Jesse Tree Readings

7/30/2019 Jesse Tree Readings

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Readings from the NRSV Page 1 of 35

First Sunday of Advent1 Samuel 16:1-13

1The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you grieveover Saul? I have rejected him from being king overIsrael. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will sendyou to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided formyself a king among his sons. 2Samuel said, Howcan I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me. And theLord said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I havecome to sacrifice to the Lord. 3Invite Jesse to thesacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; andyou shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.4Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came toBethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Do you come peaceably?5He said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me tothe sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, Surely the Lords anointed is now before theLord. 7But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outwardappearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him passbefore Samuel. He said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. 9Then Jesse made Shammah passby. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. 10Jesse made seven of his sons pass beforeSamuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen any of these. 11Samuel said to Jesse,Are all your sons here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping thesheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comeshere. 12He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.The Lord said, Rise and anoint him; for this is the one. 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, andanointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David

from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.


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First Monday of AdventGenesis 1:24-28

24And God said, Let the earth bring forth livingcreatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and

wild animals of the earth of every kind. And it wasso. 25God made the wild animals of the earth of everykind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything thatcreeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw

that it was good.

26Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let themhave dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over allthe wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. 27So Godcreated humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he createdthem. 28God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth andsubdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every

living thing that moves upon the earth.


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First Tuesday of AdventGenesis 3:1-24

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animalthat the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, DidGod say, You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?2The woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit ofthe trees in the garden; 3but God said, You shall not eat ofthe fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die. 4Butthe serpent said to the woman, You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes

will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, andthat the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave someto her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knewthat they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. 8Theyheard 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.

9But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you? 10He said, I heard the

sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

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He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which Icommanded you not to eat? 12The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gaveme fruit from the tree, and I ate. 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you

have done? The woman said, The serpent tricked me, and I ate.

14The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animalsand among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of yourlife. 15I 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.

16To the woman he said, I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring

forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.

17And to the man he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of thetree about which I commanded you, You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; intoil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you


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shall eat the plants of the field. 19By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the

ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

20The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

21And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.

22Then the Lord God said, See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; andnow, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever23therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he

was taken. 24He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim,and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.


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First Wednesday of AdventGenesis 6:11-22; 8:6-12

Chapter 6

11Now the earth was corrupt in Gods sight, and theearth was filled with violence. 12And God saw that theearth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways

upon the earth.

13And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled withviolence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. 14Make yourself anark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15This is howyou are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its heightthirty cubits. 16Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark inits side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17For my part, I am going to bring a flood of

waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everythingthat is on the earth shall die. 18But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into theark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons wives with you. 19And of every living thing, of all flesh,you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male andfemale. 20Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of everycreeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keepthem alive. 21Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as

food for you and for them.

22Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Chapter 8

6At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7and sent out theraven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out the

dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;

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but the dove foundno place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of thewhole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. 10He waitedanother seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; 11and the dove came back to him inthe evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters hadsubsided from the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did notreturn to him any more.


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First Thursday of AdventGenesis 12:1-7; 13:2-18

Chapter 12

1Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your countryand your kindred and your fathers house to the landthat I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation,and I will bless you, and make your name great, sothat you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse;

and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five yearsold when he departed from Haran. 5Abram took his wife Sarai and his brothers son Lot, and all thepossessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set

forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan,

6Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time theCanaanites were in the land. 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, To your offspring I will

give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Chapter 13

2Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3He journeyed on by stages from theNegeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,4to the place where he had made an altar at the first; and there Abram called on the name of theLord.

5Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6so that the land could notsupport both of them living together; for their possessions were so great that they could not livetogether, 7and there was strife between the herders of Abrams livestock and the herders of Lots

livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land.

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Then Abram said to Lot,Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herders and my herders; for we arekindred. 9Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then

I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.

10Lot looked about him, and saw that the plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere like thegarden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before the Lord had


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destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lotjourneyed eastward; thus they separated from each other. 12Abram settled in the land of Canaan,while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13Now the people

of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

14The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, Raise your eyes now, and look fromthe place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15for all the land thatyou see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16I will make your offspring like the dust ofthe earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17Riseup, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you. 18So Abram movedhis tent, and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an

altar to the Lord.


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First Friday of AdventGenesis 22:1-14

1After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him,Abraham! And he said, Here I am. 2He said, Take yourson, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the landof Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of

the mountains that I shall show you.

3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey,and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac;he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and wentto the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4On thethird day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5Then Abraham said to his young men,Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will comeback to you. 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and hehimself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac said to hisfather Abraham, Father! And he said, Here I am, my son. He said, The fire and the wood arehere, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8Abraham said, God himself will provide thelamb for a burnt offering, my son. So the two of them walked on together. 9When they came to theplace that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He boundhis son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his handand took the knife to kill his son.

11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said,Here I am. 12He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I knowthat you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. 13And Abrahamlooked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram andoffered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called that place The Lord will

provide; as it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.


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First Saturday of AdventGenesis 27:41-28:22

Chapter 27

41Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with whichhis father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, Thedays of mourning for my father are approaching; then I willkill my brother Jacob. 42But the words of her elder son Esau

were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called her younger sonJacob and said to him, Your brother Esau is consolinghimself by planning to kill you. 43Now therefore, my son,obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran,44and stay with him a while, until your brothers fury turns away 45until your brothers angeragainst you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send, and bring youback from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day? 46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, I am

weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as

these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?

Chapter 281Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, You shall not marry one of theCanaanite women. 2Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mothers father; and

take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mothers brother. 3May God Almightybless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. 4Mayhe give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may takepossession of the land where you now live as an alienland that God gave to Abraham. 5ThusIsaac sent Jacob away; and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the

brother of Rebekah, Jacobs and Esaus mother.

6Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife fromthere, and that as he blessed him he charged him, You shall not marry one of the Canaanite

women, 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8So whenEsau saw that the Canaanite women did not please his father Isaac, 9Esau went to Ishmael and tookMahalath daughter of Abrahams son Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to

the wives he had.

10Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed there forthe night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head


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and lay down in that place. 12And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of itreaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13And the Lordstood beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac;the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14and your offspring shall be likethe dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and tothe south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15Know that Iam with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not

leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

16Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this placeand I did not knowit! 17And he was afraid, and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house ofGod, and this is the gate of heaven. 18So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone thathe had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19He called thatplace Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God

will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing towear, 21so that I come again to my fathers house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22and thisstone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be Gods house; and of all that you give me I will surely

give one tenth to you.


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Second Sunday of AdventIsaiah 9:2-7

2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them lighthas shined. 3You have multiplied the nation, you haveincreased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at theharvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4For the yokeof their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod oftheir oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.5For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all thegarments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.6For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authorityrests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,Prince of Peace. 7His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for thethrone of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and withrighteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.


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Second Monday of AdventGenesis 37:1-36

1Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, theland of Canaan. 2This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph,being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with hisbrothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, hisfathers wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to theirfather. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of hischildren, because he was the son of his old age; and he had madehim a long robe with sleeves. 4But when his brothers saw that theirfather loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and

could not speak peaceably to him.5Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6He saidto them, Listen to this dream that I dreamed. 7There we were, binding sheaves in the field.Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed downto my sheaf. 8His brothers said to him, Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to havedominion over us? So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words. 9He hadanother dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, Look, I have had another dream: the sun, themoon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me. 10But when he told it to his father and to hisbrothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, What kind of dream is this that you have had?Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?11So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

12Now his brothers went to pasture their fathers flock near Shechem. 13And Israel said to Joseph,Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them. Heanswered, Here I am. 14So he said to him, Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and withthe flock; and bring word back to me. So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came toShechem, 15and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, What are youseeking? 16I am seeking my brothers, he said; tell me, please, where they are pasturing theflock. 17The man said, They have gone away, for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. So

Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. 18They saw him from a distance, andbefore he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19They said to one another, Here comesthis dreamer. 20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a

wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21But whenReuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life. 22Reubensaid to them, Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand onhim that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.


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23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves thathe wore; 24and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.25Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,

with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26ThenJudah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27Come,let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.

And his brothers agreed. 28When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, liftinghim out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Josephto Egypt. 29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his

clothes. 30He returned to his brothers, and said, The boy is gone; and I, where can I turn?

31Then they took Josephs robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. 32They had thelong robe with sleeves taken to their father, and they said, This we have found; see now whether itis your sons robe or not. 33He recognized it, and said, It is my sons robe! A wild animal hasdevoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces. 34Then Jacob tore his garments, and putsackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 35All his sons and all his daughterssought to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and said, No, I shall go down to Sheol tomy son, mourning. Thus his father bewailed him. 36Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in

Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaohs officials, the captain of the guard.


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Second Tuesday of AdventExodus 20:1-17

1Then God spoke all these words: 2I am the Lord yourGod, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of thehouse of slavery; 3you shall have no other gods before me.4You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in theform of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on theearth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for Ithe Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third andthe fourth generation of those who reject me, 6but showing steadfast love to the thousandthgeneration of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7You shall not make wrongful use ofthe name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.8Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10Butthe seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any workyou, your son oryour daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11For insix days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day;

therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

12Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord yourGod is giving you. 13You shall not murder. 14You shall not commit adultery. 15You shall not steal.16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17You shall not covet your neighbors house;you shall not covet your neighbors wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that

belongs to your neighbor.


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Second Wednesday of AdventNumbers 6:22-27

22The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23Speak to Aaron and hissons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say tothem, 24The Lord bless you and keep you; 25the Lord make hisface to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26the Lord lift uphis countenance upon you, and give you peace. 27So they shall

put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.


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Second Thursday of Advent1 Samuel 3:1-21

1Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli.The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions werenot widespread. 2At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begunto grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in hisroom; 3the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel

was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4Then the Lord called,Samuel! Samuel! and he said, Here I am! 5and ran to Eli, and said, Here I am, for you calledme. But he said, I did not call; lie down again. So he went and lay down. 6The Lord called again,Samuel! Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, Idid not call, my son; lie down again. 7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of theLord had not yet been revealed to him. 8The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got upand went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for you called me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord wascalling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say,Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10Now theLord came and stood there, calling as before, Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for your

servant is listening.

11Then the Lord said to Samuel, See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both earsof anyone who hears of it tingle. 12On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spokenconcerning his house, from beginning to end. 13For I have told him that I am about to punish hishouse forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he didnot restrain them. 14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Elis house shall not beexpiated by sacrifice or offering forever. 15Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened thedoors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16But Eli called Samuel andsaid, Samuel, my son. He said, Here I am. 17Eli said, What was it that he told you? Do not hideit from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he toldyou. 18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, It is the Lord; let

him do what seems good to him.

19As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20And allIsrael from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. 21The Lordcontinued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the

Lord.


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Second Friday of Advent1 Samuel 16:14-22

14Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evilspirit from the Lord tormented him. 15And Sauls servants saidto him, See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.16Let our lord now command the servants who attend you tolook for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and whenthe evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you willfeel better. 17So Saul said to his servants, Provide for mesomeone who can play well, and bring him to me. 18One of theyoung men answered, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a manof valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him. 19SoSaul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send me your son David who is with the sheep. 20Jessetook a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul.21And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became hisarmor-bearer. 22Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David remain in my service, for he has found favorin my sight.


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Second Saturday of AdventPsalm 23

1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me

beside still waters;

3he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths forhis names sake.

4Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fearno evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff

they comfort me.5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup

overflows.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of

the Lord my whole life long.


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Third Sunday of Advent1 Kings 3:3-28

3Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of hisfather David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense atthe high places. 4The king went to Gibeon to sacrificethere, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used

to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

5At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shouldgive you. 6And Solomon said, You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my fatherDavid, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of hearttoward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to siton his throne today. 7And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of myfather David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8And yourservant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous theycannot be numbered or counted. 9Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to governyour people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people? 10Itpleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11God said to him, Because you have asked this, andhave not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked foryourself understanding to discern what is right, 12I now do according to your word. Indeed I giveyou a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall ariseafter you. 13I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no otherking shall compare with you. 14If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and mycommandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life. 15Then Solomonawoke; it had been a dream. He came to Jerusalem where he stood before the ark of the covenant ofthe Lord. He offered up burnt offerings and offerings of well-being, and provided a feast for all his

servants.

16Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17The one womansaid, Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the

house.

18

Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together;there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. 19Then thiswomans son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20She got up in the middle of the night andtook my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her deadson at my breast. 21When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when Ilooked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne. 22But the other womansaid, No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours. The first said, No, the dead son is


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yours, and the living son is mine. So they argued before the king. 23Then the king said, The onesays, This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead; while the other says, Not so! Your son isdead, and my son is the living one. 24So the king said, Bring me a sword, and they brought asword before the king. 25The king said, Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, andhalf to the other. 26But the woman whose son was alive said to the kingbecause compassion forher son burned within herPlease, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him! Theother said, It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it. 27Then the king responded: Give the first

woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother. 28All Israel heard of the judgment that theking had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of

God was in him, to execute justice.


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Third Monday of Advent1 Kings 17:1-16

1Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said toAhab, As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whomI stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years,except by my word. 2The word of the Lord came to him,saying, 3Go from here and turn eastward, and hideyourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.4You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commandedthe ravens to feed you there. 5So he went and didaccording to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the

Jordan. 6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in theevening; and he drank from the wadi. 7But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain

in the land.

8Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon,and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you. 10So he set out and went toZarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called toher and said, Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink. 11As she was going to bring it,he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. 12But she said, As the Lordyour God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I amnow gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that

we may eat it, and die. 13Elijah said to her, Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but firstmake me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and yourson. 14For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil

will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth. 15She went and did as Elijah said, sothat she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16The jar of meal was not emptied,neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.


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Third Tuesday of Advent2 Kings 5:1-27

1Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, wasa great man and in high favor with his master, because byhim the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though amighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2Now the Arameanson one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from theland of Israel, and she served Naamans wife. 3She said to hermistress, If only my lord were with the prophet who is inSamaria! He would cure him of his leprosy. 4So Naaman

went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land ofIsrael had said. 5And the king of Aram said, Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king ofIsrael. He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets ofgarments. 6He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, When this letter reaches you,know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy. 7When theking of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, Am I God, to give death or life, that thisman sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick aquarrel with me. 8But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn hisclothes, he sent a message to the king, Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that

he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.

9So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elishas house. 10Elishasent a messenger to him, saying, Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall berestored and you shall be clean. 11But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, I thought thatfor me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would

wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers ofDamascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean? He turnedand went away in a rage. 13But his servants approached and said to him, Father, if the prophet hadcommanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when allhe said to you was, Wash, and be clean? 14So he went down and immersed himself seven times inthe Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young

boy, and he was clean.

15Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him andsaid, Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present fromyour servant. 16But he said, As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing! He urged himto accept, but he refused. 17Then Naaman said, If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to


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your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god except theLord. 18But may the Lord pardon your servant on one count: when my master goes into the house ofRimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I dobow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one count. 19Hesaid to him, Go in peace. But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance,20Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, My master has let that Aramean Naamanoff too lightly by not accepting from him what he offered. As the Lord lives, I will run after him andget something out of him. 21So Gehazi went after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone runningafter him, he jumped down from the chariot to meet him and said, Is everything all right? 22Hereplied, Yes, but my master has sent me to say, Two members of a company of prophets have justcome to me from the hill country of Ephraim; please give them a talent of silver and two changes ofclothing. 23Naaman said, Please accept two talents. He urged him, and tied up two talents ofsilver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and gave them to two of his servants, who carriedthem in front of Gehazi. 24When he came to the citadel, he took the bags from them, and storedthem inside; he dismissed the men, and they left. 25He went in and stood before his master; andElisha said to him, Where have you been, Gehazi? He answered, Your servant has not goneanywhere at all. 26But he said to him, Did I not go with you in spirit when someone left his chariotto meet you? Is this a time to accept money and to accept clothing, olive orchards and vineyards,sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves? 27Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you,

and to your descendants forever. So he left his presence leprous, as white as snow.


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Third Wednesday of AdventIsaiah 6:1-8

1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on athrone, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled thetemple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six

wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two theycovered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called toanother and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. 4The

pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.

5And I said: Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people ofunclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! 6Then one of the seraphs flew tome, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touchedmy mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and yoursin is blotted out. 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will gofor us? And I said, Here am I; send me!


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Third Thursday of AdventJeremiah 31:31-34

31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I willmake a new covenant with the house of Israel and the houseof Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made withtheir ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring themout of the land of Egypta covenant that they broke, thoughI was their husband, says the Lord. 33But this is the covenantthat I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law withinthem, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34Nolonger shall they teach one another, or say to each other, Know the Lord, for they shall all knowme, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, andremember their sin no more.


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Third Friday of AdventNehemiah 13:10-22

10I also found out that the portions of the Leviteshad not been given to them; so that the Levites andthe singers, who had conducted the service, hadgone back to their fields. 11So I remonstrated withthe officials and said, Why is the house of Godforsaken? And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12Then all Judah brought thetithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13And I appointed as treasurers over thestorehouses the priest Shelemiah, the scribe Zadok, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as theirassistant Hanan son of Zaccur son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful; and their duty

was to distribute to their associates. 14Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe

out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.

15In those days I saw in Judah people treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in heaps ofgrain and loading them on donkeys; and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which theybrought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned them at that time against selling food.16Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of merchandise and sold them onthe sabbath to the people of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17Then I remonstrated with the nobles of

Judah and said to them, What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? 18Didnot your ancestors act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city?

Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath. 19When it began to be dark at thegates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave ordersthat they should not be opened until after the sabbath. And I set some of my servants over the gates,to prevent any burden from being brought in on the sabbath day. 20Then the merchants and sellersof all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21But I warned themand said to them, Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will layhands on you. From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. 22And I commanded theLevites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the sabbath dayholy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your

steadfast love.


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Third Saturday of AdventHebrews 1:1-14

1Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many andvarious ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days hehas spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir ofall things, through whom he also created the worlds.3He is the reflection of Gods glory and the exact imprint of Gods very being, and he sustains allthings by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right handof the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited ismore excellent than theirs. 5For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son; today Ihave begotten you? Or again, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son? 6And again, when hebrings the firstborn into the world, he says, Let all Gods angels worship him. 7Of the angels hesays, He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire. 8But of the Son he says, Yourthrone, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. 9Youhave loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you withthe oil of gladness beyond your companions. 10And, In the beginning, Lord, you founded theearth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11they will perish, but you remain; they will all

wear out like clothing; 12like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. Butyou are the same, and your years will never end. 13But to which of the angels has he ever said, Sitat my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? 14Are not all angels spirits in

the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?


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Fourth Sunday of AdventLuke 1:5-25

5In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priestnamed Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly orderof Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, andher name was Elizabeth. 6Both of them were righteousbefore God, living blamelessly according to all thecommandments and regulations of the Lord. 7But theyhad no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. 8Once when he

was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9he was chosen by lot, according to thecustom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10Now at the time ofthe incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11Then there appearedto him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah sawhim, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid,Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you willname him John. 14You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will begreat in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he

will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.17With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to theirchildren, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared forthe Lord. 18Zechariah said to the angel, How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, andmy wife is getting on in years. 19The angel replied, I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God,and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20But now, because you didnot believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak,until the day these things occur. 21Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and

wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. 22When he did come out, he could not speak to them, andthey realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remainedunable to speak. 23When his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24After those days his

wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25This is whatthe Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I haveendured among my people.


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Fourth Monday of AdventLuke 1:26-38

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a townin Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whosename was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgins name wasMary. 28And he came to her and said, Greetings, favored one!The Lord is with you. 29But she was much perplexed by his

words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30Theangel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have foundfavor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb andbear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the MostHigh, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over thehouse of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. 34Mary said to the angel, Howcan this be, since I am a virgin? 35The angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, andthe power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he willbe called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; andthis is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible withGod. 38Then 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.


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Fourth Tuesday of AdventLuke 1:39-56

39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town inthe hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah andgreeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Marys greeting, the childleaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42andexclaimed with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women, and blessedis the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that themother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound ofyour greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed isshe who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. 46AndMary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he haslooked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call meblessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is forthose who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he hasscattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from theirthrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich awayempty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promisehe made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. 56And Mary remained with

her about three months and then returned to her home.


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Fourth Wednesday of AdventLuke 1:57-80

57Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and shebore a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that theLord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced

with her. 59On the eighth day they came to circumcise thechild, and they were going to name him Zechariah afterhis father. 60But his mother said, No; he is to be called

John. 61They said to her, None of your relatives has this name. 62Then they began motioning tohis father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63He asked for a writing tablet and wrote,His name is John. And all of them were amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and histongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65Fear came over all their neighbors, and allthese things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66All who heard thempondered them and said, What then will this child become? For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was

with him.

67Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: 68Blessed bethe Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69He hasraised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70as he spoke through the mouthof his holy prophets from of old, 71that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand ofall who hate us. 72Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered hisholy covenant, 73the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74that we, beingrescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75in holiness andrighteousness before him all our days. 76And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give knowledge of salvation to his people bythe forgiveness of their sins. 78By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will breakupon us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feetinto the way of peace. 80The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness

until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.


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Fourth Thursday of AdventMatthew 1:18-25

18Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in thisway. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph,but before they lived together, she was found to be withchild from the Holy Spirit. 19Her husband Joseph, being arighteous man and unwilling to expose her to publicdisgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of theLord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary asyour wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you are toname him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 22All this took place to fulfill what hadbeen spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, andthey shall name him Emmanuel, which means, God is with us. 24When Joseph awoke from sleep,he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25but had no maritalrelations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.


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Fourth Friday of AdventMatthew 2:1-12

1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born inBethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to

Jerusalem, 2asking, Where is the child who has been bornking of the Jews? For we observed his star at its ris ing, andhave come to pay him homage. 3When King Herod heardthis, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4andcalling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.5They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been

written by the prophet: 6And you, Bethlehem, in the land ofJudah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; forfrom you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my peopleIsrael. 7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men andlearned from them the exact time when the star hadappeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child; and

when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.

9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they hadseen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the starhad stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child withMary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests,they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to

return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.


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Christmas EveLuke 2:1-20

1In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that allthe world should be registered. 2This was the first registrationand was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All wentto their own towns to be registered. 4Joseph also went from thetown of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David calledBethlehem, because he was descended from the house andfamily of David. 5He went to be registered with Mary, to whomhe was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6While they werethere, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7And she gavebirth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth,and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them

in the inn.

8In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, andthey were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for seeI am bringing you goodnews of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is theMessiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth andlying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,praising God and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those

whom he favors! 15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to oneanother, Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord hasmade known to us. 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in themanger. 17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all

who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these wordsand pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all theyhad heard and seen, as it had been told them.


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Christmas DayJohn 1:1-28

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3Allthings came into being through him, and without him not onething came into being. What has come into being 4in him was

life, and the life was the light of all people.5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did notovercome it. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness totestify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he cameto testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10He

was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11Hecame to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who received him,

who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of bloodor of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word became flesh and lived

among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a fathers only son, full of grace and truth.

15(John testified to him and cried out, This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranksahead of me because he was before me.) 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No onehas ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Fathers heart, who has made him

known.

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