Monday 1 December 2014 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Monday 1 December 2014  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 1:10-20

Hear the word of the Lord,
   you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
   you people of Gomorrah! 
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
   says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams
   and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
   or of lambs, or of goats. 


When you come to appear before me,*
   who asked this from your hand?
   Trample my courts no more; 
bringing offerings is futile;
   incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation—
   I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. 
Your new moons and your appointed festivals
   my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me,
   I am weary of bearing them. 
When you stretch out your hands,
   I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
   I will not listen;
   your hands are full of blood. 
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
   remove the evil of your doings
   from before my eyes;
cease to do evil, 
   learn to do good;
seek justice,
   rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
   plead for the widow. 


Come now, let us argue it out,
   says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
   they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
   they shall become like wool. 
If you are willing and obedient,
   you shall eat the good of the land; 
but if you refuse and rebel,
   you shall be devoured by the sword;
   for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
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1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace. 

 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters* beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions* report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
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Luke 20:1-8

One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders and said to him, ‘Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?’ He answered them, ‘I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ They discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.’ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 1, 2, 3

Psalm 1

Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
   or sit in the seat of scoffers; 
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law they meditate day and night. 
They are like trees
   planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
   and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper. 


The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.


Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire,
   and the peoples plot in vain? 
The kings of the earth set themselves,
   and the rulers take counsel together,
   against the Lord and his anointed, saying, 
‘Let us burst their bonds asunder,
   and cast their cords from us.’ 


He who sits in the heavens laughs;
   the Lord has them in derision. 
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
   and terrify them in his fury, saying, 
‘I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.’ 


I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, ‘You are my son;
   today I have begotten you. 
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
   and the ends of the earth your possession. 
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
   and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ 


Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
   be warned, O rulers of the earth. 
Serve the Lord with fear,
   with trembling kiss his feet,*
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
   for his wrath is quickly kindled. 

Happy are all who take refuge in him.


Psalm 3

O Lord, how many are my foes!
   Many are rising against me; 
many are saying to me,
   ‘There is no help for you* in God.’
          Selah 


But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
   my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. 
I cry aloud to the Lord,
   and he answers me from his holy hill.
          Selah 


I lie down and sleep;
   I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. 
I am not afraid of tens of thousands of people
   who have set themselves against me all around. 


Rise up, O Lord!
   Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
   you break the teeth of the wicked. 


Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
   may your blessing be on your people!
          Selah
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 4, 7

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
   You gave me room when I was in distress.
   Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. 


How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?
   How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
          Selah 
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
   the Lord hears when I call to him. 


When you are disturbed,* do not sin;
   ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
          Selah 
Offer right sacrifices,
   and put your trust in the Lord. 


There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!
   Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’ 
You have put gladness in my heart
   more than when their grain and wine abound. 


I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
   for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.


Psalm 7

O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
   save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, 
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
   they will drag me away, with no one to rescue. 


O Lord my God, if I have done this,
   if there is wrong in my hands, 
if I have repaid my ally with harm
   or plundered my foe without cause, 
then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
   trample my life to the ground,
   and lay my soul in the dust.
          Selah 


Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
   lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
   awake, O my God;* you have appointed a judgement. 
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
   and over it take your seat* on high. 
The Lord judges the peoples;
   judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
   and according to the integrity that is in me. 


O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
   but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
   O righteous God. 
God is my shield,
   who saves the upright in heart. 
God is a righteous judge,
   and a God who has indignation every day. 


If one does not repent, God* will whet his sword;
   he has bent and strung his bow; 
he has prepared his deadly weapons,
   making his arrows fiery shafts. 
See how they conceive evil,
   and are pregnant with mischief,
   and bring forth lies. 
They make a pit, digging it out,
   and fall into the hole that they have made. 
Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
   and on their own heads their violence descends. 


I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
   and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
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