Thursday 2 October 2008<span style="mso-spacerun:
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<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">Hosea 5:8-6:6</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Blow the horn in Gibeah,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the trumpet in Ramah.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>look behind you, Benjamin!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ephraim shall become a desolation</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on the day of punishment;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">among the tribes of Israel</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I declare what is sure.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The princes of Judah have become</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like those who remove the landmark;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">on them I will pour out</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my wrath like water.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgement,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because he was determined to go after vanity.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore I am like maggots to Ephraim,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and like rottenness to the house of Judah.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Ephraim saw his sickness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and Judah his wound,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">then Ephraim went to Assyria,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and sent to the great king.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But he is not able to cure you</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or heal your wound.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and like a young lion to the house of Judah.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I myself will tear and go away;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will return again to my place</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In their distress they will beg my favour:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Come, let us return to the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he has struck down, and he will bind us up.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After two days he will revive us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on the third day he will raise us up,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that we may live before him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his appearing is as sure as the dawn;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he will come to us like the showers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like the spring rains that water the earth.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What shall I do with you, O Judah?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your love is like a morning cloud,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like the dew that goes away early.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have killed them by the words of my mouth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my* judgement goes forth as the light.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the knowledge of God rather than burnt-offerings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Acts 21:27-36</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, ‘Fellow-Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.’ For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the tribune came, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. When Paul* came to the steps, the violence of the mob was so great that he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, ‘Away with him!’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Luke 6:1-11</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">One sabbath* while Jesus* was going through the cornfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful* on the sabbath?’ Jesus answered, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?’ Then he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?’ After looking around at all of them, he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 105:1-22</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 105:1-22</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>make known his deeds among the peoples.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sing to him, sing praises to him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>tell of all his wonderful works.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Glory in his holy name;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Seek the Lord and his strength;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>seek his presence continually.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remember the wonderful works he has done,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O offspring of his servant Abraham,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>children of Jacob, his chosen ones.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He is the Lord our God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his judgements are in all the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He is mindful of his covenant for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the covenant that he made with Abraham,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his sworn promise to Isaac,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to Israel as an everlasting covenant,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as your portion for an inheritance.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When they were few in number,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of little account, and strangers in it,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">wandering from nation to nation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from one kingdom to another people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he allowed no one to oppress them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he rebuked kings on their account,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">saying, ‘Do not touch my anointed ones;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do my prophets no harm.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When he summoned famine against the land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and broke every staff of bread,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he had sent a man ahead of them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Joseph, who was sold as a slave.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His feet were hurt with fetters,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his neck was put in a collar of iron;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">until what he had said came to pass,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the word of the Lord kept testing him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The king sent and released him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the ruler of the peoples set him free.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He made him lord of his house,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and ruler of all his possessions,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to instruct* his officials at his pleasure,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to teach his elders wisdom.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 105:23-45</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 105:23-45</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Then Israel came to Egypt;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And the Lord made his people very fruitful,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and made them stronger than their foes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to deal craftily with his servants.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He sent his servant Moses,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and Aaron whom he had chosen.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They performed his signs among them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and miracles in the land of Ham.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He sent darkness, and made the land dark;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they rebelled* against his words.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He turned their waters into blood,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and caused their fish to die.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their land swarmed with frogs,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>even in the chambers of their kings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and gnats throughout their country.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He gave them hail for rain,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and lightning that flashed through their land.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He struck their vines and fig trees,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and shattered the trees of their country.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He spoke, and the locusts came,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and young locusts without number;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they devoured all the vegetation in their land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and ate up the fruit of their ground.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He struck down all the firstborn in their land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the first issue of all their strength.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then he brought Israel* out with silver and gold,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Egypt was glad when they departed,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for dread of them had fallen upon it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He spread a cloud for a covering,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and fire to give light by night.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They asked, and he brought quails,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and gave them food from heaven in abundance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He opened the rock, and water gushed out;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it flowed through the desert like a river.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he remembered his holy promise,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and Abraham, his servant.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So he brought his people out with joy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his chosen ones with singing.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He gave them the lands of the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that they might keep his statutes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and observe his laws.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Praise the Lord!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
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