Devotions for First Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent

December 1, 2013

Candle: Purple

Theme: Hope/Expectation

(Light one purple candle.)

Opening Prayer:

"Lord God, we light this candle to thank you for your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world. We who have sat in darkness have seen a great light, the light of Jesus Christ, our salvation. Father, we give you thanks and praise in Jesus' name, because he lives and reigns with you in your glory, and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Amen."

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 25:1-10

(Listen to Psalm 25) 

"To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies."

Luke 21:25-36

 (Listen to Luke 21)

"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." And he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Mid-Prayer:

"We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that, as we have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Scripture Reading:

Jeremiah 33:14-16

(Listen to Jeremiah 33) 

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'"

Isaiah 60:1-3

(Listen to Isaiah 60) 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising."

Hymn:

Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel
(recommended verses 1, 2, 6, and 7)
Link to Instrumental Music on YouTube

(1) Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

(2) Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

(3) Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times gave holy law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

(4) Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem,
From ev'ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty pow'r to save;
Bring them in vict'ry through the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

(5) Oh, come, O Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

(6) Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

(7) Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

(Hymn #31 from "Lutheran Worship", accessed from www.lutheran-hymnal.com)

Scripture Reading:

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

(Listen to I Thessalonians 3) 

"But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you—for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."

Closing Prayer:

"O Lord, raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succor us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore hindered and obstructed in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen."

Mark 5

Here's my non-scholarly, just for practice, don't base any doctrine on it, translation of Mark 5. Enjoy!

~~~

Key:

{Words not in the Greek text I added for clarity}

(Words in the Greek text I viewed as parenthetical)

[The authenticity of these words is in question]

The Gospel According to Mark

Chapter 5

“My name is Legion...”
1 And they came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And when he came out of the boat, immediately a man with an unclean spirit {came} from the tombs to meet him. 3 He made his dwelling among the tombs, and no one was able to bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For, he had been often bound with chains and shackles, but he would tear the chains apart, and the shackles he would break into pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And throughout every day and night, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And seeing Jesus from far off, he ran {up to him} and worshipped him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice he said,

“What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the most high God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!”

8 For he was saying to him,

“Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”

9 And he asked him,

“What is your name?”

And he said to him,

“My name is Legion, for we are many.”

10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now there was on the mountain a large herd of pigs, feeding. 12 And they begged him saying,

“Send us into the pigs so that we may enter into them.”

13 And he permitted them, and the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. And the herd (about two thousand) rushed down a steep bank into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

“Tell them all that the Lord has done...”
14 And the herdsmen fled and announced it in the city and in the country, and they came to see what was going on. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon possessed man (the one who had the legion) sitting, clothed, and thinking clearly - and they were afraid. 16 And the ones who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon possessed man (and {also} concerning the pigs). 17 And they began to beg him to depart from their region. 18 And while he was setting out in the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed man begged to be with him. 19 But he did not permit him, and said to him,

“Depart into your house, to your own friends, and tell them all that the Lord has done for you, and the mercy he had for you.”

20 So he departed and began proclaiming in the Decapolis all that Jesus had done to him, and they were all amazed.

Jairus: Part One
21 And when Jesus crossed over again to the other side [in the boat], a large crowd gathered around him, and he was alongside the sea. 22 And one of the rulers of the synagogue came (his name was Jairus), and seeing him {Jesus}, he fell before his feet. 23 And he passionately urged him saying,

“My little daughter is almost dead. Come, so that you can lay your hands upon her, in order that she might become healthy and live!”

Parenthetical Healing of Woman
24 And he went with him. And a great crowd was following him and was pressing against him. 25 And there was a woman with a hemorrhage for twelve years 26 and had suffered greatly under many physicians and had {spent} all of her {money}, and was not helped, but rather became worse. 27 Hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind {Jesus} and touched his clothing. 28 For she said,

“If I touch even his clothes, I will be saved.”

29 And immediately the flow of her blood dried up, and she realized in her body that she had been healed from her affliction. 30 And immediately, Jesus, knowing in himself that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and said,

“Who touched my clothes?”

31 And his disciples said to him,

“You see the crowd pressing against you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

32 And he looked around to see who had done this. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole story. 34 But he said to her,

“Woman, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

Jairus: Part Two
35 While he was yet speaking, they came from the ruler’s house saying,

“Your daughter has died. Why trouble the teacher further?”

36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the ruler of the synagogue,

“Do not fear, only believe.”

37 And he permitted no one to accompany him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). 38 And they came into the ruler of the synagogue’s house, and he saw a commotion and many {people} weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And entering in, he said to them,

“Why are you making this big commotion, and weeping? The child has not died, but is sleeping.”

40 And they laughed at him. But casting them all outside, he took the child’s father and mother (and those with him), and entered into where the child was. 41 And taking the girl by her hand, he said to her,

“Talitha koum!”

which is translated,

“Little girl, I say to you, arise!”

42 And immediately the little girl arose and walked about (for she was twelve years old), and they were [immediately] amazed with great astonishment. 43 And he made a specific point to ask them that no one should come to know this, and he asked them to give her something to eat.

Mark 4

My non-scholarly translation of Mark 4

~~~

Key:

{Words not in the Greek text I added for clarity}

(Words in the Greek text I viewed as parenthetical)

[The authenticity of these words is in question]

The Gospel According to Mark

Chapter 4

A Parable is Introduced
1 And again he began to teach by the sea, and a great crowd flocked to him, so that he set out on a boat in the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things using parables, and in his teaching he was saying to them,

3 “Pay attention! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it just so happened, in the process of sowing, that some {seed} fell alongside the road, and a bird came and ate it up. 5 Some other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, it was scorched, and because it had no root - it withered away. 7 Some other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns rose up and choked it, and it produced no fruit. 8 But some seed fell on the good ground, and rising up and increasing it yielded fruit, producing thirty, sixty, and a hundred {times the norm}!

9 And he said,

“He who has an ear to hear - let him hear!”

The Parable is Explained
10 And once He was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them,

“The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything is in parables. 12 So that, ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand - lest they turn and be forgiven.’”

13 And he said to them,

“You don’t understand this parable? How will you understand all the {other} parables?

14 The sower sows the word.

15 And these are the ones alongside the road where the word is sown, when they hear - Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which was sown in them.

16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground, the ones who, when they hear the word - immediately receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root in themselves, but are temporary. Then, tribulation and persecutions come because of the word, immediately causing them to stumble.

18 And others are the ones sown among the thorns - these are the ones who hear the word 19 and the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things enter in and choke the word, and it become unfruitful.

20 And those that were sown on the good ground, are the ones who hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold!”

“Let him hear!”
21 And he said to them,

“Is a lamp brought out in order to be placed under a basket, or under a couch, and not in order to be placed on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest, nor is anything made secret, except in order to be manifested. 23 If anyone has ears to hear - let him hear!”

24 And he said to them,

“Be careful what you hear - by the measure you use, it will be measured to you and even more will be added to you. 25 For to whoever has, more will be given. And whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

Sower of the Kingdom
26 And he said,

“The kingdom of God is like a man who tosses seed onto the ground. 27 Day and night he sleeps and rises, and the seed sprouts and grows - he doesn’t know how. 28 The earth bears fruit by itself, first it’s just the blade, then it begins to bud, then it ripens. 29 But when the fruit is ready, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest is at hand.”

The Mustard Seed
30 He continued,

“To what can I compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use {to describe} it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown on the earth, is smaller than all the seeds {sown} on the earth. 32 Yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the other garden plants, and produces large branches so that the birds of the air can dwell under it’s shadow.”

Parables
33 And with many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. 34 But he did not speak to them without parables, but on his own, he explained everything to his own disciples.

“Why are you afraid?”
35 On that day, when it had become evening, he said to them,

“Let us cross to the other side.”

36 And leaving the crowd, they received him into their boat as he was, and other boats were with them. 37 And a large wind storm arose, and the waves crashed into the boat, so that the boat was already filling up. 38 And he was in the stern of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. And they woke him and said,

“Teacher! It doesn’t bother you that we are perishing?!”

39 And getting up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea,

“Silence, be quiet.”

And the wind stopped and it became very calm. 40 And he said to them,

“Why are you afraid? You still have no faith?”

41 And they were terrified and said to one another,

“Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Mark 3

Hope you all enjoy!

Again, this is just for my practice - don't start a new denomination based on anything you read below :)

The Gospel According to Mark

Chapter 3

Healing on the Sabbath
1 And he entered again into the synagogue, and a man was there who had a shriveled hand. 2 And they watched closely {to see} if he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the shriveled hand,

“Stand up, {right} in the middle {of the crowd}.”

4 And he said to them,

“Which is lawful on the Sabbath? To do good, or to do evil? To save a life, or to kill {one}?”

But they were silent. 5 And looking around at them with anger, grieved by their hardness of heart, he said to the man,

“Stretch out your hand.”

And he reached out, and his hand was restored. 6 Immediately, the Pharisees went out and took counsel with the Herodians against him, in order that they might destroy him.

The Crowds
7 And Jesus departed to the sea with his disciples, and a great crowd - from Galilee, from Judea, 8 from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, from around Tyre and Sidon [followed him]. When the great crowd heard what he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he said to his disciples that a boat should be ready for him because of the crowd, so that they might not overwhelm him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with afflictions were falling on him just so they might touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out saying,

“You are the Son of God!”

12 And many times he rebuked them hoping that they would not publicize him.

List of the Twelve
13 And he went up to the mountain and called to himself those whom he willed, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve [whom he also named, “apostles”], in order that they might be with him, and so that he might send them to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 [and he appointed the twelve] Simon (to whom he gave the name, “Peter”), 17 James (the son of Zebedee), John (James’ brother) - and to them he gave the name, “Boanerges”, which means, “Sons of Thunder” - 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (the “Cananaean”), 19 and Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him).

“He has Beelzebul...”
20 And he went into a house, and a crowd gathered again, so that they were not able to even eat a meal. 21 And when his own friends heard {of it}, they went out to gain control of him, for they were saying,

“He’s lost it.”

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying,

“He has Beelzebul {in him}!”

and

“He casts out demons by the ruler of demons!”

23 And he summoned them, speaking to them in parables,

“How is Satan able to cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 If Satan rises against himself and is divided, he cannot stand - but is finished. 27 No one can enter into a strong man’s house to steal his stuff, unless he first binds the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

The Eternal Sin

28 I am speaking truth to you - all sins of the sons of men will be forgiven, even whatever blasphemes they might blaspheme. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not experience forgiveness in this life, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 For they were saying,

“He has an unclean spirit.”

Define, “Family”
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent {word} to him, calling him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him,

“Look, your mother and your brothers [and your sisters] are outside looking for you.”

33 And he gave this answer to them,

“Who are my mother and [my] brothers?”

34 And looking around at those sitting in a circle around him, he said,

“Look, my mother and my brothers. 35 [For] Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother, sister, and mother.”

______________________

Key:

(Words in the Greek text I viewed as parenthetical)

{Words not in the Greek text I added for clarity}

[The authenticity of these words is in question]