Author: Julie Raffa

Introit Psalm 105:4–8; antiphon: Isaiah 40:3b
In the wilderness prepare the way | of the Lord;* make straight in the desert a highway | for our God. Seek the Lord | and his strength;* seek his presence con- | tinually! Remember the wondrous works that | he has done,* his miracles, and the judgments he | uttered, O offspring of Abraham, his | servant,* children of Jacob, his | chosen ones! He is the | Lord our God;* his judgments are in | all the earth. He remembers his covenant for- | ever,* the word that he commanded, for a thousand gener- | ations. Glory be to the Father and | to the Son* and to the Holy | Spirit; as it was in the be- | ginning,* is now, and will be forever. | Amen. In the wilderness prepare the way | of the Lord;* make straight in the desert a highway | for our God.
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 Isaiah 11:1–10
1There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2And 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. 3And 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, 4but 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. 5Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6The 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. 7The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9They 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. 10In 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.
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 Romans 15:4–13
4Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
8For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
10And again it is said,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
12And again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Holy Gospel Matthew 3:1–12
1In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”
4Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume 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. 10Even 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.
11“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable 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

Second Sunday in Advent
Divine Service
Lutheran Service Book: Page:
Liturgy: Setting 2 Nicene Creed 167
Hymn of Praise is omitted in Advent
Hymns:
When All the World Was Cursed 346
On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry 344
Communion Hymns:
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming 359
Hark the Glad Sound 349
The Night Will Soon Be Ending 337
Rejoice, Rejoice Believers 515
Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People 347
Scripture Readings:
Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10
Epistle: Romans 15:4-13
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
X X X
In our prayers, we remember:
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:
Ellen Frank, 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. Joseph Fisher
Liturgist: Rev. Christopher Raffa
Elder: Ron Kabitzke, Gary Jenovai
Cantor: Sam Boehlke
Organist: Ben Grosskreuz

Coming Up at Pilgrim
Sunday, December 4:
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
Monday, December 5:
6:30 p.m. Elders Meeting
Tuesday, December 6:
2:00 p.m. chapel @ Auxiliary Court
Wednesday, December 7:
4:00 p.m. Youth Catechesis
6:30 p.m. Adult Class: 1st & 2nd Kings
Thursday, December 8:
1:00 p.m. Advent Midweek Divine Service
7:00 p.m. Divine Service
Friday, December 9: Office Closed
Saturday, December 10:
7:00 a.m. Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study
11:00 a.m. Ladies to pack cookies for Cookie Sale
Sunday, December 11:
Ladies Guild Cookie Sale
11:30 a.m. Chili Luncheon
2:00 p.m. Congregational Christmas Service
Saturday, December 24:
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

SWD Teacher of the Year nomination information is on bulletin board in the Narthex.

Second Sunday in Advent
December 4, 2022
11“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Matthew 3:11
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