Monday 23 December 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 23 December 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 11:1-9

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
   and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
   the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
   the spirit of counsel and might,
   the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. 

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
   or decide by what his ears hear; 
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
   and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
   and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
   and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them. 
The cow and the bear shall graze,
   their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 
They will not hurt or destroy
   on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
   as the waters cover the sea.
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Revelation 20:1-10

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the
key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. He seized the dragon,
that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a
thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it
over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the
thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little
while.

 Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to
judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their
testimony to Jesus* and for the word of God. They had not worshipped
the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their
foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until
the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over
these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God
and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
 When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his
prison and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of
the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are
as numerous as the sands of the sea. They marched up over the breadth
of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved
city. And fire came down from heaven* and consumed them. And the devil
who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur,
where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented
day and night for ever and ever.
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John 5:30-47
 
‘I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is
just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who
sent me.

 ‘If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is
another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to
me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the
truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things
so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you
were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a
testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given
me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself
testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his
form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not
believe him whom he has sent.

 ‘You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have
eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse
to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings.
But I know that you do not have the love of God in* you. I have come
in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in
his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept
glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the
one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the
Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you
believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if
you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 61, 62

Psalm 61

Hear my cry, O God;
   listen to my prayer. 
>From the end of the earth I call to you,
   when my heart is faint. 

Lead me to the rock
   that is higher than I; 
for you are my refuge,
   a strong tower against the enemy. 

Let me abide in your tent for ever,
   find refuge under the shelter of your wings.
          Selah 
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
   you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 

Prolong the life of the king;
   may his years endure to all generations! 
May he be enthroned for ever before God;
   appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! 

So I will always sing praises to your name,
   as I pay my vows day after day.

Psalm 62

To the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
   from him comes my salvation. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall never be shaken. 

How long will you assail a person,
   will you batter your victim, all of you,
   as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
   They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
   but inwardly they curse.
          Selah 

For God alone my soul waits in silence,
   for my hope is from him. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 
On God rests my deliverance and my honour;
   my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. 

Trust in him at all times, O people;
   pour out your heart before him;
   God is a refuge for us.
          Selah 

Those of low estate are but a breath,
   those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
   they are together lighter than a breath. 
Put no confidence in extortion,
   and set no vain hopes on robbery;
   if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 

Once God has spoken;
   twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God, 
   and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
   according to their work.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 112, 115

Psalm 112

Praise the Lord!
   Happy are those who fear the Lord,
   who greatly delight in his commandments. 
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
   the generation of the upright will be blessed. 
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
   and their righteousness endures for ever. 
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
   they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. 
It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
   who conduct their affairs with justice. 
For the righteous will never be moved;
   they will be remembered for ever. 
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
   their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. 
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
   in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. 
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
   their righteousness endures for ever;
   their horn is exalted in honour. 
The wicked see it and are angry;
   they gnash their teeth and melt away;
   the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

Psalm  115

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
   for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. 
Why should the nations say,
   ‘Where is their God?’ 

Our God is in the heavens;
   he does whatever he pleases. 
Their idols are silver and gold,
   the work of human hands. 
They have mouths, but do not speak;
   eyes, but do not see. 
They have ears, but do not hear;
   noses, but do not smell. 
They have hands, but do not feel;
   feet, but do not walk;
   they make no sound in their throats. 
Those who make them are like them;
   so are all who trust in them. 

O Israel, trust in the Lord!
   He is their help and their shield. 
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
   He is their help and their shield. 
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
   He is their help and their shield. 

The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us;
   he will bless the house of Israel;
   he will bless the house of Aaron; 
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
   both small and great. 

May the Lord give you increase,
   both you and your children. 
May you be blessed by the Lord,
   who made heaven and earth. 

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
   but the earth he has given to human beings. 
The dead do not praise the Lord,
   nor do any that go down into silence. 
But we will bless the Lord
   from this time on and for evermore.
Praise the Lord!
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