Advent Season | 3rd Sunday 14 Dec 2025
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
you sent your messengers the prophets
to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation:
Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise make ready your way,
by turning the hearts of the disobedient toward the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world,
we may be found a people acceptable in your sight;
for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.
“Dear brothers and sisters,
be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.”
(James 5:7)
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Canticle of the Turning – “Safety Harbor” / tranceseraph
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OT Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10 (NLT)
Hope for Restoration
35:1 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
+ Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
the splendor of our God.
+ With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
+ Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”
35:5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
+ The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.
+ The parched ground will become a pool,
and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
where desert jackals once lived.
35:8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
fools will never walk there.
+ Lions will not lurk along its course,
nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
+ Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
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The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise Luke 1:46b-55 (NLT)
My Soul Proclaims | Francesca LaRosa and Sarah Hart
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NT Reading: James 5:7-10 (NLT)
Patience and Endurance
5:7 Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
5:9 Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!
5:10 For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
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Come Thou Long Expected Jesus | Reawaken Hymns
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Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:2-11 (NLT)
11:2 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
11:4 Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”
11:7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,
‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way before you.’
11:11 “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!
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Gaudete – Steeleye Span / Robert Allen
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Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear our prayers, and grant that in our local assemblies the pure Word of God may be preached and the Sacraments duly administered. Strengthen and confirm the faithful; protect and guide the children; visit and relieve the sick; turn and soften the wicked; arouse the careless; recover the fallen; restore the penitent; remove all hindrances to the advancement of your truth; and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church, to the honor and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, our heavenly Father, you manifested your love by sending your only-begotten Son into the world, that all might live through him: Pour out your Spirit on your Church, that we may fulfill his command to preach the Gospel to all people. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 