It Is Well with My Soul: The Sacred Roots Annual 2022-2023

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T he S eason after E piphany

WEEK 7 T he B aptism of the L ord , F irst S unday after the E piphany January 8 - 14, 2023

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Christmas celebrates the birth of Messiah, Jesus, who is the incarnation of the Son of God, Mary’s child. He is the Wordmade flesh, the conqueror who enters this fallen world to reveal to us the Father’s love, to destroy the devil’s work, and to redeem his people from their sins.

THIS WEEK’S THEME My Own Dear Son, Matthew 3.13-17

When Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, he approached John to be baptized by him. John found Christ’s request unacceptable, saying that he was the one who needed to be baptized by Jesus. Jesus answered John that they should do this to fulfill all righteousness. John baptized the Lord, and when Jesus came up out of the waters, the skies opened up and John saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. A voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is the true beloved Son of the Father.

D aily D evotional G uide P reparing O ur H earts Invocation: Our Prayer of Acclamation

O God, Who by the Baptism of Thine Only-begotten Son hast been pleased to sanctify the streams of water; grant that we who are born again of Water and the Spirit may attain an entrance into eternal joys; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. ~ Gregorian Sacramentary, as edited by Pamelius. InWilliam Bright, Ancient Collects and Other Prayers: Selected for Devotional Use fromVarious Rituals, 8th ed . Oxford and London: James Parker, 1908. p. 161.