Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord: Proclaiming the Gospel and Making Disciples

1. Welcome! Proclaiming the Gospel and Making Disciples

2. invocation

3. confession and forgiveness

4. pastor Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

5. congregation Prepare our hearts oh, Lord.

6. pastor John the Baptist proclaimed a message of repentance in preparation for Jesus.  In the same way, we prepare ourselves for worship by confessing our sins.

7. (a time of silence to reflect and personally confess our sins)

8. Heavenly Father, we confess that we have sinned against You and against our neighbor.  We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. congregation

9. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen . congregation

10. The Lord has heard your cry for mercy.  Therefore I announce unto the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In His stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  pastor

11. congregation Come, Lord Jesus, Come.  Amen.

12. On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry

13. On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cryAnnounces that the Lord is nigh;Awake and hearken, for he bringsGlad tidings of the King of kings!

14. Then cleansed be ev'ry life from sin;Make straight the way for God within,And let us all our hearts prepareFor Christ to come and enter there..

15. Jesus Messiah

16. He became sin Who knew no sin That we might become His righteousness He humbled himself And carried the cross Love so Amazing Love so Amazing

17. Jesus Messiah Name above all names Blessed Redeemer Emmanuel The rescue for sinners The ransom from heaven Jesus Messiah Lord of All

18. His body the bread His blood the wine Broken and poured out all for love The whole earth trembled And the veil was torn Love so amazing Love so amazing

19. Jesus Messiah Name above all names Blessed Redeemer Emmanuel The rescue for sinners The ransom from heaven Jesus Messiah Lord of All

20. All our hope is in You All our hope is in You All the glory to You, God The light of the world

21. Jesus Messiah Name above all names Blessed Redeemer Emmanuel The rescue for sinners The ransom from heaven Jesus Messiah Lord of All

22. O come, O come, Emmanuel

23. O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.

24. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

25. O come, thou wisdom from on high, Who ordered all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.

26. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

27. Oh, come, oh come, Our Lord of might Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height In ancient times gave holy law In cloud and majesty and awe

28. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

29. O come, oh branch of Jesse’s tree, Free them from Satan’s tyranny; That trust thy mighty power to save, And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

30. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

31. Oh, come, O 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

32. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

33. 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.

34. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

35. O come, Desire of nations, Bind in one the hearts of all mankind; Bid Thou our sad division cease, And be thyself our King of Peace.

36. old testament reading Isaiah 40:1-5

37. 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,

38. that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;

39. make straight in the desert 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.

40. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

41. epistle reading Romans 3:19-26

42. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

43. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption

44. that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

45. children’s message (Children dismissed to Children's Church)

46. savior of nations, come