Sunday 30 June 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Sunday 30 June 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Numbers 21:4-9,21-35

>From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea,* to go around
the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The
people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us
up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no
water, and we detest this miserable food.’ Then the Lord sent
poisonous* serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that
many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have
sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord
to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.
And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous* serpent, and set it
on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’ So
Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a
serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze
and live.
 Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, saying,
‘Let me pass through your land; we will not turn aside into field or
vineyard; we will not drink the water of any well; we will go by the
King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.’ But
Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. Sihon
gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel to the
wilderness; he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. Israel put
him to the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to
the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites; for the boundary of the
Ammonites was strong. Israel took all these towns, and Israel settled
in all the towns of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.
For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought
against the former king of Moab and captured all his land as far as
the Arnon. Therefore the ballad-singers say,
‘Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
   let the city of Sihon be established. 
For fire came out from Heshbon,
   flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab,
   and swallowed up* the heights of the Arnon. 
Woe to you, O Moab!
   You are undone, O people of Chemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
   and his daughters captives,
   to an Amorite king, Sihon. 
So their posterity perished
   from Heshbon* to Dibon,
   and we laid waste until fire spread to Medeba.’*

 Thus Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. Moses sent to spy
out Jazer; and they captured its villages, and dispossessed the
Amorites who were there.
 Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan; and King Og of
Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at
Edrei. But the Lord said to Moses, ‘Do not be afraid of him; for I
have given him into your hand, with all his people, and all his land.
You shall do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who
ruled in Heshbon.’ So they killed him, his sons, and all his people,
until there was no survivor left; and they took possession of his
land.
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Acts 17:12-34

Many of them therefore believed, including not a few Greek women and
men of high standing. But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that
the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea as well, they
came there too, to stir up and incite the crowds. Then the believers*
immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy
remained behind. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as
Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy
join him as soon as possible, they left him.
 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed
to see that the city was full of idols. So he argued in the synagogue
with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the market-place*
every day with those who happened to be there. Also some Epicurean and
Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, ‘What does this
babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of
foreign divinities.’ (This was because he was telling the good news
about Jesus and the resurrection.) So they took him and brought him to
the Areopagus and asked him, ‘May we know what this new teaching is
that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would
like to know what it means.’ Now all the Athenians and the
foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling
or hearing something new.

 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I
see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went
through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship,
I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown
god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of
heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is
he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he
himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one
ancestor* he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he
allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places
where they would live, so that they would search for God* and perhaps
grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one
of us. For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even
some of your own poets have said,
“For we too are his offspring.” 
Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity
is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and
imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human
ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he
has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in
righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given
assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’

 When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but
others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’ At that point
Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers,
including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and
others with them.
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Luke 13:10-17

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just
then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for
eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up
straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman,
you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her,
immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the
leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the
sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work
ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the
sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites!
Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from
the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this
woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years,
be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said
this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was
rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 118

Psalm 118

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   his steadfast love endures for ever! 

Let Israel say,
   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’ 
Let the house of Aaron say,
   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’ 
Let those who fear the Lord say,
   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’ 

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
   the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. 
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
   What can mortals do to me? 
The Lord is on my side to help me;
   I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
   than to put confidence in mortals. 
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
   than to put confidence in princes. 

All nations surrounded me;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
They surrounded me like bees;
   they blazed* like a fire of thorns;
   in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 
I was pushed hard,* so that I was falling,
   but the Lord helped me. 
The Lord is my strength and my might;
   he has become my salvation. 

There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; 
   the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
   the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.’ 
I shall not die, but I shall live,
   and recount the deeds of the Lord. 
The Lord has punished me severely,
   but he did not give me over to death. 

Open to me the gates of righteousness,
   that I may enter through them
   and give thanks to the Lord. 

This is the gate of the Lord;
   the righteous shall enter through it. 

I thank you that you have answered me
   and have become my salvation. 
The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the chief cornerstone. 
This is the Lord’s doing;
   it is marvellous in our eyes. 
This is the day that the Lord has made;
   let us rejoice and be glad in it.* 
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
   O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! 

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.*
   We bless you from the house of the Lord. 
The Lord is God,
   and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
   up to the horns of the altar.* 

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
   you are my God, I will extol you. 

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
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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.
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