Second Sunday of Advent	December 7, 2025
Prayer of the Day
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, that by his coming we may be enabled to serve you with pure minds; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10 
1There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples — of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Psalm 72:1-7 (LBW)
1Give the King your jus- | tice, O God,*
	and your righteousness to | the King’s Son;
2That he may rule your | people righteously*
	and the | poor with justice;
3That the mountains may bring prosperity | to the people,*
	and the little | hills bring righteousness.
4He shall defend the needy a- | mong the people;*
	he shall rescue the poor and crush | the oppressor.
5He shall live as long as the sun and | moon endure,*
	from one generation | to another.
6He shall come down like rain upon | the mown field,*
	like showers that wa- | ter the earth.
7In his time shall the | righteous flourish;*
	there shall be abundance of peace ’til the moon shall | be no more.
Psalm 72:1-7 (ESV)
1Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
2May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
3Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!
4May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!
5May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
6May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!
7In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, ’til the moon be no more!
Second Reading: Romans 15:4-13 
4Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” 10And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” 12And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” 13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
1In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” 4Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Lessons for Next Week: 
Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146; James 5:7-11; Matthew 11:2-15