Author: Julie Raffa

Introit See Insert
Collect of the Day
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 lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Old Testament Reading Genesis 16
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
7The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
13So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
15And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Gradual Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 118:26, alt.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation. Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.
Epistle Galatians 4:21—5:1
21Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
1For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Holy Gospel Luke 3:1–9
1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
7He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Announcements
Congregational Children’s Christmas Program and Chili Lunch—This year the Congregational Christmas Program will be held on December 11th. Following the late service, we will have a Chili lunch in the new fellowship hall beginning around 12:00 and ending at 1:30. The program will begin at 2:00 p.m. I must again reiterate that this is not primarily for the parents whose children are in the program, but for our entire Pilgrim family—an opportunity to celebrate the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus centered around Christmas hymns and readings from Holy Scripture. I pray that all of you will take the time to come, not only to support the small voices that announce to us our Lord’s nativity, but also a time for you to prepare and envelope your heart and mind in joyous words and hymns that the Word of God has become flesh, and dwells among you for your salvation—Pastor Raffa.
Sunday afternoon 2nd Samuel Bible Class—The Bible Class will take a break from November 20th to January 1st. It will resume on January 8th with 2nd Samuel chapter 13.
Thursday morning 2nd Samuel Bible Class is on a break from classes until
Thursday, January 12, 2023.
Pilgrim is accepting offerings by PayPal. The link for this is available on the Pilgrim website at : www.pilgrimlutheran-westbend.org
on the bottom of the page.
The Christmas Shoppe is now open. Donations of Food items should be brought to the sale the day they are to be sold.
The monies raised from the Christmas Shoppe are going to Cory Gabor and family as Cory is going to Seminary next year.
Cable Worship Schedule Pilgrim’s Sunday 8:00 a.m. Divine Service is broadcast on WB 987 and AT&T Uverse 99 multiple times during the week: Sundays: 6:00 a.m. Mondays: 4:00 p.m. Tuesdays: 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays: 9:00 a.m. Wednesdays: 4:00 p.m. Bible Study, Thursdays: 4:00 p.m. This service is also live streamed and archived on the church’s YouTube channel:
Pilgrim Lutheran Church- West Bend, WI

Advent Midweek Two: Ishmael
Divine Service
Lutheran Service Book: Page:
Liturgy: Setting 3 Nicene Creed 184
Gloria in Excelsis is omitted in Advent The Litany for Prayer of the Church 288
Hymns:
What Hope! An Eden Prophesied 342
A Multitude Comes from the East and 510
Communion Hymns:
When in the Hour of Deepest Need 615
O Living Bread of Heaven 642
Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray 623
Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord 352
Scripture Readings:
Old Testament: Genesis 16
Epistle: Galatians 4:21-5:1
Gospel: Luke 3:1-9
X X X
In our prayers, we remember:
XKen Frank and family on the death of Ellen .
X all who live under the flag of our nation,
X our government and judicial officials,
X law enforcement officers, military personnel, and their families,
X those isolated from family and friends,
X those struggling with health issues:
Phyllis Laabs-Darkow, George Muth, Steve Spalda Jr., Rev. Joel Kotila, Joyce Virchow, Rev Donald & Carolyn Bren, Jerry Sullivan, Russell & Jeanette Guillaume, Richard Lewandowski, Mark Selzler, Ethan Tinlin, Sheryl Pajewski, Paul Lierman, Judy Clark Louise Kreis, Betty Steely, Inez Schwoch, Ruth Mertz, Elaine Kuenzel, Diane Behrens
X pastors, missionaries, and those who serve God’s people with the gifts of Christ,
X Christians persecuted for the confession of the faith, and especially we remember
X all who have forsaken the faith, that they may be restored to gladness of heart and be made wise to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Preacher: Rev. Christopher Raffa
Liturgist: Rev. Joseph Fisher
Elder: Dennis Engmann, Patrick Schiefelbein
Organists: Kathy Greve, Ben Grosskreuz

Coming Up at Pilgrim
Saturday, December 10:
7:00 a.m. Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study
11:00 a.m. Ladies to pack Cookies
Sunday, 11:
8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Divine Service
9:15 a.m. Sunday School: Bible Studies
9:30 a.m. Adult Class: Small Catechism
12:00 p.m. Chili Luncheon
2:00 p.m. Congregational Christmas Program
Monday, December 12:
5:30 p.m. Trustees Meeting
7:00 p.m. Church Council Meeting
Tuesday, December 13:
2:00 p.m. Chapel @ Auxiliary Court
Wednesday, December 14:
4:00 p.m. Youth Catechesis
6:30 p.m. Adult Class: 1st & 2nd Kings
Thursday, December 15:
1:00 a.m. Advent Divine Service
7:00 p.m. Advent Divine Service
Friday, December 16: Office Closed
Saturday, December 24:
7:00 a.m. Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study
6:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Divine Service
10:00 p.m. Service of Lessons & Carols
Sunday, December 25:
9:00 a.m. Christmas Day Divine Service
Saturday. December 31:
6:00 p.m. New Year’s Eve Divine Service

Advent Midweek Two: Ishmael
December 8, 2022
4As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Luke 3:4
Welcome and blessings to you through our Lord Jesus Christ!
We welcome all who gather with us around the Altar and Pulpit to hear the Word of God. If you are visiting, we are happy that you could join us today. Please sign the guest book in the narthex and fill out one of the pew cards and pass it in with the offering plate to leave a record of your visit.
Communion Statement: By the design and specific warning of our Lord Jesus Christ in His Word, the precious gift of the Lord’s Body and Blood is to be shared with His blessing only with those prepared to take it rightly. (1 Cor 11:23-32) At the first communion our Lord did not commune all believers, but only those who had been instructed by Him daily for three years. The custom of our church is to offer the Sacrament only to confirmed members of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. So that our pastors would faithfully fulfill their obligations, (1 Cor 4:1; Heb 13:17; 1 Cor 11:27), all first-time visitors should speak to one of the pastors prior to communing. Our pastors are eager and available to provide instruction leading to a right and salutary reception our Lord’s holy Body and Blood, so that in the future you may join us in the blessing of this sacrament.

Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
462 Meadowbrook Drive, West Bend, WI 53090
(262) 334-0375 www.pilgrimlutheran-westbend.org