Saturday 12 April 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Saturday 12 April 2008  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Exodus 25:1-22

The Lord said to Moses: Tell the Israelites to take for me an offering;
from all whose hearts prompt them to give you shall receive the offering
for me. This is the offering that you shall receive from them: gold,
silver, and bronze, blue, purple, and crimson yarns and fine linen,
goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, fine leather,* acacia wood, oil for the
lamps, spices for the anointing-oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx
stones and gems to be set in the ephod and for the breastpiece. And have
them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them. In accordance
with all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and of
all its furniture, so you shall make it.
 They shall make an ark of acacia wood; it shall be two and a half
cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. You
shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside you shall overlay
it, and you shall make a moulding of gold upon it all round. You shall
cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings
on one side of it, and two rings on the other side. You shall make poles
of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles
into the rings on the sides of the ark, by which to carry the ark. The
poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from
it. You shall put into the ark the covenant * that I shall give you.

 Then you shall make a mercy-seat * of pure gold; two cubits and a half
shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width. You shall make
two cherubim of gold; you shall make them of hammered work, at the two
ends of the mercy-seat.* Make one cherub at one end, and one cherub at
the other; of one piece with the mercy-seat* you shall make the cherubim
at its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above,
overshadowing the mercy-seat* with their wings. They shall face each
other; the faces of the cherubim shall be turned towards the
mercy-seat.* You shall put the mercy-seat* on the top of the ark; and in
the ark you shall put the covenant* that I shall give you. There I will
meet you, and from above the mercy-seat,* from between the two cherubim
that are on the ark of the covenant,* I will deliver to you all my
commands for the Israelites.
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Colossians 3:1-17

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have
died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is
your* life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in
glory.

 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication,
impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On
account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are
disobedient.* These are the ways you also once followed, when you were
living that life.* But now you must get rid of all such things-anger,
wrath, malice, slander, and abusive* language from your mouth. Do not
lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with
its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is
being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In
that renewal* there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all
and in all!

 As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one
another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each
other; just as the Lord* has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together
in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to
which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the
word of Christ* dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in
all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs to God.* And whatever you do, in word or deed, do
everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him.
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Matthew 4:18-25

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is
called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake-for
they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make
you fish for people.' Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee
and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending
their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their
father, and followed him. 

 Jesus* went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the good news* of the kingdom and curing every disease and
every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all
Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted
with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics,
and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the
Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 30, 32

Psalm 30

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
   and did not let my foes rejoice over me. 
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
   and you have healed me. 
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
   restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.* 


Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
   and give thanks to his holy name. 
For his anger is but for a moment;
   his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
   but joy comes with the morning. 


As for me, I said in my prosperity,
   'I shall never be moved.' 
By your favour, O Lord,
   you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
   I was dismayed. 


To you, O Lord, I cried,
   and to the Lord I made supplication: 
'What profit is there in my death,
   if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
   Will it tell of your faithfulness? 
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
   O Lord, be my helper!' 


You have turned my mourning into dancing;
   you have taken off my sackcloth
   and clothed me with joy, 
so that my soul* may praise you and not be silent.
   O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever.


Psalm 32

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
   whose sin is covered. 
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
   and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 


While I kept silence, my body wasted away
   through my groaning all day long. 
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
   my strength was dried up* as by the heat of summer.
          Selah 


Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
   and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord',
   and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
          Selah 


Therefore let all who are faithful
   offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress,* the rush of mighty waters
   shall not reach them. 
You are a hiding-place for me;
   you preserve me from trouble;
   you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
          Selah 


I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
   I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
   whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
   else it will not stay near you. 


Many are the torments of the wicked,
   but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. 
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
   and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 42, 43

Psalm 42

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
   so my soul longs for you, O God. 
My soul thirsts for God,
   for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
   the face of God? 
My tears have been my food
   day and night,
while people say to me continually,
   'Where is your God?' 


These things I remember,
   as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,*
   and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
   a multitude keeping festival. 
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God. 


My soul is cast down within me;
   therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
   from Mount Mizar. 
Deep calls to deep
   at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
   have gone over me. 
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
   and at night his song is with me,
   a prayer to the God of my life. 


I say to God, my rock,
   'Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
   because the enemy oppresses me?' 
As with a deadly wound in my body,
   my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
   'Where is your God?' 


Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.


Psalm 43

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
   against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust
   deliver me! 
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
   why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
   because of the oppression of the enemy? 


O send out your light and your truth;
   let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
   and to your dwelling. 
Then I will go to the altar of God,
   to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
   O God, my God. 


Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.
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