First Sunday of Advent

1Verse 1. If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence, 2Verse 2. as fire kindles the brushwood and causes the water to boil, to make Your name known to Your enemies, so that the nations will tremble at Your presence! 3Verse 3. When You did awesome works that we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains trembled at Your presence. 4Verse 4. From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. 5Verse 5. You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? 6Verse 6. Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. 7Verse 7. No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8Verse 8. But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand. 9Verse 9. Do not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure; do not remember our iniquity forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray; we are all Your people!

3Verse 3. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4Verse 4. I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus. 5Verse 5. For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, 6Verse 6. because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7Verse 7. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8Verse 8. He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9Verse 9. God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

24Verse 24. But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25Verse 25. the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ 26Verse 26. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27Verse 27. And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28Verse 28. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. 29Verse 29. So also, when you see these things happening, know that He is near, right at the door. 30Verse 30. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. 31Verse 31. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 32Verse 32. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Verse 33. Be on your guard and stay alert! For you do not know when the appointed time will come. 34Verse 34. It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch. 35Verse 35. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return — whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning. 36Verse 36. Otherwise, he may arrive without notice and find you sleeping. 37Verse 37. And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!”