FIRST READING
Isaiah 6:1-8
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a
throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the
temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings:
with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their
feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who
called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said, “Woe is me! I
am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of
unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had
been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched
my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your
guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice
of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And
I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Reader: Word of God. Word of life.
All: Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL READING
John 3:1-17
Pastor: This is the holy Gospel according to John, the 3rd chapter.
All: Glory to you, O Lord.
3 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the
Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know
that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do
these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” 3 Jesus
answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of
God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him,
“How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a
second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered,
“Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without
being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh,
and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I
said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where
it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where
it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of
the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things
be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet
you do not understand these things?
11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to
what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have
told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you
believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended
into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of
Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so
must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him
may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life.
17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn
the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Christ.