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The First Sunday of Advent |
 Almighty
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon
us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when
he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the
dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth
with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Lesson |
Isaiah 2:1-5
The Future House of God
The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It
shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the
LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be
raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many
peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the
LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and
that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and
shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of
Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD. |
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Epistle |
Romans 13:8-14
Love for One Another
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his
neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit
adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and
any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is
the fulfilling of the law.
An Urgent Appeal
Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is
full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now
than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let
us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us
conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness,
not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But
put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to
gratify its desires. |
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Gospel |
Matthew 24:37-44
The Necessity for Watchfulness
As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in
those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did
not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming
of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one
is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is
left. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night
the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house
be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is
coming at an hour you do not expect. |
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