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O Lord, open our lips;
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Blessèd are you, Lord our God,
redeemer and ruler of all;
to you be glory and praise for ever!
From the waters of chaos you drew forth the world,
and in your great love, fashioned us in your image.
Now, through the deep waters of death
you have brought your people to new birth
by raising your Son to life in triumph.
May we, the firstfruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made;
may Christ your light ever dawn in our hearts
as we offer you our sacrifice of thanks and praise,
Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of Life:
Blessèd be God for ever!
Amen.
Old Testament Reading - A young woman shall conceive
10Not long after this, the Lord sent this further message to King Ahaz:
11“Ask me for a sign, Ahaz, to prove that I will indeed crush your enemies as I have said. Ask anything you like, in heaven or on earth.”a
12But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I’ll not bother the Lord with anything like that.”
13Then Isaiah said: O House of David, you aren’t satisfied to exhaust my patience; you exhaust the Lord’s as well! 14All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign — a child shall be born to a virgin!b And she shall call him Immanuel (meaning, “God is with us”).
. . . . . Isaiah 7:10-14- Literally, “Let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”
- The controversial Hebrew word used here sometimes means “virgin” and sometimes “young woman.” Its immediate use here refers to Isaiah’s young wife and her newborn son (8:1-4). This, of course, was not a virgin birth. God’s sign was that before this child was old enough to talk (v. 4), the two invading kings would be destroyed. However, the Gospel of Matthew (1:23) tells us that there was a further fulfillment of this prophecy, in that a virgin (Mary) conceived and bore a son, Immanuel, the Christ. We have therefore properly used this higher meaning, “virgin,” in v. 14, as otherwise the Matthew account loses its significance.
Intercession
Please remember our Prayer Requests
One thing we ask of you, O Lord, one thing we seek:
that we may dwell in your house all the days of our life.
Lord, have mercy. E te Ariki, kia aroha mai.
Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,
as we have put our trust in you.
Christ, have mercy. E te Karaiti, kia aroha mai.
Rise up and help us, O God our Saviour,
and save us for the sake of your steadfast love.
Lord, have mercy. E te Ariki, kia aroha mai.
Ride on and conquer in the cause of truth,
and for the sake of justice.
Christ, have mercy. E te Karaiti, kia aroha mai.
Let the heavens declare the rightness of your cause,
and may your praises reach to the world’s end.
Lord, have mercy. E te Ariki, kia aroha mai.
Amen.