07 December 2025
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
Isaiah 11:1-10
A reading from the book of the propht Isaiah.
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor
and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb;
the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed[b] together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand
as a signal to the peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him,
and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Romans 15:4-13
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
Whatever was written in former days
was written for our instruction,
so that by steadfastness
and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement
grant you to live in harmony with one another,
in accordance with Christ Jesus,
so that together you may with one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you,
for the glory of God.
For I tell you
that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised
on behalf of the truth of God
in order that he might confirm the promises given to the ancestors
and that the gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.
As it is written,
“Therefore I will confess you among the gentiles
and sing praises to your name”;
and again he says,
“Rejoice, O gentiles, with his people”;
and again,
“Praise the Lord, all you gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him”;
and again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the gentiles;
in him the gentiles shall hope.”
May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you may abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3:1-12
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
In those days John the Baptist
appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair
with a leather belt around his waist,
and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea
were going out to him,
and all the region around the Jordan
and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan,
confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism,
he said to them,
“You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Bear fruit worthy of repentance,
and do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’
for I tell you, God is able from these stones
to raise up children to Abraham.
Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees;
therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance,
but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me,
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fork is in his hand,
and he will clear his threshing floor
and will gather his wheat into the granary,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
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