Second Sunday of Advent

1Verse 1. “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. 2Verse 2. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” 3Verse 3. A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4Verse 4. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. 5Verse 5. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.” 6Verse 6. A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. 7Verse 7. The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. 8Verse 8. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” 9Verse 9. Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10Verse 10. Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. 11Verse 11. He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

8Verse 8. Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9Verse 9. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. 10Verse 10. But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare. 11Verse 11. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness 12Verse 12. as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. 13Verse 13. But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14Verse 14. Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace— spotless and blameless in His sight. 15Verse 15. Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him.

1Verse 1. This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2Verse 2. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.” 3Verse 3. “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” 4Verse 4. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5Verse 5. People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6Verse 6. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 7Verse 7. And he proclaimed: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8Verse 8. I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. ”