Worship With Good Shepherd

 ☩LESSONS AND CAROLS☩

FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 60: 1-6
1Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

SECOND LESSON: Ephesians 1: 3-14 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.

THIRD LESSON: Matthew 2: 1-12
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men
from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, "Where is the child who has been born
king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him
homage." 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with
him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired
of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea;
for so it has been written by the prophet:
6'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time
when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and
search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I
may also go and pay him homage." 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and
there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped
over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they
were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary
his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure
chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been
warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another
road.

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FOURTH LESSON: Psalm 147: 12-20
12Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. 14He grants peace within your borders; he fills you with the finest of wheat. 15He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 16He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. 17He hurls down hail like crumbs — who can stand before his cold? 18He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow. 19He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel. 20He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the LORD!
 

FIFTH LESSON: John 1: 1-18
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and
without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not overcome it.
6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to
testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light,
but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was
coming into the world.
10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did
not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept
him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to
become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of
the will of man, but of God.
14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the
glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. 15(John testified to him and cried
out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because
he was before me.'") 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the
Father's heart, who has made him known.

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