Saturday 9 August 2008<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal">DAILY LECTIONARY</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Judges 9:22-25,50-57</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. But God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech. This happened so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be avenged* and their blood be laid on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. So, out of hostility to him, the lords of Shechem set ambushes on the mountain tops. They robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was reported to Abimelech.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the lords of the city fled to it and shut themselves in; and they went to the roof of the tower. Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and came near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and crushed his skull. Immediately he called to the young man who carried his armour and said to him, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, so people will not say about me, “A woman killed him.” ’ So the young man thrust him through, and he died. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home. Thus God repaid Abimelech for the crime he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers; and God also made all the wickedness of the people of Shechem fall back on their heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Acts 4:32-5:11</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ‘Ananias,’ Peter asked, ‘why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us* but to God!’ Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body,* then carried him out and buried him.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.’ And she said, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">John 2:13-25</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, ‘Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’ The Jews then said to him, ‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone. ******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 87, 90</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 87</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On the holy mount stands the city he founded;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord loves the gates of Zion</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>more than all the dwellings of Jacob.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Glorious things are spoken of you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O city of God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Philistia too, and Tyre, with Ethiopia*—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘This one was born there,’ they say.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">And of Zion it shall be said,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘This one and that one were born in it’;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the Most High himself will establish it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord records, as he registers the peoples,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘This one was born there.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Singers and dancers alike say,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘All my springs are in you.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 90</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Lord, you have been our dwelling-place*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in all generations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before the mountains were brought forth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or ever you had formed the earth and the world,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from everlasting to everlasting you are God.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">You turn us* back to dust,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and say, ‘Turn back, you mortals.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For a thousand years in your sight</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>are like yesterday when it is past,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or like a watch in the night.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">You sweep them away; they are like a dream,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like grass that is renewed in the morning;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the evening it fades and withers.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">For we are consumed by your anger;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>by your wrath we are overwhelmed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have set our iniquities before you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>our secret sins in the light of your countenance.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">For all our days pass away under your wrath;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>our years come to an end* like a sigh.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The days of our life are seventy years,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">even then their span* is only toil and trouble;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are soon gone, and we fly away.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Who considers the power of your anger?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due to you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So teach us to count our days</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that we may gain a wise heart.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Turn, O Lord! How long?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Have compassion on your servants!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and for as many years as we have seen evil.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let your work be manifest to your servants,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and your glorious power to their children.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and prosper for us the work of our hands—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O prosper the work of our hands!</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 136</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 136</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O give thanks to the God of gods,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O give thanks to the Lord of lords,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">who alone does great wonders,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who by understanding made the heavens,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who spread out the earth on the waters,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who made the great lights,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the sun to rule over the day,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the moon and stars to rule over the night,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">who struck Egypt through their firstborn,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and brought Israel out from among them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who divided the Red Sea* in two,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and made Israel pass through the midst of it,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who led his people through the wilderness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who struck down great kings,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and killed famous kings,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sihon, king of the Amorites,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and Og, king of Bashan,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and gave their land as a heritage,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a heritage to his servant Israel,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">It is he who remembered us in our low estate,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and rescued us from our foes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who gives food to all flesh,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O give thanks to the God of heaven,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
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