Second Sunday of Advent

1Verse 1. Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2Verse 2. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. 3Verse 3. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, 4Verse 4. but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. 5Verse 5. Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist. 6Verse 6. The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them. 7Verse 7. The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8Verse 8. The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest. 9Verse 9. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water. 10Verse 10. On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.

4Verse 4. For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. 5Verse 5. Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another in Christ Jesus, 6Verse 6. so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Verse 7. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God. 8Verse 8. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, 9Verse 9. so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.” 10Verse 10. Again, it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” 11Verse 11. And again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and extol Him, all you peoples.” 12Verse 12. And once more, Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.” 13Verse 13. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

1Verse 1. In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2Verse 2. and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3Verse 3. This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” 4Verse 4. John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5Verse 5. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan. 6Verse 6. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7Verse 7. But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Verse 8. Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. 9Verse 9. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10Verse 10. The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11Verse 11. I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12Verse 12. His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”