Advent lessons and carols 2016 final

About This Service This morning’s lessons, hymns and banners are arranged around the verses of the favorite Advent Hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. Each verse is based on an “O antiphon”, an ancient prayer for deliverance, and they all begin by addressing the Messiah by one of the prophetic titles found in the Old Testament: Dec 17 Dec 18 Dec 19 Dec 20 Dec 21 Dec 22 Dec 23

O Sapientia (Wisdom) - Scroll O Adonai (Lord and Law-Giver) – Burning Bush O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse) - Tree O Clavis David (Key of David) - Key O Oriens (Dayspring) - Sun O Rex Genitum (King of the nations) - Crown O Emmanuel (God with us) – Star and Manger

Here’s a fun fact-- the second letter of each antiphon read in inverse order (from last to first) spell out the Latin words ERO CRAS, which mean “tomorrow I will be with you,”. Together, we look forward to Christmas Day. Come, Lord Jesus!

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Gathering PRELUDE:

Fugue from Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547

By: J. S. Bach

At the Procession, all STAND and sing together.

PROCESSIONAL HYMN

61, Sleepers, wake! A voice astounds us WACHET AUF

INVOCATION AND COLLECT Celebrant: People:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The Spirit and the church cry out, Come, Lord Jesus.

All those who await his appearance pray: Come, Lord Jesus.

The whole creation pleads: Come, Lord Jesus.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray.

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Please sit and remain seated through the Seventh Lesson.

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I. ANTIPHON: O Saptientia (O Wisdom)

Stanza 2 of Hymn 56 All:

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go.

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

FIRST LESSON

Isaiah 40:1-11

[1] Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. [2] Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. [3] A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. [5] And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” [6] A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. [7] The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. [8] The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. [9] Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” [10] Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. [11] He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

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CONGREGATIONAL HYMN

People, Look East BESANÇON

Congregation enters with the choir after a brief introduction. There are instrumental interludes between each stanza. Stanza 3 is choir alone.

All:

Choir: 3. Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim, one more light the bowl shall brim, shining beyond the frosty weather, bright as the sun and the moon together. People, look east, and sing today: Love, the Star, is on the way.

All:

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II. ANTIPHON : O Adonai (O Sacred Lord)

Stanza 3 of Hymn 56 All:

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

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.

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

SECOND LESSON

Exodus 6:2-7

[2] God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. [3] I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. [4] I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. [5] Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. [6] Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. [7] I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

CONGREGATIONAL HYMN 6

60, Creator of the stars of night

CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM

The congregation is invited begin with the choir.

There is a brief instrumental interlude between each stanza.

All:

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ANTIPHON: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)

Stanza 4 of Hymn 56

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

All: O come, thou Branch of Jesse’s tree, free them from Satan’s tyranny

that trust thy mighty power to save, and give them victory o’er the grave.

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

THIRD LESSON

Isaiah 11:1-10

[1] There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. [2] And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. [3] And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, [4] but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. [5] Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. [6] The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. [7] The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. [8] The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. [9] They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. [10] In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

CONGREGATIONAL HYMN 8

307, Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendor

BYRN CALFARIA

The hymn continues on the next page...

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SERMON

“ONE POWER” The Rev. Gregory M. Smith, Rector

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IV. ANTIPHON : O Clavis David (O Key of David)

Stanza 5 of Hymn 56

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

All: O come, O Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home.

Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.

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

FOURTH LESSON

Isaiah 42:5-9

[5] Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: [6] “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, [7] to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. [8] I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. [9] Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.�

CONGREGATIONAL HYMN

324, Let all mortal flesh keep silence 11

Stanza 1 is sung by the women of the choir and congregation.

On Stanza 2, the men of the choir and congregation sing.

Stanza 3 is choir only. On stanza 4, all sing.

PICARDY

Women only Men only

Choir: Rank on rank, the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way. As the light of light descendeth from the realms of endless day. That the pow’rs of hell may vanish as the darkness clears away.

All:

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V. ANTIPHON: O Oriens (O Dayspring)

Stanza 6 of Hymn 56

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

All: O come, thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;

disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadow put to flight.

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

FIFTH LESSON

Luke 1:68-79

[68] “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people [69] and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, [70] as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, [71] that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; [72] to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, [73] the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us [74] that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, [75] in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. [76] And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, [77] to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, [78] because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high [79] to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

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CONGREGATIONAL HYMN

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Canticle of Zechariah By: Richard Jeffrey Arranged by: Mark Kellner

VI. ANTIPHON: O Rex Genitum (O King of Nations)

Stanza 7 of Hymn 56

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

All: O come, Desire of na--tions, bind in one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid thou our sad divisions cease, and be thyself our King of Peace.

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

SIXTH LESSON

Isaiah 35:4-7a

[4] Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.� [5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; [6] then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; [7] the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.

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CONGREGATIONAL HYMN

57, Lo, He comes with clouds descending

HELMSLEY

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VII. ANTIPHON: O Emmanuel

Stanza 1 of Hymn 56 All:

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.

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

SEVENTH LESSON

Isaiah 7:14

[14] Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

CONGREGATIONAL HYMN morning

118, Brightest and best of the stars of the STAR IN THE EAST

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CONFESSION Ye who do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways: Draw near with faith, and make your humble confession to Almighty God, devoutly kneeling.

Celebrant: Almighty God, People: Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all men: we acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is grievous unto us, the burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honor and glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Celebrant:

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OFFERTORY

“Advent Meditation”

arranged by: Douglas Wagner The Canterbury Bells Handbell Choir

BLESSING RECESSIONAL HYMN

65, Prepare the way, O Zion BEREDEN VÄG FÖR HERRAN

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POSTLUDE

Prelude from Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547

By: J. S. Bach

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