Sunday Lectionary Readings

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The Collect

First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your 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 living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Preface of Advent

Old Testament Reading

Zechariah 14:4-9
⁴And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Makinga very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. ⁵Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You. ⁶It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish. ⁷It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD- Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light. ⁸And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. ⁹And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be- " The LORD is one," And His name one. -- NKJV

Psalm

Psalm 50
^{A Psalm of Asaph.}
¹The Mighty One, God the LORD,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.

²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.

³Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

⁴He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:

⁵"Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice."

⁶Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Selah

⁷"Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
I am God, your God!

⁸I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.

⁹I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.

¹⁰For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

¹²"If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

¹³Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.

¹⁵Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."

¹⁶But to the wicked God says:
"What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,

¹⁷Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?

¹⁸When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.

¹⁹You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.

²⁰You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother's son.

²¹These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.

²²"Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:

²³Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God."
-- NKJV

- OR -

Psalm 50:1-6
¹The Mighty One, God the LORD,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.

²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.

³Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

⁴He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:

⁵"Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice."

⁶Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Selah

-- NKJV

New Testament Reading

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
⁹For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, ¹⁰night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith? ¹¹Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. ¹²And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, ¹³so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. -- NKJV

Gospel Reading

Luke 21:25-31
²⁵"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." ²⁹Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. ³⁰When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. ³¹So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. -- NKJV

The Preface

Preface of Advent
To be used on Sundays and weekdays alike, except as otherwise appointed for Holy Days and Various Occasions
Because you sent your beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life; that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.
(Unless otherwise noted.)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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