December 6, 2020 ADVENT WEEK 2 - 4:1-5

Daily Readings

Sunday, December 6 Isaiah 14:1-23 :1-5 Matthew 13:24-30

Monday, December 7 Isaiah 24:1-13 Matthew 13:31-35

Tuesday, December 8 Isaiah 24:14-25:12 Matthew 13:36-43

Wednesday, December 9 Isaiah 26:1-19 Matthew 13:44-52

Thursday, December 10 Isaiah 26:20-27:13 Matthew 13:53-58

Friday, December 11 Isaiah 28:14-29 Matthew 14:1-12

Saturday, December 12 Isaiah 29:1-14 Matthew 14:13-21

Sunday, December 13 Isaiah 29:15-30:14 :1-8 Matthew 14:22-36

*** Our Eastern Heights Lutheran Church COVID Preparedness Plan is available at www.ehlc.org or the church office *** Welcome

Opening Hymn Savior of the Nations Come (332)

1 Savior of the nations, come, Virgin’s Son, make here Your home! Marvel now, O heav’n and earth, That the Lord chose such a birth.

2 Not by human flesh and blood, By the Spirit of our God, Was the Word of God made flesh— Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.

4 Then stepped forth the Lord of all From His pure and kingly hall; God of God, yet fully man, His heroic course began.

7 From the manger newborn light Shines in glory through the night. Darkness there no more resides; In this light faith now abides.

8 Glory to the Father sing, Glory to the Son, our king, Glory to the Spirit be Now and through eternity. Text (sts. 3, 6–7): © 2006 Concordia Publishing House; (sts. 4–5, 8): © 1978 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110003135 Text (sts. 1–2): Public domain

Invocation

P In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. C Amen. P It shall come to pass, in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the highest of the mountains. C Then many nations will say— P “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of .” C “That he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” P They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. C Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. P God’s fierce judgment— All: Gives way to final grace!

Confession and Absolution

P Lord God, merciful Father, pour out your Holy Spirit and deliver us from all evil. Open our eyes so we see our sin and selfishness. Inspire our repentance so we return to you. All: Amen. P Returning to our gracious Lord, let us confess our sins. Silence for reflection and confession. P Merciful Father, All: We confess that we do not live according to your Word and instead, we follow gossip and slander, pride and pretense. We have become smug and self-righteous. Bring us out of our sin and clothe us with the garments of salvation, won for us through Christ. Amen. P Our God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love! Out of that love he sent Jesus to shed his blood for us. By faith we stand forgiven, restored and empowered to live new lives. Therefore, we proclaim to each other— All: Christ redeems you and restores you. Christ loves you and forgives you! P God’s fierce judgment— All: Gives way to final grace! P The Lord be with you. C And also with you. P Let us pray. Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, that by his coming we may be enabled to serve you with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. All: Amen.

Service of the Word First Reading Micah 4:1-5 4 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from , the word of the Lord from . 3 He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 4 Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. 5 All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

Holy Gospel Luke 1:26-35, 37

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God... 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

Children's Message Hymn of the Day Joy to the World (387)

1 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.

3 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. Text: Public domain

Message "FINAL GRACE, DEFEATING THE CURSE FOREVER"

Prayers of the Church Lord’s Prayer

C 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.

The Words of Our Lord

P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Benediction P No god is like our God! C The Father, Son and Holy Spirit! P Pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression. C He does not stay angry forever— P Because he delights in steadfast love. C He casts our sin into the depths of the sea. P God’s fierce judgment— All: Gives way to final grace! Announcements Distribution of Communion

Leaders in Worship Pastor Steve Benson DCE Bradley Asmus, DCE Tim Germain 8:30 Music: Mark Krause 10:30 Music: Josiah Bode and the Band Tech support: Emily Arntzen, Al Arntzen Acknowledgments

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the NIV® Bible (The Holy Bible, New International Version®), copyright © 2011 by Zondervan. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.

Micah 4:1-5 Message 12/06/2020 Final Grace, Defeating the Curse FOREVER "I'm gonna love you forever, forever and ever, amen. As long as old men sit and talk about the weather, As long as old women sit and talk about old men. If you wonder how long I'll be faithful, I'll be happy to tell you again. I'm gonna love you forever and ever, forever and ever, amen." That word, forever, is thrown around pretty carelessly. There's a forever fragrance, a forever 21 fashion store, a forever self-storage, a forever floral in Coon Rapids and a movie called Forever My Girl. But we all know forever doesn't mean for ever, right? Sometimes it seems like our marriages, our families, our society, our world is CURSED- nothing is forever it seems… well, except for the bad things like war, wandering, weapons, want and worry. Today we continue our Advent/Christmas series called "Fierce Judgement, Final Grace" written by Pastor Reed Lessing. We are focusing on the predictions the prophet Micah made about the Messiah (centuries before Jesus was born). This whole season is about how Jesus arrived into this world to defeat the "curse;" the evils of sin and death. The Bible makes clear (and our own personal experience confirms) that every single person born into this world is under a curse (a triple curse) by Satan; by this twisted world; and by our own genetic, selfish natures. You can summarize some of Micah's prophecy with five words that start with the letter "w." Micah says there will be fierce judgement (and, we know from history, that there was terrible destruction of Jerusalem and Israel due to their rejection and unfaithfulness to God). But, Micah also proclaims final grace: A time would come when… War, Wandering, Weapons, Want, and Worry would be defeated forever. It is 2,700 years since Micah wrote his book, and we still are cursed with war: not only between nations; but between different races, political parties, rich vs poor, Catholic vs Lutheran, (Packers vs Vikings)... We are also cursed with wandering, and wondering and doubting God: Feeling lost, cold, alone. Weapons are made from tools that should be used for the good of people. "Want," and poverty afflict a huge percentage of people who are hungry, hurting… And worry pops up every time we ask the question, "What if…?" What if I get sick, what if I run out of money, what if you don't love me anymore??? Our life in this world is definitely cursed. But here is Micah's advice and promise: "Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple… He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths...Nation will not take up sword against nation… no one will make them afraid… we will walk in the name of the Lord...forever and ever." Micah looks forward to a time when God will bring about his reign of peace & justice by bringing people from all nations to worship at his heavenly temple. In this world now, we still have much hostility and conflict between people. But our Father's remedy for disunity is leading people to faith in Jesus the Savior. This Advent/Christmas season can have a long-lasting (even FOREVER) impact- for you or someone you know. Get to know Jesus this December. It is HIS birthday month! The One Micah predicted 700 years before he was born has a Christmas gift of grace for you. Jesus' free gift is available to every human being of every language & culture. Jesus defeated the curse forever because He showed UP at . Jesus gave Himself UP on the cross at Calvary (to pay in full our debt of sin). Jesus rose UP from death at that empty tomb on Easter. And, Jesus went UP to heaven from the Mount of Olives in Bethany to live forever and ever! These simple facts are "the reason for the season." Our Gospel reading from Luke chapter 1 records the good news as the angel told it to Mary: "The Lord is with you… do not be afraid… you will conceive and give birth to a son...Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High...He will reign forever; his kingdom will never end… no word from God will ever fail." Could you share these 4 facts about Jesus (his birth, death, resurrection and ascension)? That is how he defeats that 5-part curse of war, wandering, weapons, want and worry. You or someone close to you may have questions about their "forever." There are a lot of lies out there. A lot of mis-information and dead-end ideas and philosophies. The baby of Bethlehem is the way and the truth and the life. Jesus the Savior has arrived and He has defeated all your "curses." The Christmas hymn, Joy to the World, contains the same idea that our reading from Micah ends with today. The hymn says "No more let sins and sorrows grow… HE comes to make His blessings flow, far as THE CURSE is found…" Micah says, "We will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever." Jesus has arrived (in Bethlehem & in our hearts thru our baptisms) AND He is coming back! Final grace and victory over the curses that dog us is coming. Even now His blessings of hope, endurance, patience and peace flow down like a river. In this advent of waiting, please remember, people are worth loving; sacrifices are worth making; hope is worth having; And life is worth living, because we will walk in the name of our Lord Jesus, ….forever and ever….AMEN. Pastor Steve 651-735-4202, [email protected] “Remembering You in Prayer” Hospitalized Diane Rettinger (Fairview Edina), Ray Larson (VA) Requests John Voyda, Jason Pedro, Jim Messick, Danisha Anderson, Jim Emmons, Monica Adams, William Ewalt, Etta Kollie,

James Bueale, Dylan Peterson, Ame Peterson, Arnie Carlson Requests (Beyond our church family) Rev. Dave (Pastor Steve’s brother), Barb (Stephanie’s cousin), Gary (Uncle of Kathy Patschl), Ron Larson (Tami Jo Moran’s Dad) Keisha (Niece of Donna Ewalt), Tabitha (Don & Kim’s Niece) Donna and MaryKay (Mother and sister of Michelle Hendrickson), Andy (Son of Pastor Braun, friend of Pizingers)

Our Prayers: For God’s Comfort

For the family of Norma Mickelson at her homegoing on Nov. 30 Home-bound and Care Center Residents

Barb Nichols and Caroline Pankonin

Missionary of the Week Dr. Fung, Kalia, and Mercy Lo (Thailand) Listen to the service on your telephone You can use your telephone and dial in to hear and follow along with our worship services at 8:30 or 10:30 am each Sunday 1) Dial 612-808-6338 2) When connected, enter in 990-6073-# 3) You may hear music until the service begins. 4) When done, simply hang up. Sunday services will be 8:30 and 10:30 AM Can You help us? We are asking for microwave popcorn, wrapped Christmas candy, or monetary donations to help fill our CHRISTMAS WATCH PARTY BAGs. These bags will be given to all children of Open Arms and Eastern Height to open up and enjoy while watching Christmas Services online or in the Sanctuary. Drop off your gifts on Sunday, or anytime up to 12/11. Let us know if you (or others) would appreciate a CHRISTMAS WATCH PARTY bag. Please contact MaryEllen Wunrow with questions. Zoom Adult Bible Study – Thursdays at 10:30 AM or 7:00 PM. Email [email protected] to receive the link. Zoom Young Adult Bible Study – Tuesdays, 8PM. Email [email protected] to receive the link. Zoom Women’s Bible Study – Saturday, 9AM. Email [email protected] to receive the link

Congregational Meeting will be posted on line today. The link will be sent or call the church office to receive it. We will also play the Conference Call on Thursday, afternoon, December 10, at 12:30 PM.

Worship Schedule • Sunday morning, 8:30 & 10:30 AM, with Holy Communion. • In the parking lot on AM 1700, on-line at www.EHLC.org. • On the telephone at 8:30 & 10:30 AM. • Drive-thru communion available from 9:30 – 10:00 AM o Make your reservation for Christmas Service o On line at www.ehlc.org or call 651-735-4202 • Christmas Eve Schedule: Dec. 24: 1, 4, 7, 11 PM • Christmas Day Schedule: Dec 25: 8:30 & 10:30 AM

Open Arms now has a Shutterfly Store Front! If you go to our storefront and place an order with Shutterfly Open Arms will receive 8% of your order with no additional cost to you! The storefront does not work on mobile devices so you will need to access it via a computer. Please check out our storefront when placing any Shutterfly orders. http://openarms.shutterflystorefront.com/

Open Arms Norwex Fundraiser! Do you wish cleaning could be easier, faster and use less chemicals? If you said yes to any of those questions we invite you to check out our Norwex Fundraiser December 6th to 11th. We will have a Facebook party set up where you can take part in demos, polls and learn more about Norwex products. We will also have a shopping link for those who are not on Facebook or who just wish to place on order. Orders placed during our fundraiser will not be guaranteed to arrive for Christmas. Please watch the church emails and the Church and Open Arms Facebook pages for more information and the links to the party. If you have any questions, please Contact MaryEllen @ [email protected] or 651-35-4202 ext 1 Student Ministry Happenings! Looking forward, our youth will have one last In-Person Youth Event for 2020 on Wednesday December 16, from 6:30-9:30pm. We will be making about 300 PPE kits for the homeless. Once again, we are working with Jim Seeman. What we need are 300 Quart bags, bandanas, and money to help buy some alcohol wipes and disposable mask supplies in bulk. Email [email protected] for the link. Blessings!

Our Advent theme is from the prophet, Micah, and titled, Fierce Judgment: Final Grace. The goal? That we —just like the prophet—will marvel at God’s uniqueness and extravagant mercy in Jesus. December 13: Walking the LOW Road (Micah 6:1–8) December 20: HOPE is Born (Micah 7:18–20) Christmas Eve: O Little Town of Bethlehem (:2–4) Special Thanks to Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing for the series

Blessed are the dead God has called to Himself the soul of our sister Norma Mickelson on November 30, 2020. Graveside service this Thursday, December 10th at 1:00 PM at Union Cemetery. Funeral for Kollie here, Eastern Heights, Lutheran Church, Friday, December 11th at 10 AM. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors. Revelation 14:13

Support our mission of “Connecting people to God through faith in Jesus.” By mail, electronically, or in the offering boxes as you exit. Eastern Heights Lutheran Church 616 Ruth St., St. Paul, MN 55119 651-735-4202, www.ehlc.org, [email protected]