Sunday 22 December 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Sunday 22 December 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 42:1-12

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
   my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
   he will bring forth justice to the nations. 
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
   or make it heard in the street; 
a bruised reed he will not break,
   and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
   he will faithfully bring forth justice. 
He will not grow faint or be crushed
   until he has established justice in the earth;
   and the coastlands wait for his teaching. 

Thus says God, the Lord,
   who created the heavens and stretched them out,
   who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
   and spirit to those who walk in it: 
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
   I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,*
   a light to the nations, 
   to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
   from the prison those who sit in darkness. 
I am the Lord, that is my name;
   my glory I give to no other,
   nor my praise to idols. 
See, the former things have come to pass,
   and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
   I tell you of them. 

Sing to the Lord a new song,
   his praise from the end of the earth!
Let the sea roar* and all that fills it,
   the coastlands and their inhabitants. 
Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice,
   the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy,
   let them shout from the tops of the mountains. 
Let them give glory to the Lord,
   and declare his praise in the coastlands.
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Ephesians 6:10-20

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put
on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil. For our* struggle is not against enemies of
blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the
whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil
day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and
fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate
of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you
ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these,* take the
shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming
arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To
that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the
saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given
to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,* for
which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly,
as I must speak. 
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John 3:16-21
 
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those
who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are
condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the
only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come
into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because
their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not
come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those
who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen
that their deeds have been done in God.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 24, 29

Psalm 24

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
   the world, and those who live in it; 
for he has founded it on the seas,
   and established it on the rivers. 

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
   And who shall stand in his holy place? 
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
   who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
   and do not swear deceitfully. 
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
   and vindication from the God of their salvation. 
Such is the company of those who seek him,
   who seek the face of the God of Jacob.*
          Selah 

Lift up your heads, O gates!
   and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
   that the King of glory may come in. 
Who is the King of glory?
   The Lord, strong and mighty,
   the Lord, mighty in battle. 
Lift up your heads, O gates!
   and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
   that the King of glory may come in. 
Who is this King of glory?
   The Lord of hosts,
   he is the King of glory.
          Selah

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!
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 8, 84

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

You have set your glory above the heavens. 
   Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
   to silence the enemy and the avenger. 

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars that you have established; 
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
   mortals* that you care for them? 

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,*
   and crowned them with glory and honour. 
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
   you have put all things under their feet, 
all sheep and oxen,
   and also the beasts of the field, 
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
   whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 

O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place,
   O Lord of hosts! 
My soul longs, indeed it faints
   for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
   to the living God. 

Even the sparrow finds a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
   my King and my God. 
Happy are those who live in your house,
   ever singing your praise.
          Selah 

Happy are those whose strength is in you,
   in whose heart are the highways to Zion.* 
As they go through the valley of Baca
   they make it a place of springs;
   the early rain also covers it with pools. 
They go from strength to strength;
   the God of gods will be seen in Zion. 

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
   give ear, O God of Jacob!
          Selah 
Behold our shield, O God;
   look on the face of your anointed. 

For a day in your courts is better
   than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
   than live in the tents of wickedness. 
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
   he bestows favour and honour.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
   from those who walk uprightly. 
O Lord of hosts,
   happy is everyone who trusts in you.
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