Lessons                                                                       Bread of Life                                                      12 December 2020

Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11

₁The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

          because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

₂to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,

          and the day of vengeance of our God;

          to comfort all who mourn;

₃to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a beautiful headdress

          instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of

          a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord,

          that he may be glorified.

₄They shall build up the ancient ruins;

          they shall raise up the former devastations;

they shall repair the ruined cities,

          the devastations of many generations. . . .

₈For I the Lord love justice;

          I hate robbery and wrong;

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

₉Their offspring shall be known

among the nations,

and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;

all who see them shall acknowledge them,

that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

₁₀I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;

          my soul shall exult in my God,

for he has clothed me with the

garments of salvation;

he has covered me with the

          robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,

          and as a bride adorns herself

          with her jewels.

₁₁For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,

so the Lord God will cause

righteousness and praise

          to sprout up before all the nations.

Psalm 126

₁When the Lord restored the fortunes of | Zion,*

          we were like | those who dream.

₂Then our mouth was filled with | laughter,*

          and our tongue with | shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great | things for them.”*

₃The Lord has done great things for us; | we are glad.

₄Restore our fortunes, | O Lord,*

          like streams in the | Negeb!

₅Those who | sow in tears*

          shall reap with | shouts of joy!

₆He who goes out weeping,

          bearing the seed for | sowing,*

shall come home with shouts of joy,

          bringing his | sheaves with him.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24

          ₁₆Rejoice always, ₁₇pray without ceasing, ₁₈give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ₁₉Do not quench the Spirit. ₂₀Do not despise prophecies, ₂₁but test everything; hold fast what is good. ₂₂Abstain from every form of evil.

          ₂₃Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ₂₄He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

John 1:6–8, 19–28

          ₆There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ₇He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ₈He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. . . .

          ₁₉This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ₂₀He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ₂₁And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ₂₂So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ₂₃He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

          ₂₄(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) ₂₅They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ₂₆John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, ₂₇even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ₂₈These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.