Sunday Lectionary Readings

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The Collect

Fourth Sunday of Advent
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Preface of Advent

Old Testament Reading

Micah 5:2-5
²" But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." ³Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. ⁴And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; ⁵And this One shall be peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men. -- NKJV

Psalm

Psalm 80
^{To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Lilies." A Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.}
¹Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

²Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!

³Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

⁴O LORD God of hosts,
How long will You be angry
Against the prayer of Your people?

⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure.

⁶You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

⁸You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations, and planted it.

⁹You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.

¹⁰The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the mighty cedars with its boughs.

¹¹She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her branches to the River.

¹²Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?

¹³The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.

¹⁴Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine

¹⁵And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.

¹⁶It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

¹⁷Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.

¹⁸Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

¹⁹Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
-- NKJV

- OR -

Psalm 80:1-7
¹Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

²Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!

³Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

⁴O LORD God of hosts,
How long will You be angry
Against the prayer of Your people?

⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure.

⁶You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

-- NKJV

New Testament Reading

Hebrews 10:5-10
⁵Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: " Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. ⁶In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. ⁷Then I said, 'Behold, I have come- In the volume of the book it is written of Me- To do Your will, O God.'" ⁸Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them " (which are offered according to the law), ⁹then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. ¹⁰By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. -- NKJV

Gospel Reading

Luke 1:39-49(50-56)
³⁹Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." ⁴⁶And Mary said: " My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. ⁴⁸For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. (⁵⁰And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. ⁵¹He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ⁵²He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. ⁵⁴He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, ⁵⁵As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever." ⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house. ) -- 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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