Wednesday 2 January 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 2 January 2008 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Kings 19:1-8

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all
the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah,
saying, 'So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your
life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.' 3Then he was
afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which
belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. 
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and
sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: 'It is
enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my
ancestors.' 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep.
Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, 'Get up and eat.' 6He
looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar
of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7The angel of the Lord
came a second time, touched him, and said, 'Get up and eat, otherwise
the journey will be too much for you.' 8He got up, and ate and drank;
then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty
nights to Horeb the mount of God.
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Ephesians 4:1-16

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of
the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making
every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one
hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and
Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's
gift. 8Therefore it is said,
'When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
   he gave gifts to his people.' 
9(When it says, 'He ascended', what does it mean but that he had also
descended* into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is the
same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill
all things.) 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the
saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of
Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown
about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their
craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we
must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from
whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with
which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the
body's growth in building itself up in love.
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John 6:1-14

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also
called the Sea of Tiberias.*  2A large crowd kept following him, because
they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3Jesus went up the
mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the
festival of the Jews, was near. 5When he looked up and saw a large crowd
coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread for
these people to eat?' 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew
what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, 'Six months' wages* would
not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.' 8One of his
disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9'There is a boy
here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so
many people?' 10Jesus said, 'Make the people sit down.' Now there was a
great deal of grass in the place; so they* sat down, about five thousand
in all. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he
distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as
they wanted. 12When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, 'Gather
up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.' 13So they
gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left
by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14When the people
saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, 'This is indeed the
prophet who is to come into the world.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 34

Psalm 34

I will bless the Lord at all times;
   his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 
2My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
   let the humble hear and be glad. 
3O magnify the Lord with me,
   and let us exalt his name together. 


4I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
   and delivered me from all my fears. 
5Look to him, and be radiant;
   so your* faces shall never be ashamed. 
6This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
   and was saved from every trouble. 
7The angel of the Lord encamps
   around those who fear him, and delivers them. 
8O taste and see that the Lord is good;
   happy are those who take refuge in him. 
9O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
   for those who fear him have no want. 
10The young lions suffer want and hunger,
   but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 


11Come, O children, listen to me;
   I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 
12Which of you desires life,
   and covets many days to enjoy good? 
13Keep your tongue from evil,
   and your lips from speaking deceit. 
14Depart from evil, and do good;
   seek peace, and pursue it. 


15The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
   and his ears are open to their cry. 
16The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
   to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 
17When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
   and rescues them from all their troubles. 
18The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
   and saves the crushed in spirit. 


19Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
   but the Lord rescues them from them all. 
20He keeps all their bones;
   not one of them will be broken. 
21Evil brings death to the wicked,
   and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 
22The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
   none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 33

Psalm 33

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
   Praise befits the upright. 
2Praise the Lord with the lyre;
   make melody to him with the harp of ten strings. 
3Sing to him a new song;
   play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 


4For the word of the Lord is upright,
   and all his work is done in faithfulness. 
5He loves righteousness and justice;
   the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 


6By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
   and all their host by the breath of his mouth. 
7He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
   he put the deeps in storehouses. 


8Let all the earth fear the Lord;
   let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 
9For he spoke, and it came to be;
   he commanded, and it stood firm. 


10The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
   he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 
11The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
   the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 
12Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
   the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. 


13The Lord looks down from heaven;
   he sees all humankind. 
14From where he sits enthroned he watches
   all the inhabitants of the earth- 
15he who fashions the hearts of them all,
   and observes all their deeds. 
16A king is not saved by his great army;
   a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 
17The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
   and by its great might it cannot save. 


18Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
   on those who hope in his steadfast love, 
19to deliver their soul from death,
   and to keep them alive in famine. 


20Our soul waits for the Lord;
   he is our help and shield. 
21Our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name. 
22Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.
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