The Wilderness Voice and the Way of Repentance

Sermon Title: The Wilderness Voice and the Way of Repentance

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-6

Occasion: The Lord’s Day

Date: September 28th, 2025

PRAY

Father in heaven,

As we come to Your Word this morning, we ask humbly:

What we know not, teach us.

What we are not, make us.

What we have not, give us.

Prepare our hearts to hear the voice crying in the wilderness and to see Christ, our true King.

In His name we pray, Amen.

Introduction

I find it so fascinating that when God chooses to launch His kingdom, He doesn’t begin where we might expect.

Not in the palace halls of Herod.

Not in the courts of Caesar.

Not even in the temple, where priests in fine robes carried on the rituals of religion.

Instead, He begins in the wilderness.

Dry.

Desolate.

Empty.

Why?

Because the wilderness has always been God’s training ground.

Israel met God in the wilderness after the Exodus.

The prophets often looked to the wilderness as the place where God would begin His renewal.

And now, here in Matthew 3, the wilderness becomes the stage for the kingdom’s announcement.

And what does God do there?

He raises up a voice.

Not a smooth, polished leader, but a rough, rugged prophet—clothed in camel’s hair, eating locusts and honey, sounding more like Elijah than a modern preacher.

And his message?

It could not be clearer:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

If you and I were designing the arrival of a kingdom, we’d send a marketing team into the cities.

We’d hold rallies, hang banners, spread news where the crowds are thickest. But God turns human wisdom upside down.

He calls people away from comfort and into the wilderness to hear a message that prepares them for the true King—Jesus.

And that brings us to the heartbeat of our passage:

The coming of Christ’s kingdom demands repentance, confession, and preparation of heart.

That’s also the title of today’s sermon:

“The Wilderness Voice and the Way of Repentance.”

Write that down, because this is where Matthew aims our eyes:

Before the King steps onto the stage, His people must be prepared.

And Matthew shows us this in three movements:

The Wilderness Preacher — God breaks His silence through John’s message (vv. 1–3).

The Wilderness Prophet — John’s very life embodies the message (v. 4).

The Wilderness Response — crowds repent, confess, and are baptized (vv. 5–6).

Transition:

So if the heart of the text is that the kingdom’s arrival demands preparation, the very first thing we see is that preparation begins with a voice—a herald.

Let’s begin, then, with the wilderness preacher, God’s voice breaking into history and announcing the nearness of His kingdom.

1. The Wilderness Preacher: God Breaks the Silence (vv. 1–3)

Matthew writes:

Matthew 3:1–3 ESV

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”

God’s Silence Shattered

The Old Testament closed with Malachi’s warning and promise:

Malachi 4:5 ESV

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

Then silence.

Four hundred years.

No prophet, no fresh word from the Lord.

Generations lived and died waiting for God to speak again.

And then suddenly, in those days, John appeared.

Matthew wants us to feel the shock.

God is faithful to His Word.

The voice of Isaiah 40:3—promised centuries before—now breaks through.

John the baptist is not a novelty; he is the continuation of Israel’s story.

He is the last prophet, the bridge from old to new, the one who comes before the King.

Application:

God may be silent for a season, but He is never absent.

For some of you, life feels like 400 years of silence—prayers unanswered, wounds unhealed.

But take heart:

God is always working-even in the silence. And when God does breaks His silence, it is always to fulfill His promises in Christ.

Who is John the baptist?

John was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, a priestly couple advanced in years, miraculously given a child by God’s promise (Luke 1:13–17).

From the womb he was set apart by the Spirit to prepare the way for the Lord.

And he is called “the Baptist” here not because he founded a denomination (but we do claim him, lol!), but because his ministry was marked by calling people into the waters of repentance (John 1:31–33)

The Wilderness Stage

But Notice here in verse 1 this John the baptizer doesn’t appear in the temple.

He doesn’t stand in Jerusalem’s marketplace.

He comes “in the wilderness of Judea.”

That’s not random geography—it’s theology.

Think of the Exodus—

God formed Israel in the wilderness, gave His covenant, fed them with manna, poured water from the rock.

By John stepping into the wilderness, John is preaching: a new Exodus is beginning.

Think of Hosea 2:14-15—

God promised to allure His people back into the wilderness and it would be there, that God would renew their love for Him.

John’s wilderness preaching is God wooing His people once again to himself.

Think of Isaiah 40:3—

Isaiah 40:3 ESV

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

The promise of Isaiah was the promise of the end of exile, Yahweh Himself returning to His people.

And here it is!!

Though Israel had returned to the land physically, spiritually she was still in exile—under sin, under Satan.

John’s call in the wilderness was God’s summons to all humanity:

Come out, be renewed, prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Even the Jordan River, where John baptizes, carries typological weight.

If you can remember, Israel crossed it to enter the land under Joshua (Josh. 3:14–17).

Now God’s people must cross again in repentance, preparing to follow the greater Joshua—Jesus—into the true kingdom.

Application:

God often calls us into the “wilderness” to prepare us, doesn’t he?!

Maybe He strips away comfort so that you hear His voice.

Maybe He empties your hands so that you can finally cling to Christ.

The wilderness is not the absence of God but the place where He readies His people for His presence.

The Message: Repent, for the Kingdom Is at Hand

And what was John’s sermon?

Not complicated.

Not long-winded. (like me! Ah!)

Just one burning line:

Matthew 3:2 ESV

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The word repent (metanoeite) means more than feeling bad.

It means change direction.

Switch allegiance.

Turn around.

Forsake sin and run to God.

Biblically defined, repentance is a Spirit-wrought turning from sin unto God, with grief over sin and faith in Christ for mercy (Acts 3:19; 2 Cor. 7:10).

And why repent?

Because the “kingdom of heaven” is not far—it has drawn near in Christ.

Matthew uses this phrase to remind us the kingdom isn’t man reaching up to heaven—it’s heaven coming down to man in the King, Jesus Christ.

This means repentance is not optional to enter the kingdom.

You cannot welcome the kingdom without leaving your sin.

You cannot cling to Christ and your idols.

Repentance is the doorway into life with God through Christ.

And note—John is not calling Israel to private spirituality here.

He is addressing the whole nation in this passage (vv.1-11) that we will cover in the next few weeks.

John tells the Pharisees and Sadducees that God’s Wrath is coming (v. 7).

John tells them that their Heritage will not save them (v. 9).

Only repentance will! (repeat)

This is why baptism was central—it marked off the repentant remnant of Israel, preparing for the Messiah and to fulfill the scriptures (Isa. 1:9; Isa. 52:11; Ezek. 36:25–27; Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:3–6).

Application:

Friend, here is what you and me need to know this morning:

That repentance is not a one-time event but a way of life.

For unbelievers, it is the doorway into salvation.

For believers, it is the daily posture of renewal.

To repent is to keep tearing down the crooked paths in our hearts so the King may reign there without obstruction.

As John Owen once said,

“Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”

Repentance is the Spirit’s way of keeping our hearts soft, our lives holy, and our gaze fixed on Christ.

The Scripture Fulfilled: Isaiah 40:3

Matthew then quotes Isaiah:

Matthew 3:3 ESV

For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”

In Isaiah’s day, this was God’s promise that the exile would end, that Yahweh Himself would return to dwell with His people.

The picture is of a highway being built through the desert—mountains leveled, valleys filled—so the King can come unhindered.

Nothing will stop him from this mission!

Now Matthew declares:

That promise is fulfilled in Jesus.

John is not preparing the way for a human king but for the Lord Himself.

The one who comes after John is Yahweh in the flesh—Jesus Christ.

Application:

What we must understand this morning is this:

The straight path is repentance.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

The way he makes straight our paths is through repentance!

Repentance means coming to the end of yourself — laying down your own understanding, your strength, your self-reliance — and turning fully to Him.

To trusting yourself to trusting God and His ways.

The way He makes our crooked ways straight is through repentance.

It’s the addict finally admitting, “I can’t fix myself,” or the proud heart saying, “My way has failed — I need Christ to lead me.”

Through repentance, God clears the obstacles, tears down our pride, lifts up our despair, and makes the road straight for Christ to rule.

The way we prepare for Christ is not by outward religion, not by political reform, not by cultural shifts—but by humble, broken, contrite hearts made ready for Him.

Repentance is a longing to be holy.

Repentance is a longing to be like our Lord.

Through repentance we realize that we are far more sinful that we know, and far more loved than we could ever dare to imagine, beloved.

Pulling It Together

So here is the scene:

After 400 years of silence, God sends a preacher into the wilderness to announce a new Exodus, a new return from exile, a new kingdom breaking in.

And the preparation for this kingdom is not outward ritual but inward repentance.

Application:

The kingdom does not advance by force, by politics, or by power.

It advances when hearts bow low, confess sin, and turn to Christ.

That means the preparation for revival in our day is the same as in John’s:

Repentance!!

Before God brings renewal to a church, a family, or a city, to a nation, He first calls His people into the wilderness to repent.

Transition to Point 2: John’s words thundered with urgency—repent, the kingdom is near.

But Matthew doesn’t just want us to hear what John said; he wants us to see how John lived.

Because the messenger’s life was itself the sermon before the sermon.

That brings us to our second movement: the wilderness prophet.

2. The Wilderness Prophet: A Life of Witness (v. 4)

Matthew tells us:

Matthew 3:4 ESV

Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

If John’s message was powerful, his life was even louder.

Matthew slows down to give us details—his clothes, his food, his appearance.

Why?

Because John is preaching not just with words, but with his whole life.

Dressed Like Elijah

John’s camel-hair garment and leather belt weren’t a fashion choice.

They were a signal.

In 2 Kings 1:8, Elijah is described as a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.

Malachi 4 promised that Elijah would come before the great and awesome day of the Lord.

And here John is—dressed in camel’s hair, wearing a belt, standing in the wilderness, preaching repentance.

Matthew wants us to see:

That John is the Elijah figure, the forerunner, the last prophet before the King comes.

Just as Elijah stood against wicked King Ahab, John now stands against wicked King Herod.

Elijah called Israel back from idolatry to the true God.

John calls Israel back from hypocrisy and dead religion to repentance before Yahweh Himself comes in Christ.

Application:

John reminds us that faithfulness often looks strange to the world.

He wasn’t dressed for approval.

He wasn’t chasing comfort.

He was clothed for obedience.

Christian, are you more concerned with fitting in or with being faithful?

The gospel will sometimes make you look odd.

But like John, we are called to live as witnesses, not conformists.

Now, let me make this practical.

We live in a cultural moment where standing on God’s Word is becoming increasingly strange.

When you hold to biblical convictions about marriage, about life in the womb, about family, about holiness, you will stand out.

And Peter told us this would be the case:

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless… Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense… yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience.” (1 Peter 3:8–17)

Do you hear that?

Listen closely now.

Faithfulness looks different, but it does not look rude.

It looks strange, but it does not look harsh.

We’ve all seen the extremists who claim to stand for Christ but really stand out for all the wrong reasons.

They yell, they mock, and the world writes them off not because of Jesus, but because of their arrogance.

That’s not the kind of strange John calls us to.

That’s not gospel strangeness — that’s just being a jerk.

Faithfulness looks like standing firm without being cruel.

It looks like being bold in truth while gentle in spirit.

It looks like blessing when you’re cursed, forgiving when you’re wronged, showing compassion when you’re mocked.

Think about what’s happening right now in our world — wars raging, political divisions growing wider, neighbors turning against each other online and in the streets.

Everyone’s shouting.

Everyone’s picking sides.

Everyone’s clawing for power.

And here comes the Christian.

Not swept up in the rage of the world.

Not bending to the compromise of the culture.

But quietly, faithfully, living with integrity.

Speaking the truth in love.

Holding fast to Christ and His Word without flinching, without apology.

And here’s the beauty — We must not just stand apart from the world, but lean in.

Inviting questions.

Welcoming conversations.

Opening our homes so neighbors, co-workers, and even skeptics can taste and see what genuine Christianity looks like — grace on display, truth embodied, Christ exalted.

That looks strange.

That stands out.

And that kind of strangeness is exactly what the world needs.

So let me ask you:

Are you willing to be this kind of biblical christ-like odd in the world’s eyes for the sake of Christ?

Are you willing to be faithful in holiness, gentle in your witness, firm in the word, and steadfast in your hope, even if people mock you for it?

Because that’s the kind of strangeness that changes lives.

Eating Judgment and Promise

And what about John’s food?

Locusts and wild honey. (Yum!lol)

Locusts in the Old Testament often symbolized judgment.

They were the armies of destruction devouring the land (Joel 1–2).

By eating locusts here, John is embodying God’s promise that His kingdom will consume the nations and bring judgment on sin.

But then there’s honey.

Honey was a symbol of the promised land — “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod. 3:8; Deut. 31:20).

Yet John’s was wild honey—is just a taste, not the fullness.

It was a reminder:

God’s promises are true, the sweetness is real, but the fullness is still to come in Christ.

Together, John’s diet preached a loud sermon:

Judgment is coming, but so is renewal; wrath is near, but so is promise.

Application:

John’s life teaches us that holiness is not about luxury but about hunger for God.

He ate simply, lived simply, because he was satisfied with God’s provision and devoted to God’s mission.

What about you?

Do you crave the comforts of this world more than the sweetness of God’s Word?

Do you hunger for the approval of men more than the bread of life?

John challenges us to strip away distractions and live for what really matters—Christ and His kingdom.

A Living Sermon

John didn’t just preach repentance—he embodied it.

His very presence shouted:

“The old ways won’t do.

God is doing something new.

Prepare for the King.”

And here’s the truth:

God still uses not just our lips but our lives to preach Christ.

Your neighbors may never hear your words about Jesus if they can’t first see the reality of Jesus in your life.

William J. Toms once said,

“Be careful how you live; you may be the only Bible some people will ever read.”

John’s life matched his lips.

Does yours?

Application:

Parents, your children may learn more about repentance by watching you confess your sin at home than by any sermon they hear on Sunday.

Example:

Think about the father who loses his temper, then kneels beside his child’s bed and says, “I was wrong, will you forgive me?”

That picture of humility preaches the gospel louder than a thousand lectures.

Students, your classmates may see more of Christ in your integrity when no one’s looking than in any verse you quote or any street corner evangelism preaching event you participate in.

Example:

Imagine the teenager or young adult who refuses to cheat on an exam even when it costs them a grade — that quiet faithfulness speaks volumes.

Example:

It looks like the believer in the workplace who refuses shady practices, treats others with dignity, and shows kindness when everyone else is cutthroat. And church, our community will see the reality of the kingdom not by our programs or polished ministries, but by our personal holiness, our humility, and our genuine hunger for God.

That’s what catches the world’s attention.

That’s what it means for our lives to match our lips.

Transition to Point 3: John’s life preached as loudly as his lips.

But he wasn’t raised up to be a spectacle.

His message demanded a response.

And Matthew tells us that people did respond—leaving their cities, streaming into the wilderness, confessing their sins, and being baptized.

That brings us to the wilderness response.

3. The Wilderness Response: Repentance, Confession, and Baptism (vv. 5–6)

Matthew writes:

Matthew 3:5–6 ESV

Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

The effect of John’s ministry was astonishing.

Crowds streamed out from Jerusalem, left the routines of Judea, crossed the desert, and came to the Jordan.

What did they do?

They confessed their sins and submitted to baptism.

Confession: Naming Sin Out Loud

Matthew says they came “confessing their sins.” (v.6)

The word used here means more than vague regret—it’s verbal acknowledgment.

They were admitting their guilt openly, accusing themselves rather than excusing themselves.

This was radical for Israel.

For centuries they had been tempted to rely on heritage:

“We are Abraham’s .”(John 8:39; cf. Matt. 3:9).

But John confronted that false security head-on.

He was saying,

Don’t hide behind your ancestry.

Don’t hide behind your rituals.

You need to repent, you need to confess.

Application:

This is a good stopping point.

We need to understand something clearly this morning: Biblically speaking, confession is the doorway to mercy.

Proverbs 28:13 says,

Proverbs 28:13 ESV

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Some of you have carried secrets for years—sins buried under shame, addictions cloaked in silence.

Hear this:

The King is not repelled by your confession; He is glorified in it.

Bring it into the light, because the blood of Christ is strong enough to cover what you’ve been hiding.

Baptism: A New Crossing

Then they were baptized in the Jordan.

Don’t miss the symbolism Matthew is giving to us here.

The Jordan River was where Israel crossed into the Promised Land under Joshua.

Now John calls Israel back to the Jordan as if to say:

You need a new beginning.

You need to pass through the waters again.

You need to become the true Israel, prepared for the Messiah.

You see, baptism was familiar to Jews, but normally it was reserved for proselytes — Gentiles converting into Judaism.

For a Gentile to be baptized made sense:

They were the outsiders, the unclean, the ones who needed washing before joining God’s people.

BUT here in Matthew 3:5-6, it isn’t Gentiles lining up in the Jordan — it’s Jews.

It’s Jerusalem, Judea, the very people of Abraham.

And by stepping into those waters, they were making a statement louder than words:

We are as unclean as the nations.

We too need washing.

We cannot hide behind our heritage.

We need mercy.

That’s what made John’s ministry so radical.

He was stripping away false securities.

He was showing the nation of Israel that being a child of Abraham by blood was not enough.

What mattered was confession and repentance.

And in that way, John was forming a repentant remnant — a people marked not by ancestry, not by religious ritual, but by hearts humbled before God and ready for the Messiah.

And yet, John’s baptism could only prepare.

It could wash the body, but it couldn’t cleanse the heart.

It could point forward, but it couldn’t finish the work.

John the baptist himself said:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me… he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (v. 11)

In other words:

John could call you into the water, but only Jesus can immerse you in grace.

Application:

Outward religion cannot save you, friend.

Church attendance, baptism, communion, even saying the right words—none of it saves apart from true repentance and faith in Christ alone apart from works.

The question is not,

Have you been in the water?

BUT Has Christ baptized you with His Spirit?

Have you been cleansed by His blood?

Remember what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3:

John 3:3 ESV

…“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

External rituals are powerless unless the Spirit gives new birth.

And later, when Jesus knelt before His disciples in John 13, Peter resisted being washed — but Jesus answered him,

John 13:8 ESV

…“If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

That is exactly what John the Baptist was pressing toward:

These waters could symbolize repentance, but only Christ can cleanse the soul.

Only Christ can wash you.

As Paul would later write,

Titus 3:5 ESV

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

We need Christ Mercy.

We need Christ washing of regeneration.

We need the renewal of the Holy Spirit.

A People in Motion

Notice also:

The people left their cities.

They walked away from comfort, routine, familiarity, and went into the wilderness to meet God.

Revival is never convenient.

Renewal never happens while clinging to the old life.

If you want to prepare for the King, you have to move.

Application:

Some of you need to leave something behind today.

For some, it may be sin you’ve been cherishing.

For others, it may be pride—your reputation, your image.

For still others, it may be bitterness, unforgiveness, or unbelief.

To prepare for Christ, you cannot stay in Jerusalem or Judea.

You must go out to the wilderness, confess your sin, and let Christ wash you.

And that’s exactly what we confess every Lord’s Day when we stand together and recite the Nicene Creed.

We declare,

“We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.”

That doesn’t mean the water itself washes us (or baptism saves you), It means that baptism points us to the greater reality — the blood of Christ that cleanses us, the Spirit of Christ who renews us, the grace of Christ that makes us new creations in Christ.

What John’s baptism foreshadowed, Jesus’ cross accomplished.

Typology Fulfilled

Let’s zoom out for a moment and think about the big picture here in this passage (vv.1-6):

John the baptist is reenacting Israel’s story.

A new Exodus: God calls His people into the wilderness again (Hosea 2:14–15; cf. Exod. 16–17).

A new crossing: God’s people pass through the Jordan again (Josh. 3:14–17; Matt. 3:6).

A new covenant people-The Church: A People not defined by heritage but by repentance and faith (Jer. 31:31–34; Matt. 3:9; Gal. 3:7).

As Peter would later say,

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Pet. 2:9).

And all of it points to Jesus is the point!

Jesus IS the greater Moses.

Jesus IS the greater Joshua.

Jesus IS the true King who will lead His people (who will lead you, if you bow your knee to him today) into His eternal kingdom.

Conclusion

Do you see the picture Matthew has painted for us?

After four hundred years of silence, God breaks in with a voice in the wilderness.

A prophet rises, dressed like Elijah, eating the food of judgment and promise, calling God’s people out of their comfort and into repentance.

Crowds leave Jerusalem, cross the desert, confess their sins, and step into the Jordan — reenacting a new Exodus, a new return from exile, a new beginning.

But all of this — the wilderness, the confession, the baptism — was preparation.

John could call Israel to repent, but he could not forgive them.

He could bring them into the water, but he could not cleanse their hearts.

He could point them to the King, but he could not be the King.

And then Jesus comes.

Beloved, this is the heartbeat of the gospel:

Repentance prepares the way, but Jesus is the way.

Confession opens the door, but Jesus is the one who enters in.

Baptism in water can symbolize cleansing, but only Jesus baptizes with the Spirit and fire, washing us clean and giving us new life.

So the question today is not, Have you heard the voice?

The question is, Have you met the King?

Are you prepared for Him?

Have you repented?

Have you confessed?

Have you bowed low so that He may reign high in your life?

Some of you are in a season of silence, like Israel waiting for centuries.

Don’t mistake God’s silence for His absence.

Christ has come, Christ is reigning, and Christ is coming again.

His kingdom is at hand.

The wilderness call still rings out:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

So do not harden your heart.

Don’t cling to idols or comfort.

Don’t trust your heritage, your rituals, your church membership or your reputation.

Come to Jesus.

Confess your sin.

Be made new.

Be washed clean.

Because the same Lord who shattered the silence then is still breaking into lives today — and He will return in glory. And here is the promise of God’s Word:

1 John 1:6–10 ESV

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Do you hear it?

The dividing line is crystal clear.

You cannot claim Christ while clinging to darkness.

You cannot claim fellowship with Him while hiding your sin.

But here is the hope:

If you step into the light, if you confess your sin, the blood of Jesus cleanses you from all sin.

Not some.

Not most.

All!!

The wilderness voice has spoken.

The King has come.

The path has been made straight.

The only question left is this — are you ready for Him?

How were you respond today.

How you respond today is a matter of eternal eternal death.

PRAY

Lord,

We have heard Your voice in the wilderness today, calling us to repent and prepare the way for the King.

We confess our sins before You and cling to the promise that in Christ we are forgiven, cleansed, and made new.

As we now come to Your table, remind us that what John’s baptism pointed toward, the cross of Jesus accomplished.

Feed our faith with the broken body and shed blood of our Savior.

Strengthen us to walk in the light, until the day when we feast with Him in His kingdom.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.