Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Immanuel Prophecy
10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: 11 “Ask for a sign(A) from the Lord your God—from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven.”
12 But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.”
13 Isaiah(B) said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God?(C) 14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you[a] a sign: The virgin will conceive,[b] have a son, and name him Immanuel.[c](D) 15 By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good,(E) he will be eating butter[d] and honey.(F) 16 For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned.
Psalm 80
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”[a] A testimony of Asaph.(A) A psalm.
1 Listen, Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;(B)
You who sit enthroned on the cherubim,(C)
rise up(D)
2 before Ephraim,
Benjamin, and Manasseh.[b](E)
Rally Your power and come to save us.(F)
3 Restore us, God;
look on us with favor,
and we will be saved.(G)
4 Lord God of Hosts,
how long will You be angry
with Your people’s prayers?(H)
5 You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure[c]
of tears to drink.(I)
6 You make us quarrel with our neighbors;
our enemies make fun of us.(J)
7 Restore us, God of Hosts;
look on us with favor, and we will be saved.(K)
God’s Good News for Rome
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle[a](A) and singled out(B) for God’s good news(C)— 2 which He promised long ago(D) through His prophets(E) in the Holy Scriptures— 3 concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David[b](F) according to the flesh(G) 4 and who has been declared to be the powerful(H) Son of God(I) by the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness.[c] 5 We have received grace and apostleship(J) through Him to bring about[d] the obedience(K) of faith[e] among all the nations,[f](L) on behalf of His name, 6 including yourselves who also belong to Jesus Christ by calling:(M)
7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God,(N) called(O) as saints.(P)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Nativity of the Messiah
18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.(A) 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man,(B) and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.(C)
20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.(D) 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus,[a](E) because He will save His people from their sins.”(F)
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 See, the virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and they will name Him Immanuel,[b]
which is translated “God is with us.”(G)
24 When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her(H) 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son.[c] And he named Him Jesus.(I)
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