Thursday 8 May 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 8 May 2008  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Zechariah 4:1-14

The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as one is
wakened from sleep. He said to me, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see
a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven
lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of
it. And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl
and the other on its left.' I said to the angel who talked with me,
'What are these, my lord?' Then the angel who talked with me answered
me, 'Do you not know what these are?' I said, 'No, my lord.' He said to
me, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by
power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. What are you, O great
mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring
out the top stone amid shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" '

 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'The hands of
Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also
complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to
you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and
shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.

'These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole
earth.' Then I said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right
and the left of the lampstand?' And a second time I said to him, 'What
are these two branches of the olive trees, which pour out the oil*
through the two golden pipes?' He said to me, 'Do you not know what
these are?' I said, 'No, my lord.' Then he said, 'These are the two
anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.'
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Ephesians 4:17-32

Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as
the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in
their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their
ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have
abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practise every kind of
impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have
heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were
taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and
deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and
to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the
likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our
neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the
devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work
honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the
needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful
for building up,* as there is need, so that your words may give grace to
those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you
were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all
bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with
all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.*
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Matthew 9:1-8

And after getting into a boat he crossed the water and came to his own
town.
 And just then some people were carrying a paralysed man lying on a bed.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Take heart, son;
your sins are forgiven.' Then some of the scribes said to themselves,
'This man is blaspheming.' But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said,
'Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say,
"Your sins are forgiven", or to say, "Stand up and walk"? But so that
you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins'-he then said to the paralytic-'Stand up, take your bed and go to
your home.' And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw
it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given
such authority to human beings.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 105:1-22

Psalm 105:1-22

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
   make known his deeds among the peoples. 
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
   tell of all his wonderful works. 
Glory in his holy name;
   let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 
Seek the Lord and his strength;
   seek his presence continually. 
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
   his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered, 
O offspring of his servant Abraham,*
   children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 


He is the Lord our God;
   his judgements are in all the earth. 
He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
   of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
   his sworn promise to Isaac, 
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
   to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 
saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan
   as your portion for an inheritance.' 


When they were few in number,
   of little account, and strangers in it, 
wandering from nation to nation,
   from one kingdom to another people, 
he allowed no one to oppress them;
   he rebuked kings on their account, 
saying, 'Do not touch my anointed ones;
   do my prophets no harm.' 


When he summoned famine against the land,
   and broke every staff of bread, 
he had sent a man ahead of them,
   Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 
His feet were hurt with fetters,
   his neck was put in a collar of iron; 
until what he had said came to pass,
   the word of the Lord kept testing him. 
The king sent and released him;
   the ruler of the peoples set him free. 
He made him lord of his house,
   and ruler of all his possessions, 
to instruct* his officials at his pleasure,
   and to teach his elders wisdom.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 105:23-45

Psalm 105:23-45

Then Israel came to Egypt;
   Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. 
And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
   and made them stronger than their foes, 
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
   to deal craftily with his servants. 


He sent his servant Moses,
   and Aaron whom he had chosen. 
They performed his signs among them,
   and miracles in the land of Ham. 
He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
   they rebelled* against his words. 
He turned their waters into blood,
   and caused their fish to die. 
Their land swarmed with frogs,
   even in the chambers of their kings. 
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
   and gnats throughout their country. 
He gave them hail for rain,
   and lightning that flashed through their land. 
He struck their vines and fig trees,
   and shattered the trees of their country. 
He spoke, and the locusts came,
   and young locusts without number; 
they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
   and ate up the fruit of their ground. 
He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
   the first issue of all their strength. 


Then he brought Israel* out with silver and gold,
   and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled. 
Egypt was glad when they departed,
   for dread of them had fallen upon it. 
He spread a cloud for a covering,
   and fire to give light by night. 
They asked, and he brought quails,
   and gave them food from heaven in abundance. 
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
   it flowed through the desert like a river. 
For he remembered his holy promise,
   and Abraham, his servant. 


So he brought his people out with joy,
   his chosen ones with singing. 
He gave them the lands of the nations,
   and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples, 
that they might keep his statutes
   and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!
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