Greetings, Redeemer Family!

Through most of the year, our worship services are planned in a confessional and thematic model- that is, we focus on the Isaiah 6 pattern of remembering the attributes and mighty acts of the Lord, confessing our sin in the face of His holiness, being restored by the gospel of grace, and being renewed in our sense of calling to serve the Kingdom of Christ. Within that context, we are also thematic in our approach- we endeavor to weave through the service a tapestry of scripture readings, confessions, prayers, and hymn texts which have a thematic link to the sermon.

During the season of Advent, we’ll be a bit more focused on a season of the year- and to that end, I’ve place online an Advent Guide to help you and your family celebrate the coming of Christ.

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The First Sunday in Advent
December 2, 2007

Isaiah 40:1-5

700 years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah predicted events that would find partial fulfillment in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah a century and a half later but which would find their fulfillment in the birth of Christ and in His life and ministry. The glory of the Lord is revealed in the salvation and judgment brought by Christ, and all obstacles (mountains, valleys) will be removed as His kingdom is established.

Monday Genesis 1:26-31 The Creation of Man
Tuesday Genesis 3:1-24 The Fall of Man into Sin
Wednesday Genesis 3:15 The First Promise of Redemption From Sin
Thursday Deut. 18:15-19 A Prophet Greater than Moses Will Come
Friday Isaiah 7:10-14 A Virgin with Child – Emmanuel
Saturday Isaiah 11:1-5 A Shoot from the Stem of Jesse

O Come, O Come Emmanuel
(VENI EMMANUEL)

This ancient Advent hymn text dates back to the worship of a 5th century church of Jewish Christians. The text found its way into the worship of the Roman church during advent in the 9th century, and is now sung widely in a number of translations from Latin to English. Each verse contains a name from Old Testament prophecy of the coming Messiah; note below a verse-by-verse list of these names and their New Testament fulfillment. The familiar “rejoice” refrain was added in the 13th century.

O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL

O come, O come, Emmanuel
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

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)

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
from depths of hell Thy people save,
and give them vict’ry o’er the grave. (refrain)

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)

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)
12th century Latin text; 13th century tune

1. Emmanuel (God with us) Isa. 7:14; Matt.1:23
2. Lord of Might (Lord of Lords) Deut. 10:17; I Tim. 6:15;
Ex. 19:16-20
3. Rod of Jesse Isa.11:1,10;Rom. 15:12
4. Dayspring from on high Mal. 4:2; Luke 2:29-32.
Christ is the Dayspring- the light to dispel the darkness-
the bright Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)
5. Key of David Isa. 22:22; Rev. 3:7

The tune is an ancient chant which has a character both of longing and rejoicing.

The phrase “shall come to you” is actually more accurately translated “shall be born to you.” The original hymn celebrated the birth of Christ, but as you sing it during Advent, meditate on the ways that Christ continues to transform us and to prepare us for His coming again.

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The heart of the beginning portion of our worship service this Sunday can be expressed in one word: GLORY!

…beginning with the prophecy of Isaiah 40:1-5:

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Continuing with two hymns of praise and the glory of the Kingdom:

Hear All Creation
Verse 1
Hear all creation lift its voice,
The mountains sing and the rivers rejoice
For the name of Jesus,
for His name.
And we His people saved by grace,
We bow our hearts and we bring our praise
To the sweet Redeemer,
For His name.

Refrain
So with everything we are
And everything we have
We pour out our offerings.
And if ever we should fail,
The rocks will rise up
And crown Him King of Kings.

Verse 2
He mends our hearts He keeps our ways:
He lights our nights and He leads our days
All for His glory,
for His name.
There”s nothing greater than to be His,
To bring Him glory and to fully live
for the name of Jesus, for His name.

Text by Margaret Becker; Music by Keith Getty
©2001 ThankYou Music. Used by permission CCLI# 2419466

JOY TO THE WORLD!

Joy to the world! The Lord is come:
let earth receive her King;
let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns;
let men their songs employ;
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness
and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love,
And wonders, wonders of his love.

Text by Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98
Music by G. F. Handel; arr. Lowell Mason, 1836

…and including a hymn of longing for His coming again:

COME, THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS
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.

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.
Text by Charles Wesley (1744)

Mike will be preaching a sermon titled “Making Iron Float” from II Kings 6:1-7. I encourage you to review this passage before our worship service on Sunday as well as to prepare your heart to receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

In Christ,
John Bennetch