Monday 17 September 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 17 September 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Kings 21:1-16

Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a
vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2And
Ahab said to Naboth, 'Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a
vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better
vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value
in money.' 3But Naboth said to Ahab, 'The Lord forbid that I should give
you my ancestral inheritance.' 4Ahab went home resentful and sullen
because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said,
'I will not give you my ancestral inheritance.' He lay down on his bed,
turned away his face, and would not eat. 
5 His wife Jezebel came to him and said, 'Why are you so depressed that
you will not eat?' 6He said to her, 'Because I spoke to Naboth the
Jezreelite and said to him, "Give me your vineyard for money; or else,
if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it"; but he
answered, "I will not give you my vineyard." ' 7His wife Jezebel said to
him, 'Do you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful;
I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.' 
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal; she
sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in
his city. 9She wrote in the letters, 'Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth
at the head of the assembly; 10seat two scoundrels opposite him, and
have them bring a charge against him, saying, "You have cursed God and
the king." Then take him out, and stone him to death.' 11The men of his
city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel
had sent word to them. Just as it was written in the letters that she
had sent to them, 12they proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head
of the assembly. 13The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him; and
the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth, in the presence of the
people, saying, 'Naboth cursed God and the king.' So they took him
outside the city, and stoned him to death. 14Then they sent to Jezebel,
saying, 'Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.'
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1 Corinthians 1:1-19

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and
our brother Sosthenes, 
2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified
in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in
every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord*
and ours: 
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 


4 I give thanks to my* God always for you because of the grace of God
that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5for in every way you have been
enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind- 6just as the
testimony of* Christ has been strengthened among you- 7so that you are
not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our
Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you
may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful;
by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord. 
Divisions in the Church10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,* by
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in
agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you
should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. 11For it has
been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you,
my brothers and sisters.* 12What I mean is that each of you says, 'I
belong to Paul', or 'I belong to Apollos', or 'I belong to Cephas', or
'I belong to Christ.' 13Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for
you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God* that I
baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so that no one can say
that you were baptized in my name. 16(I did baptize also the household
of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone
else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the
gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might
not be emptied of its power. 
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God18 For the message about the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it
is the power of God. 19For it is written,
'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
   and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'
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Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by
the devil. 2He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he
was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of
God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.' 4But he answered,
'It is written,
"One does not live by bread alone,
   but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." ' 
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the
pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, 'If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down; for it is written,
"He will command his angels concerning you",
   and "On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone." ' 
7Jesus said to him, 'Again it is written, "Do not put the Lord your God
to the test." ' 
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all
the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; 9and he said to him, 'All
these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.' 10Jesus
said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
"Worship the Lord your God,
   and serve only him." ' 
11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. 
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 56, 57, 58

Psalm 56

Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
   all day long foes oppress me; 
2my enemies trample on me all day long,
   for many fight against me.
O Most High, 3when I am afraid,
   I put my trust in you. 
4In God, whose word I praise,
   in God I trust; I am not afraid;
   what can flesh do to me? 


5All day long they seek to injure my cause;
   all their thoughts are against me for evil. 
6They stir up strife, they lurk,
   they watch my steps.
As they hoped to have my life, 
7   so repay* them for their crime;
   in wrath cast down the peoples, O God! 


8You have kept count of my tossings;
   put my tears in your bottle.
   Are they not in your record? 
9Then my enemies will retreat
   on the day when I call.
   This I know, that* God is for me. 
10In God, whose word I praise,
   in the Lord, whose word I praise, 
11in God I trust; I am not afraid.
   What can a mere mortal do to me? 


12My vows to you I must perform, O God;
   I will render thank-offerings to you. 
13For you have delivered my soul from death,
   and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
   in the light of life.



Psalm 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
   for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
   until the destroying storms pass by. 
2I cry to God Most High,
   to God who fulfils his purpose for me. 
3He will send from heaven and save me,
   he will put to shame those who trample on me.
          Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness. 


4I lie down among lions
   that greedily devour* human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
   their tongues sharp swords. 


5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
   Let your glory be over all the earth. 


6They set a net for my steps;
   my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
   but they have fallen into it themselves.
          Selah 
7My heart is steadfast, O God,
   my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody. 
8   Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
   I will awake the dawn. 
9I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
   I will sing praises to you among the nations. 
10For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
   your faithfulness extends to the clouds. 


11Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
   Let your glory be over all the earth.



Psalm 58

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?*
   Do you judge people fairly? 
2No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
   your hands deal out violence on earth. 


3The wicked go astray from the womb;
   they err from their birth, speaking lies. 
4They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
   like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 
5so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
   or of the cunning enchanter. 


6O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
   tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 
7Let them vanish like water that runs away;
   like grass let them be trodden down* and wither. 
8Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
   like the untimely birth that never sees the sun. 
9Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
   whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! 


10The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;
   they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. 
11People will say, 'Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
   surely there is a God who judges on earth.'
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 64, 65

Psalm 64

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
   preserve my life from the dread enemy. 
2Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
   from the scheming of evildoers, 
3who whet their tongues like swords,
   who aim bitter words like arrows, 
4shooting from ambush at the blameless;
   they shoot suddenly and without fear. 
5They hold fast to their evil purpose;
   they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, 'Who can see us?* 
6   Who can search out our crimes?*
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.'
   For the human heart and mind are deep. 


7But God will shoot his arrow at them;
   they will be wounded suddenly. 
8Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;*
   all who see them will shake with horror. 
9Then everyone will fear;
   they will tell what God has brought about,
   and ponder what he has done. 


10Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
   and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.



Psalm 65

Praise is due to you,
   O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed, 
2   O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come. 
3When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
   you forgive our transgressions. 
4Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
   to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
   your holy temple. 


5By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
   O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas. 
6By your* strength you established the mountains;
   you are girded with might. 
7You silence the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   the tumult of the peoples. 
8Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. 


9You visit the earth and water it,
   you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
   you provide the people with grain,
   for so you have prepared it. 
10You water its furrows abundantly,
   settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
   and blessing its growth. 
11You crown the year with your bounty;
   your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 
12The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
   the hills gird themselves with joy, 
13the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
   the valleys deck themselves with grain,
   they shout and sing together for joy.
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