First Service
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT
They Shall Call His Name Immanuel
December 21, 2025
AS WE GATHER
It is still Advent, but today we hear an account of the Christmas story early so that we may know what to look for later this week. The Son of Mary by the Holy Spirit is Jesus, who saves us from our sins and who fulfills the promise of Immanuel: God is with us. Perhaps the richness of the details of Luke’s account sometimes distracts us from the message. The Lord has come to keep His Word, to save us from our sins, and to keep us in His hand so that we may be His eternally. None of this was obvious to either Mary or faithful Joseph, and yet the Lord was at work through it all to deliver to us His Son to be our Savior. We will still worry when things do not go as we plan, and we will still struggle with doubts and fears, but the angel of God’s presence is no mere messenger sent in His place. No, the angel of God’s presence is His only-begotten Son, whose name is Jesus and whose work is our salvation.
+ PREPARATION +
All the candles on the Advent wreath are lit after the altar candles
HYMN Savior of the Nations Come LSB 332
Savior of the nations come Virgin’s Son make here Your home
Marvel now O heaven and earth That the Lord chose such a birth
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
Here a maid was found with child Yet remained a virgin mild
In her womb this truth was shown God was there upon His throne
For You are the Father’s Son Who in flesh the vict’ry won
By Your mighty pow’r make whole All our ills of flesh and soul
Glory to the Father sing Glory to the Son our king
Glory to the Spirit be Now and through eternity
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Psalm 130:7; Philippians 1:6
Pastor: O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
People: and with Him is plentiful redemption.
Silence for self-examination.
Pastor: Holy and gracious God,
People: I confess that I have sinned against You this day. Some of my sin I know—the thoughts and words and deeds of which I am ashamed—but some is known only to You. In the name of Jesus Christ I ask forgiveness. Deliver and restore me that I may rest in peace.
Pastor: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
People: Amen.
+ WORD +
SONG OF PRAISE To the Only God
To the only God Who is able to keep us Able to keep us from falling
To the only God Be all glory and honor Majesty and power For all ages now and forever more (repeat)
Be all glory and honor Majesty and power For all ages now and forever more
Chris Tomlin C 2007 Worshiptogether.com Music
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: Let us pray. Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 7:10–17 (“The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”)
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 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. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”
EPISTLE Romans 1:1–7 (Long promised by God, the Savior, Jesus Christ, has come.)
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 1:18–25 (“The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.”)
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
HYMN O Come, O Come Emmanuel LSB 357 1-2-6-7
Oh come Oh 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
O come Thou Wisdom from on high And order all things far and nigh
To us the path of knowledge show And teach us in her ways to go
Rejoice Rejoice Emmanuel Shall come to Thee O Israel
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
Rejoice Rejoice Emmanuel Shall come to Thee O Israel
O come Desire of nations 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
SERMON
NICENE CREED
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made: who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And he will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
OFFERING
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Pastor: In peace, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For faith to rejoice in the promise of the Father kept in Christ, for an end to worries and fears, and for peace to rule our hearts, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For the courage in the face of danger and confidence in the face of doubt, knowing that God will keep us as His own possession, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For this congregation and the church across many nations, called by the Spirit and sustained by the means of grace, that we may not fail to tell the story of our Savior’s birth nor the promise of His name, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For the peoples and leaders of all the nations, that in every place they may know justice and be free to worship the Lord without fear, and for an end to violence and war, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For all those who protect us in this and every place, for the emergency workers and disaster relief personnel, and for those who watch on our behalf in the armed forces, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For generous hearts that those in poverty and need may be supplied from the abundance the Lord has granted to us, and for our tithes and offerings to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For families and homes, especially those alone in this holy season of our Savior’s birth, that we may love and serve them, extending Christ’s compassion to all those around us, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For God’s mercy to the sick, His relief to those who suffer, His presence with the grieving and dying, and His peace to those troubled in mind or spirit, [especially . . .], let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For faith to discern and believe Christ’s presence in this Holy Communion and for repentance that we may receive His body and blood for our good, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: For all those who travel and those whose celebrations may be missing loved ones, that the Lord may at last bring us together in His presence on high, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: Come to the aid of Your people, O Lord, and defend us against all our enemies of body and soul, that at the day You have appointed, we may rejoice in Your presence together with those who have gone before us with the sign of faith and now rest in peace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, whom with the Father and the Spirit You are one God, one Lord, now and to the end of the ages.
People: Amen.