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Propers
Zephaniah
3:14-20
Isaiah
12:2-6
Philippians
4:4-7
Luke
3:7-18
Readings
for Lessons & Carols Service
Genesis
3:8-15
Jeremiah
23:5,6
Haggai
2:6-9
Isaiah
40:1-5
Luke
1:26-35,38
Mark
1:1-11
Matthew
1:18-23
Propers
Zephaniah
3:14-20
3:14 Sing aloud, O daughter
Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O
daughter Jerusalem!
3:15
The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned
away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
3:16
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do
not let your hands grow weak.
3:17
The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his
love; he will exult over you with loud singing
3:18
as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that
you will not bear reproach for it.
3:19
I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save
the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame
into praise and renown in all the earth.
3:20
At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of
the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the
LORD.
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Isaiah
12:2-6
12:2 Surely God is my
salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD
is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
12:3
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
12:4
And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his
name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his
name is exalted.
12:5
Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be
known in all the earth.
12:6
Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your
midst is the Holy One of Israel.
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Phillippians
4:4-7
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord
always; again I will say, Rejoice.
4:5
Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
4:6
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God.
4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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Luke
3:7-18
3:7 John said to the crowds
that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
3:8
Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to
yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God
is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
3:9
Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree
therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire."
3:10
And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?"
3:11
In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share
with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do
likewise."
3:12
Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him,
"Teacher, what should we do?"
3:13
He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed
for you."
3:14
Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He
said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or
false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."
3:15
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were
questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be
the Messiah,
3:16
John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with
water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not
worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire.
3:17
His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will
burn with unquenchable fire."
3:18
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to
the people.
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Readings
for Lessons & Carols Service
Genesis
3:8-15
8
They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the
time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of
the garden.
9 But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where
are you?’ 10 He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden,
and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’
11 He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten
from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’
12
The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave
me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’
13
Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have
done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’
14 The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done
this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild
creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike
his heel.’
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Jeremiah
23:5-6
5
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up
for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal
wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
6
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.
And this is the name by which he will be called: "The LORD is
our righteousness."
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Haggai
2:6-9
6
For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I
will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;
7
and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all
nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says
the LORD of hosts.
8
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts.
9
The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the
former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give
prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.
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Isaiah
40:1-5 1
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. 2
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served
her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the
Lord's hand double for all her sins. 3
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the
LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be
made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough
places a plain. 5
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall
see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
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Luke
1:26-35,38 26
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in
Galilee called Nazareth, 27
to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house
of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28
And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord
is with you.’ 29
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of
greeting this might be. 30
The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor with God. 31
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
will name him Jesus. 32
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom
there will be no end.’ 34
Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ 35
The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the
child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 38
Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be
with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from
her. [Return
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Mark
1:1-11 1
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my
messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way
of the Lord, make his paths straight,”’ 4
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5
And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of
Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the
river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6
Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt
around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7
He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming
after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his
sandals. 8
I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit.’ 9
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized
by John in the Jordan. 10
And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens
torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11
And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with
you I am well pleased.’ [Return
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Matthew
1:18-23 18
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When
his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived
together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose
her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20
But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do
not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived
in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She
will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save
his people from their sins.’ 22
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord
through the prophet: 23
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall
name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’ [Return
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