Sunday 5 January 2014 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Sunday 5 January 2014 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wisdom 7:3-14

And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air, 
and fell upon the kindred earth; 
my first sound was a cry, as is true of all. 
I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths. 
 For no king has had a different beginning of existence; 
 there is for all one entrance into life, and one way out. 
Solomon’s Respect for Wisdom
 Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; 
I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. 
 I preferred her to scepters and thrones, 
and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her. 
 Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, 
because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, 
and silver will be accounted as clay before her. 
 I loved her more than health and beauty, 
and I chose to have her rather than light, 
because her radiance never ceases. 
 All good things came to me along with her, 
and in her hands uncounted wealth. 
 I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them; 
but I did not know that she was their mother. 
 I learned without guile and I impart without grudging; 
I do not hide her wealth, 
 for it is an unfailing treasure for mortals; 
those who get it obtain friendship with God, 
commended for the gifts that come from instruction.
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Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord* has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ* dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.* And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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John 6:41-47
 
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.
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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.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 145

Psalm 145

I will extol you, my God and King,
   and bless your name for ever and ever. 
Every day I will bless you,
   and praise your name for ever and ever. 
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   his greatness is unsearchable. 


One generation shall laud your works to another,
   and shall declare your mighty acts. 
On the glorious splendour of your majesty,
   and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
   and I will declare your greatness. 
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
   and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 


The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made. 


All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
   and all your faithful shall bless you. 
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
   and tell of your power, 
to make known to all people your* mighty deeds,
   and the glorious splendour of your* kingdom. 
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
   and your dominion endures throughout all generations. 


The Lord is faithful in all his words,
   and gracious in all his deeds.* 
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
   and raises up all who are bowed down. 
The eyes of all look to you,
   and you give them their food in due season. 
You open your hand,
   satisfying the desire of every living thing. 
The Lord is just in all his ways,
   and kind in all his doings. 
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth. 
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
   he also hears their cry, and saves them. 
The Lord watches over all who love him,
   but all the wicked he will destroy. 


My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
   and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Eve of Epiphany

Isaiah 66:18-23

For I know* their works and their thoughts, and I am* coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put,* and Lud—which draw the bow—to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a grain-offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. And I will also take some of them as priests and as Levites, says the Lord. 


For as the new heavens and the new earth,
   which I will make,
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
   so shall your descendants and your name remain. 
From new moon to new moon,
   and from sabbath to sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
says the Lord.
************************************************************************Romans 15:7-13

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
‘Therefore I will confess* you among the Gentiles,
   and sing praises to your name’; 
and again he says,
‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’; 
and again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
   and let all the peoples praise him’; 
and again Isaiah says,
‘The root of Jesse shall come,
   the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.’ 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Psalms 29, 98

Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,*
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
   worship the Lord in holy splendour. 


The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
   the God of glory thunders,
   the Lord, over mighty waters. 
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 


The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
   the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
   and Sirion like a young wild ox. 


The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
   the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 


The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,*
   and strips the forest bare;
   and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’ 


The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
   the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever. 
May the Lord give strength to his people!
   May the Lord bless his people with peace!


Psalm 98

O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvellous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gained him victory. 
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. 
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God. 


Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
   break forth into joyous song and sing praises. 
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
   with the lyre and the sound of melody. 
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
   make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord. 


Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
   the world and those who live in it. 
Let the floods clap their hands;
   let the hills sing together for joy 
at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
   to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
   and the peoples with equity.
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