Sunday 1 July 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Sunday 1 July 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Samuel 10:1-16

Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him; he
said, 'The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall
reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand
of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to you that the
Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage: When you depart from me
today you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of
Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, "The donkeys that you went to
seek are found, and now your father has stopped worrying about them and
is worrying about you, saying: What shall I do about my son?" Then you
shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor; three men
going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids,
another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of
wine. They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you
shall accept from them. After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, at
the place where the Philistine garrison is; there, as you come to the
town, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the shrine with
harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of them; they will be
in a prophetic frenzy. Then the spirit of the Lord will possess you, and
you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a
different person. Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit
to do, for God is with you. And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me;
then I will come down to you to present burnt-offerings and offer
sacrifices of well-being. For seven days you shall wait, until I come to
you and show you what you shall do.' 
As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all
these signs were fulfilled that day. When they were going from there to
Gibeah, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God possessed him,
and he fell into a prophetic frenzy along with them. When all who knew
him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to
one another, 'What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the
prophets?' A man of the place answered, 'And who is their father?'
Therefore it became a proverb, 'Is Saul also among the prophets?' When
his prophetic frenzy had ended, he went home. 
Saul's uncle said to him and to the boy, 'Where did you go?' And he
replied, 'To seek the donkeys; and when we saw they were not to be
found, we went to Samuel.' Saul's uncle said, 'Tell me what Samuel said
to you.' Saul said to his uncle, 'He told us that the donkeys had been
found.' But about the matter of the kingship, of which Samuel had
spoken, he did not tell him anything.
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Romans 4:13-25

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham
or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of
faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith
is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where
there is no law, neither is there violation. 
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest
on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the
adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham
(for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, 'I have made you
the father of many nations')-in the presence of the God in whom he
believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things
that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become
'the father of many nations', according to what was said, 'So numerous
shall your descendants be.' He did not weaken in faith when he
considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was
about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of
Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God,
but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully
convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his
faith 'was reckoned to him as righteousness.' Now the words, 'it was
reckoned to him', were written not for his sake alone, but for ours
also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our
Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and
was raised for our justification. 
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Matthew 21:23-32

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the
people came to him as he was teaching, and said, 'By what authority are
you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?' Jesus said to
them, 'I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then
I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the
baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?' And they
argued with one another, 'If we say, "From heaven", he will say to us,
"Why then did you not believe him?" But if we say, "Of human origin", we
are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.' So they
answered Jesus, 'We do not know.' And he said to them, 'Neither will I
tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 
'What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said,
"Son, go and work in the vineyard today." He answered, "I will not"; but
later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and
said the same; and he answered, "I go, sir"; but he did not go. Which of
the two did the will of his father?' They said, 'The first.' Jesus said
to them, 'Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are
going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the
way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors
and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not
change your minds and believe him.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 118

Psalm 118

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   his steadfast love endures for ever! 


Let Israel say,
   'His steadfast love endures for ever.' 
Let the house of Aaron say,
   'His steadfast love endures for ever.' 
Let those who fear the Lord say,
   'His steadfast love endures for ever.' 


Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
   the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. 
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
   What can mortals do to me? 
The Lord is on my side to help me;
   I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
   than to put confidence in mortals. 
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
   than to put confidence in princes. 


All nations surrounded me;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
They surrounded me like bees;
   they blazed like a fire of thorns;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
   but the Lord helped me. 
The Lord is my strength and my might;
   he has become my salvation. 


There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
'The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; 
   the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
   the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.' 
I shall not die, but I shall live,
   and recount the deeds of the Lord. 
The Lord has punished me severely,
   but he did not give me over to death. 


Open to me the gates of righteousness,
   that I may enter through them
   and give thanks to the Lord. 


This is the gate of the Lord;
   the righteous shall enter through it. 


I thank you that you have answered me
   and have become my salvation. 
The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the chief cornerstone. 
This is the Lord's doing;
   it is marvellous in our eyes. 
This is the day that the Lord has made;
   let us rejoice and be glad in it. 
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
   O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! 


Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
   We bless you from the house of the Lord. 
The Lord is God,
   and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
   up to the horns of the altar. 


You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
   you are my God, I will extol you. 


O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 145

Psalm 145

I will extol you, my God and King,
   and bless your name for ever and ever. 
Every day I will bless you,
   and praise your name for ever and ever. 
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   his greatness is unsearchable. 


One generation shall laud your works to another,
   and shall declare your mighty acts. 
On the glorious splendour of your majesty,
   and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
   and I will declare your greatness. 
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
   and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 


The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made. 


All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
   and all your faithful shall bless you. 
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
   and tell of your power, 
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
   and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. 
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
   and your dominion endures throughout all generations. 


The Lord is faithful in all his words,
   and gracious in all his deeds. 
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
   and raises up all who are bowed down. 
The eyes of all look to you,
   and you give them their food in due season. 
You open your hand,
   satisfying the desire of every living thing. 
The Lord is just in all his ways,
   and kind in all his doings. 
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth. 
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
   he also hears their cry, and saves them. 
The Lord watches over all who love him,
   but all the wicked he will destroy. 


My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
   and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.
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