Worship Helps for Advent 2
Baptism of Christ
Pietro Perugino
1482
Worship Theme: Since his coming is sure and so important,
he sends out forerunners in the footsteps of St. John
the Baptist who help us to make proper preparation for his coming. They do that
with a message not their own. They do it with the message that he himself has
given. Pay close attention to those heralds of the coming Lord, the prophets
and apostles, and to the pastors and teachers in our midst who have succeeded
them to get us ready for his coming.
Old
Testament: Isaiah 40:1-11 God
wants to comfort his people
Comfort,
comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and
proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been
paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD;
make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every
valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground
shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of
the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth
of the LORD has spoken." 6 A voice says, "Cry out." And I
said, "What shall I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their
glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the
flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people
are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of
our God stands forever." 9 You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your
voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!" 10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with
power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his
recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently
leads those that have young.
1. How will the people receive “double” for all their
sins?
2. Who is the “voice of one calling in the desert to
prepare a way for the Lord?”
3. What purpose does the Lord want to achieve in verses
6-8?
Epistle: 2 Peter 3:8-14 Looking forward to a new heaven and new
earth
But do not
forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand
years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow
in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with
a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in
it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this
way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly
lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements
will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are
looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make
every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
4. “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand
years like a day.” What does that have to do with this reading?
5. Knowing that the Lord will come suddenly and destroy
the earth, what change should be evident in our lives?
6. On the basis of verses 10, 12, and 13, describe what
will happen at the end of the world. (Note: The Bible is not 100 percent
definitive on whether the earth will be completely annihilated, to be replaced
with a new creation, or simply burned up and remade anew. Which option does
this section from Peter lean toward?)
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 John the Baptist prepares the way for the Lord
The beginning
of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 It is written in
Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will
prepare your way"-- 3 "a voice of one calling in the
desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole
Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing
their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John
wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and
he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message:
"After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals
I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water,
but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
7. With which
event in the life of Christ does Mark begin his gospel? How is his beginning
different from the other three gospels?
8. What was the focus of John’s baptisms?
9. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit?” What was to be different?
Answers:
1. God was not going to punish them twice as hard as they
deserve. Instead they would receive
“double” grace – much more blessing than any one could expect. This is not something that can be earned, but
what we inherit by his free grace - a full forgiveness we don’t deserve.
2. The Lord makes it clear (Mt 3:3, Mk 1:3 and Lk 3:4)
that this is pointing ahead to the person of John the Baptist. He was the voice who preached stern and
pointed law to the people to prepare their hearts with repentance. And he was the one who preached the sweet
gospel as he pointed out the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world.” This is the good news we are
also to shout out to people – a word that will outlast worldly “experts.”
3. He is reminding the people of Israel
that they must not trust in themselves or in any human power. Such powers are
like the grass, here today and gone tomorrow. But the Lord’s Word remains firm
forever. If they keep this in mind during the long years of captivity, they
will not give in to despair.
4. We are bound to clocks and passing schedules. But God
is not restrained by time, which he created for us. He sees and knows all things as if they were
“now.” The end of the world may seem
like a long ways away for scoffers, but God sees it clearly as “today” and
patiently opens opportunities all over the world to come to repentance and
avoid perishing eternally at that time.
5. It should be evident in our lives that we are looking
forward in Christ to the transition into heaven. Every effort should be made to be at peace
with God realized by faith in Christ.
Every effort should be made to live lives that represent the holiness he
has destined us for.
6. The
Last Day will come quickly. The sky will disappear with a loud noise, and the
earth will melt. The concept of “laid bare” is harder to interpret. Some
versions use the variant reading, “shall be burned up,” which is easy to
understand. The NIV uses the variant “will be laid bare,” which means to be
exposed. This could refer to the deeds of mankind, laid bare for all to see. It
could also refer to the complete destruction of everyone and everything on the
earth. We cannot be sure about the last question. Peter leaves room for the
interpretation that God will re-create a new heaven and earth out of the burned
up elements of this present world.
In verses 10 and 12, “the heavens” mean the sky, not God’s
dwelling place. It is the opposite of “the elements,” which refers to the
earth. Also in verse 12, “speed its coming” means to live in eager expectation.
Much like a child might look forward to the celebration of Christmas or his or
her birthday, so a child of God can’t wait for Christ’s return and promised
deliverance.
7. Mark begins his gospel with two Old Testament
prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. This is followed by a brief account of
the ministry of John the Baptist. By contrast, Matthew and Luke begin with
Jesus’ birth. John begins his gospel with the divine-human nature of Christ and
his relationship to his Father. It is clear that Mark wants to get quickly into
the account of Jesus’ life.
8. John baptized with a focus on the reality of our
sinfulness and the forgiveness God gives us in the Lamb of God – Jesus. This is the same focus you hear from Peter on
Pentecost as he sets the pace for our baptisms.
9. Although true baptism always carries the Holy Spirit’s
presence, Jesus carries the full authority to send the Spirit in a miraculous
way as was first evidenced at Pentecost.
It is Christ the gives baptism its power.
Lead us not into temptation.
Although we have received forgiveness and a good
conscience and are entirely acquitted, yet our life is of such a nature that we
stand today, and tomorrow we fall [Isaiah 40:6–8]. Even though we are godly and stand before God
with a good conscience, we must pray again that He would not allow us to fall
again and yield to trials and temptations.
Temptation is of three kinds: of the flesh, of the world,
and of the devil. For we dwell in the
flesh and carry the old Adam about our neck.
He encourages us daily to unchastity, laziness, gluttony and
drunkenness, greed and deception, to defraud our neighbor. In short, the old
Adam encourages us to have all kinds of evil lusts, which cling to us by
nature. They often wound and inflame
even an innocent heart.
Next comes the world.
It drives us to anger and impatience.
In short, there is nothing but hatred and envy, hostility, violence and
wrong, unfaithfulness, vengeance, cursing, railing, slander, pride and
haughtiness. No one is willing to be the
least. Everyone desires to sit at the
head of the group and to be seen before all.
Then comes the devil to agitate matters that concern the
conscience and spiritual affairs. He
leads us to despise and disregard God’s Word and works. He tears us away from faith, hope, and love,
and he brings us into misbelief, false security, despair, denial of God,
blasphemy. – Large Catechism, Part III, The Lord’s Prayer (paragraphs 99-104)
Text of the Hymn of
the Day: On Jordan 's
Bank The Baptist's Cry
On Jordan 's
bank the Baptist's cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come, then, and listen, for he brings
Good news about the King of kings.
Then cleansed be ev'ry life from sin
And furnished for a guest within,
And let us all our hearts prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.
We hail you as our Savior, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward.
Without your grace we waste away
Like flow'rs that wither and decay.
Stretch forth your hand, our health restore,
And lift us up to fall no more.
Oh, make your face on us to shine,
And fill the world with love divine.
All praise to you, eternal Son,
Whose advent has our freedom won,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Spirit evermore.
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