Tuesday 23 December 2014 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Tuesday 23 December 2014  
DAILY LECTIONARY

Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org
******************************************************************
Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
   the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
   and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
   the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
   the majesty of our God. 


Strengthen the weak hands,
   and make firm the feeble knees. 
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
   ‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
   He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
   He will come and save you.’ 


Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
   and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
   and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
   and streams in the desert; 
the burning sand shall become a pool,
   and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,*
   the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 


A highway shall be there,
   and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,*
   but it shall be for God’s people;*
   no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray. 
No lion shall be there,
   nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
   but the redeemed shall walk there. 
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
   and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
   they shall obtain joy and gladness,
   and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. ******************************************************************
Revelation 20:11-21:8

Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home* of God is among mortals.
He will dwell* with them;
they will be his peoples,*
and God himself will be with them;* 
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

 And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless,* the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.’
******************************************************************
Luke 1:5-25
 
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense-offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.’

 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, ‘This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.’
******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 66, 67

Psalm 66

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; 
   sing the glory of his name;
   give to him glorious praise. 
Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!
   Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you. 
All the earth worships you;
   they sing praises to you,
   sing praises to your name.’
          Selah 


Come and see what God has done:
   he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. 
He turned the sea into dry land;
   they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him, 
   who rules by his might for ever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
   let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
          Selah 


Bless our God, O peoples,
   let the sound of his praise be heard, 
who has kept us among the living,
   and has not let our feet slip. 
For you, O God, have tested us;
   you have tried us as silver is tried. 
You brought us into the net;
   you laid burdens on our backs; 
you let people ride over our heads;
   we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.* 


I will come into your house with burnt-offerings;
   I will pay you my vows, 
those that my lips uttered
   and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. 
I will offer to you burnt-offerings of fatlings,
   with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats.
          Selah 


Come and hear, all you who fear God,
   and I will tell what he has done for me. 
I cried aloud to him,
   and he was extolled with my tongue. 
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
   the Lord would not have listened. 
But truly God has listened;
   he has given heed to the words of my prayer. 


Blessed be God,
   because he has not rejected my prayer
   or removed his steadfast love from me..


Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face to shine upon us,
          Selah 
that your way may be known upon earth,
   your saving power among all nations. 
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you. 


Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
   for you judge the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations upon earth.
          Selah 
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you. 


The earth has yielded its increase;
   God, our God, has blessed us. 
May God continue to bless us;
   let all the ends of the earth revere him.
******************************************************************
Evening Psalms: Psalm 116, 117

Psalm 116

I love the Lord, because he has heard
   my voice and my supplications. 
Because he inclined his ear to me,
   therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 
The snares of death encompassed me;
   the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
   I suffered distress and anguish. 
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
   ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’ 


Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
   our God is merciful. 
The Lord protects the simple;
   when I was brought low, he saved me. 
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
   for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 


For you have delivered my soul from death,
   my eyes from tears,
   my feet from stumbling. 
I walk before the Lord
   in the land of the living. 
I kept my faith, even when I said,
   ‘I am greatly afflicted’; 
I said in my consternation,
   ‘Everyone is a liar.’ 


What shall I return to the Lord
   for all his bounty to me? 
I will lift up the cup of salvation
   and call on the name of the Lord, 
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people. 
Precious in the sight of the Lord
   is the death of his faithful ones. 
O Lord, I am your servant;
   I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
   You have loosed my bonds. 
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
   and call on the name of the Lord. 
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people, 
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
   in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!


Psalm  117

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
   Extol him, all you peoples! 
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
   and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord!
******************************************************************