Collect, Readings & Prayers 14th December 2025 3rd Sunday in Advent.
Collect
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Readings
Isaiah 35: 1-10
The Return of the Redeemed to Zion
35 1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 2 it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come and save you.’
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
James 5:7-10
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, therefore, beloved,[a] until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord
Matthew 11:2-11
Messengers from John the Baptist
2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ 4 Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’
Jesus Praises John the Baptist
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written,
“See, I am sending my messenger a head of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Prayers
- Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege we have in coming into Your presence. Lord, we kneel before You, conscious that we are unworthy to have been chosen to be your people. Please give us a simple yet profound belief that You always fulfil Your promises. Help us to pray full of faith, just as Jesus taught us. Amen
- This third week of Advent, let us remember that the good news of Jesus’ birth has the power to bring us great joy this Christmas season. Our joy isn’t dependent on what is going on in our life, in our world, or the people that we are with. It doesn’t depend on the gifts we give or the gifts we find under the tree. No earthly thing can ever give us complete joy. Our joy comes from you. That joy that flooded the hearts of the shepherds, the angels, the wise men, the hosts of heaven, and Mary and Joseph is the joy that still has the power to overwhelm our hearts with rejoicing. . It is the gift that you gave us that first Christmas in Jesus Christ. Flood our heart with joy this Advent season as we reflect on the good news of Jesus’ birth. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen
- Lord, we come today deeply aware that we need you to move in our hearts and minds. We are lost without you and unsure of the journey ahead. Thank you that we have all experienced your blessings over many years. Thank you that you are the Father who never gives up on His children and that You always have the perfect plan for us. We confess that our efforts are futile unless we are empowered by your love and grace. Father as we come to You, sharing our worries, anxieties and insecurities, we ask You to reveal to us how we can work in total harmony with singleness of purpose, and overflowing with faith. Show each of us the calling which you have for us and how to fulfil it. Amen
- Lord, hear us as we pray for a bigger vision in our church life. Take us out of our small world of local Christian Activities. Place us on the map of your worldwide church, where white Christians are far outnumbered by those of other colours, and the churches of Africa and the Pacific rim are growing momentously. Father, we pray for these new churches, for maturity and resources to cope with their numbers. May we be willing and eager to receive the gifts they can offer us. We pray for the churches overseas in the dioceses with which our diocese has a link namely the dioceses of Kiteto and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Trichy in South India and Wyoming in the USA. We pray that we may learn from one another and find ways of working together for the advancement of your Kingdom in all the communities which these varied dioceses serve. Amen
- Advent God, Hope of the hopeless, you alone give us reason to go on. Give hope to those who this day all over the world are hungry for basic gifts – food to stop the children aching with hunger, a home to put pictures on the wall, education to open the door to a job, justice to give everyone a chance. Give hope the people of Gaza and to all those everywhere living in refugee or displaced persons camps, and to those who are victimised or denied basic rights in their own countries, including women deprived of an education.
God of Hope, give hope to the hopeless. Amen
- At this season of the year when many are unwell and viruses are thriving, we pray for all those who are sick and for all those ministering to them. We pray for our NHS which is currently being overwhelmed by the numbers of people suffering from a variant form of flu virus needing hospitalisation. Give stamina and strength to the doctors and nurses treating the patients and wisdom to those managing the Service that they may find ways of improving its speed and efficiency and bettering the outcome for those being treated. Amen
- Holy God, this Advent, we set ourselves to longing again – longing and waiting and hoping. We long for your Kingdom to come and for this world to be transformed, for it to be on earth, as it is in heaven. But the glimmerings of that new world have also to become real in us. So come, O Advent God, with the promise of new birth, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.