Monday 20 August 2012 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Monday 20 August 2012  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Judges 17:1-13

There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. He said to his mother, ‘The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and even spoke it in my hearing—that silver is in my possession; I took it; but now I will return it to you.’* And his mother said, ‘May my son be blessed by the Lord!’ Then he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, ‘I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast metal.’ So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah. This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and installed one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.

 Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah. He was a Levite residing there. This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah, to live wherever he could find a place. He came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim to carry on his work.* Micah said to him, ‘From where do you come?’ He replied, ‘I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to live wherever I can find a place.’ Then Micah said to him, ‘Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your living.’* The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and the young man became to him like one of his sons. So Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because the Levite has become my priest.’
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Acts 7:44-8:1a

‘Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God* directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David, who found favour with God and asked that he might find a dwelling-place for the house of Jacob.* But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands;* as the prophet says, 
“Heaven is my throne,
   and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
   or what is the place of my rest? 
Did not my hand make all these things?”

 ‘You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are for ever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.’
 When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen.* But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.* And Saul approved of their killing him.

That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.
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John 5:19-29

Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father* does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomsoever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Anyone who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.

 ‘Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. ******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 106:1-18

Psalm 106:1-18

Praise the Lord!
   O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,
   or declare all his praise? 
Happy are those who observe justice,
   who do righteousness at all times. 


Remember me, O Lord, when you show favour to your people;
   help me when you deliver them; 
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
   that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
   that I may glory in your heritage. 


Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
   we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. 
Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
   did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
   but rebelled against the Most High* at the Red Sea.* 
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
   so that he might make known his mighty power. 
He rebuked the Red Sea,* and it became dry;
   he led them through the deep as through a desert. 
So he saved them from the hand of the foe,
   and delivered them from the hand of the enemy. 
The waters covered their adversaries;
   not one of them was left. 
Then they believed his words;
   they sang his praise. 


But they soon forgot his works;
   they did not wait for his counsel. 
But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
   and put God to the test in the desert; 
he gave them what they asked,
   but sent a wasting disease among them. 


They were jealous of Moses in the camp,
   and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord. 
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
   and covered the faction of Abiram. 
Fire also broke out in their company;
   the flame burned up the wicked.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 106:19-48

Psalm 106:19-48

They made a calf at Horeb
   and worshipped a cast image. 
They exchanged the glory of God*
   for the image of an ox that eats grass. 
They forgot God, their Saviour,
   who had done great things in Egypt, 
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
   and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.* 
Therefore he said he would destroy them—
   had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
   to turn away his wrath from destroying them. 


Then they despised the pleasant land,
   having no faith in his promise. 
They grumbled in their tents,
   and did not obey the voice of the Lord. 
Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
   that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 
and would disperse* their descendants among the nations,
   scattering them over the lands. 


Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,
   and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; 
they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
   and a plague broke out among them. 
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
   and the plague was stopped. 
And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
   from generation to generation for ever. 


They angered the Lord * at the waters of Meribah,
   and it went ill with Moses on their account; 
for they made his spirit bitter,
   and he spoke words that were rash. 


They did not destroy the peoples
   as the Lord commanded them, 
but they mingled with the nations
   and learned to do as they did. 
They served their idols,
   which became a snare to them. 
They sacrificed their sons
   and their daughters to the demons; 
they poured out innocent blood,
   the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
   and the land was polluted with blood. 
Thus they became unclean by their acts,
   and prostituted themselves in their doings. 


Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
   and he abhorred his heritage; 
he gave them into the hand of the nations,
   so that those who hated them ruled over them. 
Their enemies oppressed them,
   and they were brought into subjection under their power. 
Many times he delivered them,
   but they were rebellious in their purposes,
   and were brought low through their iniquity. 
Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
   when he heard their cry. 
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
   and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 
He caused them to be pitied
   by all who held them captive. 


Save us, O Lord our God,
   and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
   and glory in your praise. 


Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’
   Praise the Lord!
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