2nd Sunday of Advent (Year: C)
Date: Sunday, December 09th, 2018, 11:00
Old Testament: Mal. 3:1-4
Psalms: Ps. 126
1"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.
2But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap.
3He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,
4and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Malachi 3:1-4 (NIV)
Epistle: Philip. 1:3-11
1When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed.
2Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
3The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
4Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.
5Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
6He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
Psalms 126 (NIV)
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
3I thank my God every time I remember you.
4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.
8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:3-11 (NIV)
1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--
2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
3He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
4As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
5Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
6And all mankind will see God's salvation.'"
Luke 3:1-6 (NIV)