Monday 10 December 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 10 December 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Amos 7:1-9

This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming locusts at the time
the latter growth began to sprout (it was the latter growth after the
king's mowings). 2When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I
said,
'O Lord God, forgive, I beg you!
   How can Jacob stand?
   He is so small!' 
3The Lord relented concerning this;
   'It shall not be,' said the Lord. 


4 This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord God was calling for a
shower of fire,* and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the
land. 5Then I said,
'O Lord God, cease, I beg you!
   How can Jacob stand?
   He is so small!' 
6The Lord relented concerning this;
   'This also shall not be,' said the Lord God. 


7 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built
with a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. 8And the Lord said to
me, 'Amos, what do you see?' And I said, 'A plumb-line.' Then the Lord
said,
'See, I am setting a plumb-line
   in the midst of my people Israel;
   I will never again pass them by; 
9the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
   and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
   and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.' 
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Revelation 1:1-8

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants*
what must soon take place; he made* it known by sending his angel to his
servant* John, 2who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of
Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and
blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the
time is near. 


4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus
Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler
of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed* us from our sins by his blood, 6and made*
us to be a kingdom, priests serving* his God and Father, to him be glory
and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 
7Look! He is coming with the clouds;
   every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
   and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen. 
8 'I am the Alpha and the Omega', says the Lord God, who is and who was
and who is to come, the Almighty. 
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Matthew 22:23-33

The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no
resurrection;* and they asked him a question, saying, 24'Teacher, Moses
said, "If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and
raise up children for his brother." 25Now there were seven brothers
among us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to
his brother. 26The second did the same, so also the third, down to the
seventh. 27Last of all, the woman herself died. 28In the resurrection,
then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married
her.' 
29 Jesus answered them, 'You are wrong, because you know neither the
scriptures nor the power of God. 30For in the resurrection they neither
marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels* in heaven. 31And
as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to
you by God, 32"I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob"? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.' 33And when the
crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 25

Psalm 25

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 
2O my God, in you I trust;
   do not let me be put to shame;
   do not let my enemies exult over me. 
3Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
   let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 


4Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
   teach me your paths. 
5Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
   for you are the God of my salvation;
   for you I wait all day long. 


6Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
   for they have been from of old. 
7Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
   according to your steadfast love remember me,
   for your goodness' sake, O Lord! 


8Good and upright is the Lord;
   therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 
9He leads the humble in what is right,
   and teaches the humble his way. 
10All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
   for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 


11For your name's sake, O Lord,
   pardon my guilt, for it is great. 
12Who are they that fear the Lord?
   He will teach them the way that they should choose. 


13They will abide in prosperity,
   and their children shall possess the land. 
14The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
   and he makes his covenant known to them. 
15My eyes are ever towards the Lord,
   for he will pluck my feet out of the net. 


16Turn to me and be gracious to me,
   for I am lonely and afflicted. 
17Relieve the troubles of my heart,
   and bring me* out of my distress. 
18Consider my affliction and my trouble,
   and forgive all my sins. 


19Consider how many are my foes,
   and with what violent hatred they hate me. 
20O guard my life, and deliver me;
   do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 
21May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
   for I wait for you. 


22Redeem Israel, O God,
   out of all its troubles.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 9, 15

Psalm 9

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. 
2I will be glad and exult in you;
   I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 


3When my enemies turned back,
   they stumbled and perished before you. 
4For you have maintained my just cause;
   you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgement. 


5You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
   you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 
6The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
   their cities you have rooted out;
   the very memory of them has perished. 


7But the Lord sits enthroned for ever,
   he has established his throne for judgement. 
8He judges the world with righteousness;
   he judges the peoples with equity. 


9The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
   a stronghold in times of trouble. 
10And those who know your name put their trust in you,
   for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. 


11Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
   Declare his deeds among the peoples. 
12For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
   he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 


13Be gracious to me, O Lord.
   See what I suffer from those who hate me;
   you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death, 
14so that I may recount all your praises,
   and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
   rejoice in your deliverance. 


15The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
   in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught. 
16The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgement;
   the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
          Higgaion. Selah


17The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
   all the nations that forget God. 


18For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
   nor the hope of the poor perish for ever. 


19Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
   let the nations be judged before you. 
20Put them in fear, O Lord;
   let the nations know that they are only human.
          Selah


Psalm 15

O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
   Who may dwell on your holy hill? 


2Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
   and speak the truth from their heart; 
3who do not slander with their tongue,
   and do no evil to their friends,
   nor take up a reproach against their neighbours; 
4in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
   but who honour those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt; 
5who do not lend money at interest,
   and do not take a bribe against the innocent. 


Those who do these things shall never be moved.
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