Jesus' Baptism

In the wilderness John baptized
Those for whom repentance was prized
Judea and Jerusalem
Confessing sins, baptized by him

A coat of hair and leather belt
Locusts and honey for food dealt
One comes who is greater than I
Whose sandal I dare not untie

With water, I only baptize
His Spirit baptism you’ll prize
So from Nazareth Jesus came
For John’s baptism of acclaim

As the water He did depart
He saw the heavens torn apart
The Spirit falling like a dove
As a voice said from up above
You bring me great joy in my heart
And You are My Son whom I love

Wise Men

Wise men came to Jerusalem
They were asking in unison
Where is He born, King of the Jews?
For His star foretold the good news

And we have come to worship Him
But this troubled Herod the king
To Judea's town Bethlehem
They followed the star before them

And when they came into the house
They saw the Child with Joseph’s spouse
And they fell down and worshiped Him
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh gave Him

2 Senior Saints

Now when her purification
Was finished by calculation
They brought Him to Jerusalem
To the Lord for presentation
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In the Lord’s law it is written
Males in the firstborn position
Shall be called holy to the Lord
Make a sacrifice in accord
With what’s in the law of the Lord
Two doves or two pigeons record
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There was a man named Simeon
Just and devout, waiting upon
The Consolation of Isr’el
On him the Holy Spirit fell
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And revealed that he would not be
Dead before the Christ he would see
Spirit-led into the temple
Saw Jesus not accidental
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Whose parents brought for the custom
He took Him in his arms therefrom
And blessed God and said, You release
Dismissing Your servant in peace
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According to Your word, my eyes
Have seen where Your salvation lies
Which You’ve prepared for all to see
A light for the nations to be
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And the glory of Israel.
Joseph and His mother as well
Were amazed at what was spoken
Of Him, Then Simeon blessed them
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And said to His mother Mary
For the rise and fall of many
In Israel, this Child is destined
To be a sign of contention
Yes, a sword will pierce your own soul
That many hearts are revealed whole
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There was a prophetess Anna
Phanuel’s daughter from Asher
She was a very old person
Wed seven years since a virgin
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A widow about eighty-four
Who prayed in the temple what’s more
Fasting and praying she served God
Both night and day she was abroad
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And as she gave thanks to the Lord
Her conversation struck a chord
Discussed Him with those awaiting
Jerusalem’s liberating
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Then they returned to Galilee
To their own Nazareth city
The Child grew up strong in wisdom
And the grace of God was on Him

Mary's Faith

God sent the angel Gabriel
To a virgin who was youthful
Betrothed to a man named Joseph
To a city named Nazareth

She was of the house of David
To Mary he intonated
Hail, you who are highly favored
Among women you are bless’ed

The Lord is with you
She was perplexed at what to do
The angel said, Mary don’t fear
For your favor with God is clear

You’ll conceive and bring forth a Son
Name Him Jesus, an esteemed One
He’ll be the Son of the Highest
The throne of David His bequest

Over Jacob’s house He will reign
An endless kingdom He’ll obtain
Then Mary said, How can this be
Since I don’t know a man, said she

And then the angel said to her
The Holy Spirit and power
Of the Highest will come to you
And it will overshadow you

Therefore, also, that Holy One
To be born will be called God’s Son
Elizabeth your relative
Is also as reproductive

Conceived a son in her old age
Once barren at the sixth month stage
With God naught is impossible
Mary said let it be in full

Your Testimony

There was a man from God name John
He came a witness to pass on
Sent to bear witness of that Light
Which to all in the world shines bright

The world which He made, He was in
But it did not recognize Him
Among His own was no welcome
But as many as received Him

To all who in His name believed
He gave to them authority
To become children of God
Who were born, not of human blood

Nor born of the will of the flesh
Nor man’s will, but of God afresh
The Word became flesh, lived with us
And we saw He was glorious

Glory as of the only Son
Full of grace, the truthful One
John bore witness of Him saying,
This was He whom I’m conveying

He who comes has priority
For He existed before me
From His abundance we’ve received
And have grace upon grace indeed

The law was given through Moses
But grace and truth Jesus shows us
No one has seen God any time
The one and only Son sublime

In the bosom of the Father
Has declared Him, had the honor
Now the Jews asked him, Who are you?
He said, I am not the Christ (That’s true)

They asked then, Are you Elijah?
And he said, I am not. (So, nah)
Are you the Prophet? He said, No
Tell us who you are, then we’ll go

He said: I’m a voice in the wild
Saying, Make the Lord’s way straight-styled
And so they asked him, Why baptize?
Someone’s here you don’t recognize

He’s coming, preferred before me
To loose His shoes I’m not worthy
In Bethabara John’s work was
A baptist witness was his cause

Prepared

The kingdom of heaven’s akin
To twelve bridesmaids with lamps therein
Who went out to meet the bridegroom
Five wise and five headed to doom
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The foolish took no oil at all
But the wise had no oil shortfall
While the bridegroom delayed they dozed
And at midnight a cry disclosed
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Behold, the bridegroom is coming
Let’s all go out to the greeting
Give us some oil, the foolish said
No, go and buy your own instead
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There’s not enough for us and you
The bridegroom came, and they were through
And He told them, I don’t know you
Watch, be ready for His debut

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Love

The Pharisees asked a question
Which command in your confession
Is the great command in the law
You shall love the Lord and what’s more
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With all of your heart, soul and mind
The first and great command defined
The second’s from the same bookshelf
You’ll love your neighbor as yourself
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Now, Jesus asked them thoughtfully
About the Christ, Whose Son is He?
David’s son, they said in accord
Then how does David call Him ‘Lord’

Paying Taxes

Pharisees plotted to trick Him
They went with the Herodians
Teacher, we know that You are true
And teach the way of God you do
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And You don’t care about anyone
Nor regard the person of men
Tell us, therefore, what do You think?
Are taxes right or do they stink?
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Jesus knew they were tricking Him
Called them hypocrites for their whim
Whose face on this denarius?
And whose inscription, let’s discuss?
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So give to Caesar what is his
And give to God just what He says
And they marveled at what they heard
And went away without a word

God Invites Us

Jesus spoke in a parable

A celebration marital
A king arranged his son’s marriage
With and invitation message
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But they were not willing to come
By farm and business overcome
Some even killed the messengers
The king destroyed those murderers
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And said go into the highways
And fill the wedding hall with strays
But one guest wore no wedding clothes
When asked why, he could not disclose
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Darkness outside to him bequeath
Where people weep and gnash their teeth
For many invited are called
But few are chosen and installed

Fruitfulness

A landowner planted some grapes
A tower, a hedge, what it takes
He leased it out and went far away
Then sent his servants for his pay
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The tenants beat, killed, and stoned them
And in the end, he sent his son
But they cast him out and killed him
What will the owner do to them?
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He’ll bring them to a wretched end
Find men who’ll pay his dividend
The stone the builders rejected
Is now the corner erected
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The kingdom is taken from you
Given to those bringing fruits due
Fall on this stone and you’ll be crushed
If it falls on you, you’ll be dust
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The chief priests and Pharisees knew
It was them He was speaking to
But though they sought His detention
They feared the people’s dissention