Sunday 9 December 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

[info at dailylectionary.org]

Sunday 9 December 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org

******************************************************************
Amos 6:1-14

Alas for those who are at ease in Zion,
   and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
the notables of the first of the nations,
   to whom the house of Israel resorts! 
2Cross over to Calneh, and see;
   from there go to Hamath the great;
   then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better* than these kingdoms?
   Or is your* territory greater than their* territory, 
3O you that put far away the evil day,
   and bring near a reign of violence? 


4Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory,
   and lounge on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock,
   and calves from the stall; 
5who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,
   and like David improvise on instruments of music; 
6who drink wine from bowls,
   and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
   but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! 
7Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
   and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away. 


8The Lord God has sworn by himself
(says the Lord, the God of hosts):
I abhor the pride of Jacob
   and hate his strongholds;
   and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it. 


9 If ten people remain in one house, they shall die. 10And if a
relative, one who burns the dead,* shall take up the body to bring it
out of the house, and shall say to someone in the innermost parts of the
house, 'Is anyone else with you?' the answer will come, 'No.' Then the
relative* shall say, 'Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.' 


11See, the Lord commands,
   and the great house shall be shattered to bits,
   and the little house to pieces. 
12Do horses run on rocks?
   Does one plough the sea with oxen?*
But you have turned justice into poison
   and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood- 
13you who rejoice in Lo-debar,*
   who say, 'Have we not by our own strength
   taken Karnaim* for ourselves?' 
14Indeed, I am raising up against you a nation,
   O house of Israel, says the Lord, the God of hosts,
and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
   to the Wadi Arabah. 
******************************************************************
2 Thessalonians 1:5-12

This is evidence of the righteous judgement of God, and is intended to
make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering.
6For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict
you, 7and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the
Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8in flaming
fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who
do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9These will suffer the
punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the
Lord and from the glory of his might, 10when he comes to be glorified by
his saints and to be marvelled at on that day among all who have
believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11To this end we
always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his
call and will fulfil by his power every good resolve and work of faith,
12so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in
him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
******************************************************************
Luke 1:57-68

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58Her
neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy
to her, and they rejoiced with her. 
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were
going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60But his mother said,
'No; he is to be called John.' 61They said to her, 'None of your
relatives has this name.' 62Then they began motioning to his father to
find out what name he wanted to give him. 63He asked for a
writing-tablet and wrote, 'His name is John.' And all of them were
amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he
began to speak, praising God. 65Fear came over all their neighbours, and
all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of
Judea. 66All who heard them pondered them and said, 'What then will this
child become?' For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. 
Zechariah's Prophecy67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the
Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: 
68'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
   for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them.
******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 148, 149, 150

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
   praise him in the heights! 
2Praise him, all his angels;
   praise him, all his host! 


3Praise him, sun and moon;
   praise him, all you shining stars! 
4Praise him, you highest heavens,
   and you waters above the heavens! 


5Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for he commanded and they were created. 
6He established them for ever and ever;
   he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.* 


7Praise the Lord from the earth,
   you sea monsters and all deeps, 
8fire and hail, snow and frost,
   stormy wind fulfilling his command! 


9Mountains and all hills,
   fruit trees and all cedars! 
10Wild animals and all cattle,
   creeping things and flying birds! 


11Kings of the earth and all peoples,
   princes and all rulers of the earth! 
12Young men and women alike,
   old and young together! 


13Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for his name alone is exalted;
   his glory is above earth and heaven. 
14He has raised up a horn for his people,
   praise for all his faithful,
   for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!


Psalm 149

1Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
   his praise in the assembly of the faithful. 
2Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
   let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. 
3Let them praise his name with dancing,
   making melody to him with tambourine and lyre. 
4For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
   he adorns the humble with victory. 
5Let the faithful exult in glory;
   let them sing for joy on their couches. 
6Let the high praises of God be in their throats
   and two-edged swords in their hands, 
7to execute vengeance on the nations
   and punishment on the peoples, 
8to bind their kings with fetters
   and their nobles with chains of iron, 
9to execute on them the judgement decreed.
   This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the Lord!


Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
   praise him in his mighty firmament!* 
2Praise him for his mighty deeds;
   praise him according to his surpassing greatness! 


3Praise him with trumpet sound;
   praise him with lute and harp! 
4Praise him with tambourine and dance;
   praise him with strings and pipe! 
5Praise him with clanging cymbals;
   praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 
6Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
******************************************************************
Evening Psalms:  Psalm 114, 115

Psalm 114

When Israel went out from Egypt,
   the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 
2Judah became God's* sanctuary,
   Israel his dominion. 


3The sea looked and fled;
   Jordan turned back. 
4The mountains skipped like rams,
   the hills like lambs. 


5Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
   O Jordan, that you turn back? 
6O mountains, that you skip like rams?
   O hills, like lambs? 


7Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
   at the presence of the God of Jacob, 
8who turns the rock into a pool of water,
   the flint into a spring of water.


Psalm 115

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
   for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. 
2Why should the nations say,
   'Where is their God?' 


3Our God is in the heavens;
   he does whatever he pleases. 
4Their idols are silver and gold,
   the work of human hands. 
5They have mouths, but do not speak;
   eyes, but do not see. 
6They have ears, but do not hear;
   noses, but do not smell. 
7They have hands, but do not feel;
   feet, but do not walk;
   they make no sound in their throats. 
8Those who make them are like them;
   so are all who trust in them. 


9O Israel, trust in the Lord!
   He is their help and their shield. 
10O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
   He is their help and their shield. 
11You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
   He is their help and their shield. 


12The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us;
   he will bless the house of Israel;
   he will bless the house of Aaron; 
13he will bless those who fear the Lord,
   both small and great. 


14May the Lord give you increase,
   both you and your children. 
15May you be blessed by the Lord,
   who made heaven and earth. 


16The heavens are the Lord's heavens,
   but the earth he has given to human beings. 
17The dead do not praise the Lord,
   nor do any that go down into silence. 
18But we will bless the Lord
   from this time on and for evermore.
Praise the Lord!
******************************************************************