmas poinsettias by sign-up
sheet at worship or by emailing or calling the church office. The poinsettias
are available in white, pink, or red and the cost is $7 per pot. The deadline for placing your order is next
Sunday, December 6, 2020.
KINDLY REMEMBER TO PAY FOR THE
FLOWERS you
ordered for the weekend Altar and for the special occasions. Altar flowers are $20/vase. Checks can be
made out to St. Stephen Lutheran Church
with a notation “flowers” and placed in the offering plate.
ALTAR FLOWERS FOR
2021: Please see the sign-up sheet available in the
Narthex for altar flowers. If you are unable to sign-up in person, you may call
or email the office to make a request for a date(s). We will assign date(s) in
the order in which the requests are received. The process will repeat until the
slots are filled. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding. The cost
per arrangement will be $20.
DAILY DEVOTIONS, including THE
WORD IN SEASON, PORTALS OF PRAYER AND CHRIST IN OUR HOME (October, November, and December 2020) are available on the table in the Narthex. Take one or more to
share with family and friends. If you are able, a donation would be welcomed to
help defray the cost to the congregation for these resources. Thank you!
2020 ‘DAILY TEXTS’ are available in the Narthex. A donation of
$10 per book would be appreciated
to help cover the cost of the books. Thank you.
ST STEPHEN COUNSELING CENTER: A
site of Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute/PPI). For marriage, family, teen and
individual counseling – for first appointment call PPI at 412-661-1239. St.
Stephen Center is
412-279-5452. Counseling opens doors to hope.
Counselor: Caroline Graham-McGuire.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From
Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Reprinted
by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #20540.
New
Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education
of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of
America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Common
Worship: Times and Seasons, material from which is included here, is copyright
© The Archbishops’ Council 2006 and published by Church House Publishing.
Eucharistic
Prayer reprinted by permission from A Little Book of Canons by Rod L.
Ronneberg, STS, 1997 and 2010.
Blunden,
Anna E., 1829-1915. For Only One Short Hour, or, The Seamstress, from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56101 [retrieved
November 23, 2020]. Original source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anna_Blunden_-_%22For_Only_One_Short_Hour%22_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.
Agnus
Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
