Mid Week Wednesday Advent Service 2025
 

LCMS Worship is pleased to offer these service suggestions with notes and sermon manuscripts prepared by the Rev. Sean Smith on the theme “Advent Songs of Salvation.” The church sings with Mary (Magnificat), Zechariah (Benedictus), and Simeon (Nunc Dimittis) in anticipation and fulfillment of Christ’s coming.

The practice of holding additional evening services on Wednesdays in Advent and Lent comes out of the Ember Days. One Wednesday, Friday and Saturday were set aside in each quarter of the year for a penitential and catechetical focus.i While two quarters have fallen from use, the days were expanded to the entire season of Advent and Lent. LCMS Worship offers the following suggestions for Advent Midweek services.

Blessed Advent!

- Rev. Sean Daenzer

Director, LCMS Worship

 

     1st Wednesday of Advent   December 3, 2025
 

The Song of Mary: Magnificat 


Theme: Mary rejoices that God lifts up the lowly and keeps His covenant mercy. 


 Psalm: Psalm 98; antiphon v. 3 (“Sing to the Lord a new song... [for] He has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.”) 


 Readings: Old Testament: 1 Samuel 2:1–10 (Hannah’s song of thanksgiving — parallel to Mary’s song) 


 Epistle: Galatians 4:4–7 (God sends His Son, born of woman, to redeem us) 


 Gospel: Luke 1:46–55 (Mary visits Elizabeth and sings the Magnificat) 

 

Introduction

  • Advent is a season of waiting, longing and anticipation. But it is also a season of fulfillment, for the promises of God are already “Yes and Amen” in Christ. That is why this Advent we take up three songs of salvation — Mary’s Magnificat, Zechariah’s Benedictus and Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis. Each of them sings in the tension of anticipation and fulfillment: what God has promised, He is now bringing to pass; what is already given, still awaits its completion. Tonight, we begin with Mary’s Magnificat.

 

I. Mary Sings in Anticipation of God’s Promises (vv. 46–49)

  • Mary begins with joy: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Already here we see that she is not exalting herself, but magnifying the Lord.
  • And notice how Mary sings in anticipation. She has only just conceived the Christ child. She has not yet seen His ministry, His cross or His resurrection. Yet she believes the promise spoken by Gabriel and confirmed by Elizabeth. She rejoices in what God will do, even before she sees it with her eyes.
  • This is the nature of faith. As Hebrews says: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). Mary anticipates God’s salvation, trusting His Word alone.
  • So also in Advent we wait in anticipation. We have promises not yet fully revealed: Christ’s return, the resurrection of the dead, the new creation. But like Mary, we sing already now, confident that what God has promised, He will surely do.

 

II. Mary Sings in Fulfillment of God’s Mercy (vv. 50–53)

  • But Mary doesn’t only look forward. She also sings of fulfillment. “He has shown strength with His arm… He has filled the hungry with good things.” Notice: past tense verbs. God’s mercy is so sure, Mary sings it as already accomplished.
  • Even as she carries Him in her womb, the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises has already begun. The Seed of Abraham is present (Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16). The kingdom of God is breaking into the world. The reversal of the world’s values — the proud brought down, the humble lifted up, the hungry filled — is already underway in Christ.
  • For Mary, the fulfillment was as real as the child she bore. For us, too, the fulfillment is here: Christ has come. The cross and empty tomb are already accomplished facts. In Him, forgiveness, life, and salvation are ours today.
  • This is why in Advent we don’t only sing “Come, Lord Jesus” as though nothing has yet happened. We also sing “Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel.” Anticipation and fulfillment join together.

 

III. The Church Continues Mary’s Song of Salvation (vv. 54–55)

  • Mary concludes: “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.” She anchors her song in God’s covenant faithfulness.
  • The church fathers loved to point out that Mary’s voice is the church’s voice. Augustine preached: “The Church daily gives birth to Christ’s members, and so Mary’s song is the song of the whole Church” (Sermon 25 on the NT).
  • That’s why the Magnificat became part of the church’s daily prayer, sung at Vespers. Every evening, the church takes Mary’s words on her lips: magnifying the Lord, rejoicing in God our Savior, proclaiming His mercy from generation to generation.
  • And it is why we sing Mary’s song in Advent. Just as she bore Christ within her, so we receive Christ in Word and Sacrament. Just as she rejoiced in God’s salvation, so we rejoice that Christ has come, still comes and will come again.

 

Conclusion

  • Mary’s Magnificat is the first of our Advent songs of salvation. It teaches us how to sing in the waiting: with faith that anticipates God’s promises, and with joy that celebrates their fulfillment already in Christ.
  • So tonight, let Mary teach you to sing. Magnify the Lord in your soul. Rejoice in God your Savior. Trust His mercy. And with the whole Church, take up her song:
  • My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
  • In the Name of the Father, and of the Son ✠, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2nd Wednesday of Advent  December 10, 2025

The Song of Zechariah: Benedictus

Theme: Zechariah praises God for raising up a Savior who shines light in the darkness.

Opening: LSB 337, “The Night Will Soon Be Ending”

Psalm: Psalm 27:1–6; antiphon v. 4 (The Lord is my light and my salvation)

Readings: Old Testament: Malachi 4:1–6 (The Sun of Righteousness shall rise)

Epistle: 1 Peter 2:9–12 (called out of darkness into His marvelous light)

Gospel: Luke 1:57–80 (birth of John; Zechariah’s Benedictus)

Introduction

  • Last week we heard Mary’s Magnificat, a song of anticipation and fulfillment. Tonight we hear Zechariah’s Benedictus — another song of salvation. Once mute for unbelief, now his mouth is opened, and he blesses God. His words proclaim that what was long anticipated is now fulfilled in Christ.

I. Anticipation — The Forerunner Prepares the Way

  • Zechariah and Elizabeth name their son John, as the angel had commanded. The name means “Yahweh is gracious.” Already the forerunner’s birth anticipates the gracious work of God in Christ.
  • John’s role is set: he will go before the Lord to prepare His way, giving knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of sins (vv. 76–77). This fulfills Malachi’s promise of Elijah coming before the great day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5–6).
  • So John’s task anticipates the greater One to come. His preaching of repentance prepares hearts for Jesus, just as Advent prepares us. We are called to repent, to turn from our sins, to make ready for the Lord who comes in mercy.

II. Fulfillment — God Has Visited and Redeemed His People

  • Zechariah blesses God: “He has visited and redeemed His people” (v. 68). Notice the tense — past tense. Redemption is so certain, it is sung as already complete.
  • God’s promises to David (v. 69) and Abraham (vv. 72–73) are fulfilled in this Child. The long history of Israel’s anticipation comes to fulfillment in Christ. He is the horn of salvation, the mighty Redeemer.
  • And He comes from God’s “tender mercy”— His innermost compassion. This is not ordinary mercy, but the deepest, most intimate love revealed in Christ. He is the “Sunrise from on high,” fulfilling Malachi 4:2, shining light into the darkness and guiding our feet into peace.
  • So the fulfillment is here: God’s light has dawned in Christ. The night is far gone, the day is at hand.

III. The Church Sings the Benedictus Still

  • Zechariah sang by the Spirit, and the church still takes up his song. From the early centuries the Benedictus has been sung each morning in the church’s prayer, greeting the dawn with the light of Christ.
  • We too sing it in Advent. It teaches us that God’s salvation is both anticipation and fulfillment. Already God has visited us in Christ’s Incarnation. Already His redemption is accomplished on the cross and empty tomb. And yet we still await the fullness — when Christ comes again in glory.
  • So our Advent song joins Zechariah’s: praising God who has visited His people, preparing our hearts through repentance, and awaiting His coming light.

Conclusion

  • Zechariah’s Benedictus is the song of one whose silence is broken by praise, whose doubt is overcome by faith, whose anticipation finds fulfillment in God’s promises kept.
  • This is our song, too. We bless the Lord who has visited and redeemed us. We walk in His light even in the shadow of death. We await His coming with confidence, for He has already shone His light upon us in Christ.
  • So sing with Zechariah: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.”
  • In the name of the Father and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
  • Basic Sermon Manuscript (to be expanded by the preacher) - Week 3: Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis

 

 


 

3rd Wednesday of Advent  December 17, 2025

The Song of Simeon – Nunc Dimittis

Theme: Simeon departs in peace, having seen salvation in the Christ child — just as we see Him in Word and Sacrament.

Opening: LSB 360, “All My Heart Again Rejoices”

Psalm: Psalm 31:1–6, 14–16, 23–24; antiphon v. 23 (“Love the LORD, all you His saints ... into Your hand I commit my spirit”)

Readings: Old Testament: Isaiah 52:7–10 (all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God)

Epistle: Titus 2:11–14 (the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation)

Gospel: Luke 2:22–32 (Presentation of Jesus and Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis)

Week 3: Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis

Theme: Songs of Salvation: Simeon’s Song of Anticipation and Fulfillment

Central Thought: Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis confesses that in Christ, God’s salvation has come. Having seen and held Him, Simeon is ready to depart in peace. The church takes up his song after receiving Christ in Word and Sacrament, living in both the anticipation of Christ’s final coming and the fulfillment already given.

Advent has given us three songs of salvation: Mary’s Magnificat, Zechariah’s Benedictus and now Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis. Each song weaves together anticipation and fulfillment. Each shows us what it looks like when God keeps His promises.

Simeon is the elder saint who has waited long for the consolation of Israel. When he finally takes the Christ child into his arms, he sings a song that has become the church’s own for centuries.

I. Anticipation — Waiting for the Consolation of Israel

  • Luke tells us that Simeon was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel (v. 25). The Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (v. 26).
  • Simeon embodies faithful Israel. He carries in himself the long wait for God’s promises — the cries of Isaiah 40: “Comfort, comfort my people.” His life is stretched between anticipation and hope, trusting God’s Word until the day of fulfillment.
  • So also in Advent, the church waits. We wait in hope for the Lord’s appearing, we long for His consolation in our griefs, we pray for His peace in our world.

II. Fulfillment — Salvation Seen and Held

  • Then the day arrives. Simeon enters the temple, takes the child Jesus into his arms, and blesses God.
  • “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation” (vv. 29–30). Notice: he does not say, “I have seen the Savior,” but “I have seen your salvation.” Christ is salvation in the flesh.
  • For Simeon, waiting has turned to fulfillment. The light has dawned. The promises spoken to Israel and to the nations are now embodied in the infant Christ. Isaiah’s prophecies ring true: He is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of God’s people Israel (v. 32).
  • For us, too, the fulfillment is here. We do not wait for salvation as though it has not yet come. In i See Treasury of Daily Prayer, p. 21, for more information (Concordia Publishing House, 2008), cph.org/c-2863-treasury-of-daily-prayer.aspx. A simplified Latin mnemonic
  • Christ’s cross and resurrection, it is accomplished. We have seen and held Him in Word and Sacrament.

III. The Church Continues Simeon’s Song

  • The church has long placed Simeon’s song on her lips — in the evening office of Compline, at funerals, and especially after Holy Communion.
  • After the Supper, we sing with Simeon: “Lord, now You let Your servant go in peace.” Just as Simeon held Christ in his arms, so we receive Him in His body and blood. Having received Christ, we too are ready for whatever lies ahead — whether life or death, joy or sorrow, for in Him we have peace.
  • In Advent, this song gathers up all our waiting and fulfillment. Christ has come, and we rejoice in His salvation. Christ will come again, and we await Him in hope.

Conclusion

  • Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis is a fitting close not only to his life, but also to our Advent series. Mary sang in anticipation and fulfillment. Zechariah sang in anticipation and fulfillment. Now Simeon sings, and we sing with him: the promises are fulfilled, the Savior is here, salvation has been seen, and peace is ours.
  • And yet we still wait. We depart in peace each time, confident in Christ’s salvation, until the day He comes again in glory.
  • So take up Simeon’s song. Make it your own. Sing it at the close of each day, after the Supper, and at the end of life itself: “Lord, now You let Your servant go in peace; my eyes have seen Your salvation.”
  • In the name of the Father and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

 

 

 

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