Welcome to
SAINT PAUL'S LUTHERAN CHURCH
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod

First Sunday in Advent

November 30, 2025

 “In Nomine Iesu"
915 - 27th Street, Marion, Iowa 52302
e-mail: office@stpaulsmarioniowa.org
www.mystpauls.org
Phone: (319)377-4687

WELCOME – Ballet, basketball and many other activities have appropriate stances or forms that are needed to execute the beauty of the event.  One shift of a foot to the right or left can cause an imbalance that throws off an entire routine or game.  The ‘form” or “stance” of Advent is repentance, seeking the 
patient forgiveness of God.  
“May His goodness continue to lead us to repentance.”
Romans 2:4

In the celebration of Holy Communion we joyfully receive the true body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine. This is also a sign of our common confession of faith. We welcome to the Lord’s Supper all those who are presently confirmed members of a congregation of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.  If you wish to commune for the first time at St. Paul’s, please speak to Pastor or an usher before the service.

Please take a moment to fill out the attendance card found in the pew racks.  Just jot down the name of all in attendance and hand it to an usher or place the card in the basket in the narthex as you leave the service. 

Wednesday is our first Advent Midweek Worship.  Before worship, join in fellowship with your family at St. Paul’s.  Community Concerns is providing a soup dinner as a thank you for supporting them all year with your donations.  The meal begins 5:00 p.m. with worship at 6:30 p.m.  Come, join in fellowship and prepare yourself during the Advent of our King!

Prelude 
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship ~ Ringing of the Bells
The Order of Worship
Lutheran Service Book – 
Divine Service Four with Communion

Hymn of Invocation    “The Advent of Our King”        LSB #331

Invocation (please stand)
P	In the name of the Father and of the (+) Son 
	and of the Holy Spirit.
C	Amen.

Confession and Absolution
P	Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C	who made heaven and earth.
 
P	If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord,
	 who could stand?
C	But with You there is forgiveness; 
	therefore You are feared.
 
P	Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
C	Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.

P	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.
C	Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit	Psalm 118:25–28; antiphon: Zechariah 9:9b, alt.
P	Behold, your king is coming to you;
C	righteous and having salvation.

P	Save us, we pray, O Lord!
C	O Lord, we pray, give us success!

P	Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
C	We bless you from the house of the Lord.

P	The Lord is God, 
and he has made his light to shine upon us.
C	Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, 
up to the horns of the altar!

P	You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
C	you are my God; I will extol you.

All	Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the 
	Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and
will be forever. Amen.

P	Behold, your king is coming to you;
C	righteous and having salvation.

Kyrie

(The Hymn of Praise is omitted during Advent.)

Salutation	
P	The Lord be with you.
C	And also with you.
Collect of the Day 
P	Let us pray.
Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C	Amen.

(be seated)

First Reading	 Isaiah 2:1-5

     1The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
     2It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”  For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  4He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.  5O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

L	This is the Word of the Lord.
C	Thanks be to God.

Epistle	Romans 13:8-14

     8Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
     11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

L	This is the Word of the Lord.
C	Thanks be to God.

Alleluia and Verse (please stand)

Holy Gospel	 Matthew 21:1-11
P	The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 21st chapter.
C	Glory to You, O Lord.

     1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
	humble, and mounted on a donkey,
	and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

     6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”   

P    This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C	Praise to You, O Christ.

Nicene Creed
All	     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 the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in 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.

(be seated)

Children’s Message

Hymn of the Day   “Savior of the Nations, Come”       LSB #332

Sermon   

Presentation of the Offering
	
Prayers of the Church
(After each portion of the prayers)
   P   Lord, in your mercy, C   hear our prayer.

P	Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs:

	Pastor Clausing & Family, continued unrest in 
		Tanzania
		
P	All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C		Amen

		Service of the Sacrament
Preface (please stand)
P	The Lord be with you.
C	And also with you.
P	Lift up your hearts.
C	We lift them to the Lord.

P	Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C	It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

P	It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for the countless blessings You so freely bestow on us and all creation. Above all, we give thanks for Your boundless love shown to us when You sent Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our flesh and laid on Him our sin, giving Him into death that we might not die eternally. Because He is now risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will rise again to new life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and singing:

Sanctus

Lord's Prayer
P     Hear us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:
All	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 (+) 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 (+) blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
	
Pax Domini	
P	The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C	Amen.

Agnus Dei	

Distribution (be seated)
(All members of our St. Paul’s family are invited to meet the Lord in this Sacrament. When at the table, please indicate your preference of common or individual cup.  

The CENTER RING of the individual communion cup tray contains white grape juice. The OUTER RINGS contain red wine. Gluten free wafers are available from a communion assistant.)

Distribution Hymns

 “What Is This Bread”                                                  LSB #629
 “Sent Forth By God’s Blessing”                                  LSB #643
 “Arise, O Christian People”                                        LSB #354

Post-Communion Collect (please stand)	
P	Let us pray.  We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C	Amen.

Benedicamus 
P	Let us bless the Lord.
C	Thanks be to God.

Benediction 
P	The Lord bless you and keep you.
	The Lord make His face shine on you
    and be gracious to you.
	The Lord look upon you with favor
    and (+) give you peace.
C	Amen.

Closing Hymn  “Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Manger Is”    LSB #372
Silent Prayer 

(be seated)

Postlude 

“Soli Deo Gloria”

Participants in Our Services
Officiant	Rev. Alan Kornacki
Children’s Message	April Lenhart
Organist	Marilyn Mark

                                                                              8:00 a.m.
Usher Team #5	Bill O’Brien, Capt., Robert Cross, 
                                                        Joel Grabau, Tyler Schlueter
Acolyte 	Brandon Lenhart
Lector	Jennifer Egel
Communion Assistants	Greg Jobe, Rick Martin & Jerry Mays
Greeter	Linda Deeds

                                                                              10:30 a.m.
Usher Team #6	Jeff Ellerby, Capt., Doug Davis, 
                                                          Carol Golden, Mike Stenzel
Acolyte 	Grace Balster
Lector	Neil Patterson
Communion Assistants	Dave Hanneman, Jim Paulson &
                                                                                  Bill Tollefson
Greeter	Kay Weaver

Acknowledgments Divine Service, Setting Four from Lutheran Service Book Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.   Streaming license through CCLI, Stream License number: 20193242 Copyright License number: 1259603

Flowers on the altar are presented to the Glory of God by the Schlueter families in thankfulness for Christian fathers.
Your St. Paul’s Staff
Rev. Alan Kornacki, Associate Pastor
Carmen O’Brien, Administrative Assistant
Rev. Jerry Doellinger, Adult Bible Education
Pam Williamson, Music Director
Marilyn Mark, Choir Accompanist

CHURCH CALENDAR
Sunday, November 30 - Sunday, December 7, 2025
Sun.	   8:00 a.m.	Worship with Communion
	   9:15 a.m.	Sunday School/Bible Class
             10:30 a.m.	Worship with Communion
Mon.	   7:30 a.m.	Fin Rec #4
   9:30 a.m.	Bunco
Tues.	   9:00 a.m.	Bible Class @ Breakfast Barn
   6:30 p.m.	Church Council
Wed.	   9:00 a.m.	Lydia Circle
	   6:00 p.m.	CREW
	   5:00 p.m.	Pre-Service Lenten Meal
	   6:30 p.m.	Advent Worship
	   7:30 p.m.	Choir Rehearsal
Thurs.	   1:00 p.m.	Community Concerns
	   6:30 p.m.	Chime Choir
	   6:30 p.m.	Stephen Ministry Facilitator Groups
Fri.	       -		Pastor’s Day Off 
-	            Office Closed 
	   8:00 a.m.	Bible Class @ Breakfast Barn
	   9:30 a.m.	Prayer Group
Sat.	 11:00 a.m.	LWML Christmas Party/Quarterly Meeting
Sun.	   8:00 a.m.	Worship
	   9:15 a.m.	Sunday School/Bible Class/Confirmation
	 10:30 a.m.	Worship
	 11:45 a.m.	CREW
	   3:00 p.m.	Blue Christmas

It’s that time of the year to rejoice in our Redeemer! All women of St. Paul’s Lutheran and guests are invited to a Christmas Party Dec 6 at 11:00am. Bring a dish for a potluck lunch and a $10 gift that begins with the letter “R”, again to “Rejoice in Our Redeemer”. Hope to see you there! 

You are invited to St. Paul’s
Blue Christmas Service
Designed for those who deon’t feel joyous or happy during the holidays.
Sunday, December 7th at 3:00 p.m.

Join us for this service of promise and hope.
Hosted by St. Paul’s Stephen Ministry

If you would like to pass out flyers to those who could benefit from this servcie, they are available on the back table.

Cookies Needed: on December 14 at 9 am, the children of St Paul's Sunday School will present their annual Christmas Program. The Board of Education is requesting donations of cookies, bars, etc. for a reception to follow the service. If you can help, please sign up on the sheet in the narthex indicating how many treats you can provide. Please, no nuts, no peanut butter. We have several members who are allergic. Contact Rachel Cochran or any Board of Ed member with questions. Thank you so much for your continued support for our kids and families!

Please note:  The office will be closed this Friday, December 5th and next Friday, December 12th.  Thank you.

Will You Make this Holiday Season Brighter for a Child? CREW has adopted 3 familes with 1 child each.  The Giving Tree is in the narthex. You may take an "ornament" from the Giving Tree, which will have a gift to purchase or a monetary donation. Please drop off your unwrapped gift with the "ornament" attached under the tree by Noon Sunday, December 7.  The gifts will be given to the organization the next day. Thank you for your generosity and Merry Christmas!

Advent devotional books have arrived! Once again this year, LCMS Pastor William Weedon of the podcast “The Word of the Lord Endures Forever” has assembled a collection of Advent devotions based ln the theme “Wait for the Lord.” Pastor Weedon’s writing is clear and lovely, and your soul will be edified. The books are on the black table in the narthex. 

Holiday Worship Schedule

Advent Worship
December 3, 10, 17
6:30 p.m.
Pre-Service Meals 5-6 p.m.

Blue Christmas 
Sunday, December 7
3:00 p.m.

Children’s Christmas Program
Sunday, December 14
ONE service at 9:00 a.m.

Christmas Carol Worship
Sunday, December 21
8:00 a.m. And 10:30 a.m.

Christmas Eve Worship
Wednesday, December 24
5:00 p.m. And 8:00 p.m.

Christmas Day Worship
(with Communion)
Thursday, December 25
9:00 a.m.