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 in their nurses’ arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant;     your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the…

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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. Prayer Focus: Again we find thick darkness covering the people, but…

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1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,     and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Prayer Focus: As we prepare for the first Sunday of a new calendar year, we turn to the prophet Isaiah. Here the prophet calls for the people to arise, shine for their light has come with…

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36There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that…

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25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the…

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22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in…

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1 When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child, and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Prayer Focus: The name of Jesus.  The name the angel told Mary she was to name her child.  The name that so many generations have…

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“Joy to the world, the Lord has come!Let earth receive her king.let every heart prepare him room…” “And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.”   Luke 2:7 When our children were small, our…

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“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoicesFor yonder breaksA new and glorious morn” I woke up Christmas Eve morning when I was thirteen to the news that my grandfather had died and my mom had gone to be with her mom. My siblings and I were shocked and devastated. My sister asked, “Will we…

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For nearly 45 years, I celebrated Christmas Eve service at First Presbyterian Church of Green Bay and every year the service ended the same. They dimmed the lights, everyone lit their candles from the Christ candle, and we sang Silent Night, Holy Night! This was always one of my favorite Christmas Eve traditions and Silent…

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