Propers and Announcements for the Second Sunday in Advent: December 7th, 2025
- Propers (Collect and Lessons) for the Second Sunday in Advent, with hymns.
- Link to “Watch this Sunday’s live-stream” on our parish website.
- Parish Announcements for the week of December 7th, 2025.
The Collect.
BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Advent Collect.
ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent, until Christmas Day.
The Old Testament Lesson. Isaiah lii.
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
The Psalm. Psalm CXIX. 1. Beati immaculati.
1 Blessed are those that are undefiled in the way, and walk in the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, * and seek him with their whole heart;
3 Even they who do no wickedness, * and walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast charged * that we shall diligently keep thy commandments.
5 O that my ways were made so direct, * that I might keep thy statutes!
6 So shall I not be confounded, * while I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will thank thee with an unfeigned heart, * when I shall have learned the judgments of thy righteousness.
8 I will keep thy statutes; * O forsake me not utterly.
9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? * even by ruling himself after thy word.
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee; * O let me not go wrong out of thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid within my heart, * that I should not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O LORD; * O teach me thy statutes.
13 With my lips have I been telling * of all the judgments of thy mouth.
14 I have had as great delight in the way of thy testimonies, * as in all manner of riches.
15 I will talk of thy commandments, * and have respect unto thy ways.
16 My delight shall be in thy statutes, * and I will not forget thy word.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Gospel. St. Luke xxi. 25.
AND there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Hymns:
Nota Bene: In lieu of the Gradual and Alleluia being chanted by our cantor, we will be singing a Gradual Hymn, bracketing the reading of the Gospel: the first two verses will be sung before the Gospel is read, and the second two after.
During Advent, we will use the classic hymn “O come, O come, Emmanuel” – based on the ancient “Great O” Advent antiphons, each citing a Christological title or role of the Messiah, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, from the Prophets – as our Gradual hymn, bracketing the Gospel reading with two verses from that hymn: one before, and one after.
Today, on this Second Sunday of Advent, we will sing the 3rd verse before, and the 4th after, the Gospel. Next Sunday, the 5th and 6th; and the Last Sunday of Advent, the Sunday next before Christmas Day itself, we will sing verse 7 before, and reprise verse 1 after, the Gospel.
Processional Hymn: “O Word of God, incarnate” – #402
Gradual Hymn: “O come, O come, Emmanuel” (v. 3) – #2
The Gospel
Gradual Hymn: “O come, O come, Emmanuel” (v. 4) – #2
Sermon Hymn: “Thy kingdom come, O God” #544
Communion Hymn: “Father, we thank thee who hast planted” #195
Recessional Hymn: “The King shall come when morning dawns” #11
The upcoming YouTube live-stream will always be found at “Watch this Sunday’s live-stream,” also accessible from the menu bar at the top of the website home page. If we are not doing a live-stream for any reason, there will be a link to a past Sunday service to aid in your worship if you aren’t able to be with us in person.
If a live-stream of a Sunday service is accomplished, the audio of that Sunday’s sermon will usually be posted sometime Sunday evening on the media page on our website.
On this Second Sunday in Advent, here are some notes on Advent and Christmas at Christ Church Anglican, this year:
Christmas Poinsettias: If you would like to donate a Poinsettia to beautify our altar and chancel for Christmastide, to the glory of God or in honour or loving memory of a loved one, please contact Sandra Chestnut or Amanda. Many thanks!
Additions to the Liturgy:
Because the Old Testament Lessons appointed for Morning Prayer prophecy the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord, whose Advent await, we will be adding an Old Testament lesson each of the Sundays of Advent, followed by the Psalm for the day, both as appointed in “Psalms and Lessons for the Christian Year” in The Book of Common Prayer 1928, p. x.
Note: Bold type indicates a Prayer Book feast.
Sunday, December 7th: Advent II (St. Nicholas)
- 9:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Communion
- 9:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Communion
- 9:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Communion
- 4:00 p.m. – Christmas Carol Sing, followed by Holy Communion
- 11:00 a.m. – Holy Communion of the Nativity
Additional Announcements for Sunday, December 7th:
If you are visiting us: Welcome to Christ Church Anglican, Southern Pines! Thank you for being with us. We are very pleased to have you join us for the service, and hope that your worship here is a blessing to you. Please sign the guest book on the table in the narthex, and if you wish, share your email or other contact information with us. And may God bless you!
Qualified Charitable Distributions: As the end of the year approaches, this may apply to some of our members:
“A Qualified Charitable Distribution is a way for individuals age 70½ or older to donate directly from a traditional IRA to a qualified charity, which can satisfy Required Minimum Distributions and reduce taxable income. QCDs are not reported as taxable income, meaning they provide an upfront tax exclusion and do not require itemizing deduction. The QCD must be completed by December 31st of the current calendar year” [source: Google AI].
Should you desire to make a year-end donation to Christ Church Anglican for 2025, please see Austin Chestnut, our Senior Warden and Treasurer, for details. Many thanks!
Christian Education: John Fesq is facilitating the viewing of a series of Sunday School class videos from Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church in Fairfax, VA. The class is an introduction to one of the works of Richard Hooker, who was an an important and influential English Reformer in the mid to late 1500’s. In particular, we will be exposed to Book Five of his “Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.” The class will look at the Anglican underpinnings and viewpoints of such topics as:
- Worship
- Church buildings and settings
- Preaching
- The Book of Common Prayer
- Liturgy
- Sacraments (in 5 classes); this Sunday’s lesson is Week 12
- Traditional ceremonies and services
- Ministry
The class will be viewed after Sunday service outside the sanctuary on our big television screen, after we’ve had time to fellowship for a little bit. The classes tend to run 45 minutes to an hour, not including any discussion we’d like to have afterwards.
We encourage you to plan to make time after Sunday services to stay and learn with us!
The video (and handout if there is one) for each week’s lesson is posted on the website in our News and Announcements section. If you can’t be here for a lesson, or if you just want to go back over it, go to that Sunday lesson’s page. At the bottom of each lesson’s page, there’s an area to leave comments and questions…we’d love to hear from you if you have either!
Midweek (Wednesday) Eucharist: Unless otherwise noted, we offer a service of Holy Communion – also known as the Holy Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, or the Mass – at 10:00 on Wednesday mornings. This service includes an opportunity for the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for healing, for those who may desire this ministry.
