Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-31; 41:8-25a; Matthew 1:20-22; Isaiah 42:1-18; 43:1-25; Philippians 2:5-11

Isaiah 40:1 "Comfort, comfort My people," says your God. 2 "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of forced labor is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins." 3 A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. 6b … "All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field… 8 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever." 9 Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, herald of good news, raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" 10 See, the Lord GOD comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him. 11 He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing. 12a Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? … 18 Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to? 19 To an idol?-- something that a smelter casts, and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver welds for it? 20 To one who shapes a pedestal, choosing wood that does not rot? He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not fall over. 21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth? 22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in… 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. 29 He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. 30 Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, 31 but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 41:8 But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, My friend… 10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand… 13 For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand and say to you: Do not fear, I will help you. 14b …Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel… 25a "I have raised up one from the north, and he has come, one from the east who invokes My name…

Isaiah 42:1 "This is My Servant; I strengthen Him, this is My Chosen One; I delight in Him. I have put My Spirit on Him; He will bring justice to the nations… 5 This is what God the LORD says-- who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk on it-- 6 "I, the LORD, have called You for a righteous purpose, and I will hold You by Your hand. I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, 7 in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols. 9 The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur." 10a Sing a new song to the LORD; sing His praise from the ends of the earth, … 16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not forsake them… 18 "Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see.

Isaiah 43:1 Now this is what the LORD says-- the One who created you, Jacob, and the One who formed you, Israel-- "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine… 4a Because you are precious in My sight and honored, and I love you, … 7 everyone called by My name and created for My glory. I have formed him; indeed, I have made him."… 11 I, I am the LORD, and there is no other Savior but Me… 25 "It is I who sweep away your transgressions for My own sake and remember your sins no more.

Philippians 2:5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death-- even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow-- of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth-- 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.