This is the seventh in an Advent sermon series on “The Seven Great ‘O’ Antiphons.” “O Emmanuel, Come” (Matthew 1:18-25) And now we come to the last of the seven O Antiphons, “O Emmanuel.” You see it there in your hymnal, on the page facing the hymn; it’s the one listed for December 23. You’ll find it also in your bulletin. So let’s pray this “Emmanuel” antiphon together: “O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.” This word “Emmanuel”–it sounds familiar enough, but what does   More…

This is the sixth in an Advent sermon series on “The Seven Great ‘O’ Antiphons.” “O King of the Nations, Come” (Haggai 2:1-9, 20-23; Ephesians 2:11-22; Matthew 28:18-20) In our Advent series on the O Antiphons, today we continue with “King of the nations.” You’ll find it there in your hymnal or in the bulletin. Let us pray this antiphon together: “O King of the nations, the ruler they long for, the cornerstone uniting all people: Come and save us all, whom You formed out of clay.” Now this title for Christ, “King of the nations,” is sometimes also referred   More…

This is the fifth in an Advent sermon series on “The Seven Great ‘O’ Antiphons.” “O Dayspring, Come” (Malachi 4:1-6; Luke 1:67-79; Revelation 22:16-20) The fifth of the seven O Antiphons is our theme for today, “O Dayspring, Come.” You see it there in your hymnal, as well as in your bulletin. Let’s begin by praying this antiphon together: “O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting: Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” The term “Dayspring” is not a word you hear every day. But you are hearing it on this day. We just   More…

This is the fourth in an Advent sermon series on “The Seven Great ‘O’ Antiphons.” “O Key of David, Come” (Isaiah 22:20-25; Revelation 1:12-13, 17-18; 3:7-13; Luke 1:26-33) O Wisdom, O Adonai, O Root of Jesse. And now today, O Key of David, the fourth of the seven great O Antiphons. You see it there opposite Hymn 357, and it’s also in your bulletin. So let’s begin by praying together the Key of David antiphon: “O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, You open and no one can close, You close and no one can open:   More…

This is the third in an Advent sermon series on “The Seven Great ‘O’ Antiphons.” “O Root of Jesse, Come” (Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 1:1-17) Today we continue with the third of the seven O Antiphons of Advent, these prayers addressing the coming Christ. This one begins, “O Root of Jesse.” You see it there on the page facing Hymn 357, as well as in your bulletin. Let us now pray this antiphon together: “O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage: Come   More…

This is the second in an Advent sermon series on “The Seven Great ‘O’ Antiphons.” “O Adonai, Come” (Exodus 3:1-15; Revelation 5:1-14; John 8:48-59) Today we continue with the second of the seven O Antiphons of Advent, “O Adonai.” You can see it there in your hymnal, opposite Hymn 357, and it is also printed in your bulletin. Let us pray that antiphon together: “O Adonai and ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai: Come with an outstretched arm and redeem us.” I suppose the first   More…

This is the first in an Advent sermon series on “The Seven Great ‘O’ Antiphons.” “O Wisdom, Come” (Proverbs 8:12-31; Colossians 1:15-20, 28; 2:2-3; John 1:1-5, 9) The Advent hymn we just sang, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” goes back about 900 years, to the 12th century. But the texts on which this hymn is based go back a few centuries before that, even–maybe 1200 years ago or more. They are known as the Great “O” Antiphons, and you can see them printed there on the facing page in your hymnal (LSB 357). What is an antiphon, you ask? An   More…