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Comfort, comfort these my people, speak of peace, so says our God.

Comfort these who sit in darkness, groaning under sins dreadrod.

To my people I proclaim, pardon now in Jesus' name, tell them that their sins I cover, that their morph and now is over.

The Advent hymn, comfort, comfort ye my people, will be singing that this coming Sunday,

and it fits beautifully with the gospel reading in Matthew 3,

where Matthew records John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus.

How does John do that?

How does God prepare the way for the coming of his own son, his appearance there, along with John the Baptist, in the Jordan's waters?

Greetings, and welcome to issues, et cetera, coming to you live from the studios of Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, Illinois. I'm Todd Wilkin. Thanks for tuning us in. Pastor Peter Bender of the Concordia Cate Ceticatical Academy. We'll join us to look forward to Sunday morning, according to the three-year lectionary and Luther's Small Catechism, working our way toward that Matthew 3 gospel reading, we'll respond to listener email,

the issues it said are a comment line, and then Pastor Christopher Jackson, founder of Church,

S-E-O-I-O, joins us to discuss promoting your church's Christmas services.

Pastor Peter Bender is Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wisconsin,

and director of the Concordia Catecetical Academy.

Peter, welcome back.

Good to be with you, Todd.

Why don't you give us an overview of what we're going to walk through today,

...