Saturday 6 December 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">Isaiah 4:2-6</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. Whoever is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, once the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgement and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its places of assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Indeed, over all the glory there will be a canopy. It will serve as a pavilion, a shade by day from the heat, and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">1 Thessalonians 4:13-18</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,* about those who have died,* so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.* For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.* For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Luke 21:5-19</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!”* and, “The time is near!”* Do not go after them.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words* and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 20, 21:1-14</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 20</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The name of the God of Jacob protect you!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May he send you help from the sanctuary,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and give you support from Zion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May he remember all your offerings,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">May he grant you your heart’s desire,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and fulfil all your plans.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May we shout for joy over your victory,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in the name of our God set up our banners.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will answer him from his holy heaven</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with mighty victories by his right hand.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They will collapse and fall,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but we shall rise and stand upright.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Give victory to the king, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>answer us when we call.*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 21:1-14</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in your help how greatly he exults!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have given him his heart’s desire,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have not withheld the request of his lips.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you meet him with rich blessings;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you set a crown of fine gold on his head.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He asked you for life; you gave it to him—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>length of days for ever and ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His glory is great through your help;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>splendour and majesty you bestow on him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You bestow on him blessings for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you make him glad with the joy of your presence.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the king trusts in the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Your hand will find out all your enemies;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your right hand will find out those who hate you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You will make them like a fiery furnace</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when you appear.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and fire will consume them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You will destroy their offspring from the earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their children from among humankind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If they plan evil against you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you will put them to flight;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you will aim at their faces with your bows.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We will sing and praise your power.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 110:1-7, 116, 117</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 110:1-7</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord says to my lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Sit at my right hand</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">until I make your enemies your footstool.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord sends out from Zion</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your mighty sceptre.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Rule in the midst of your foes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your people will offer themselves willingly</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on the day you lead your forces</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on the holy mountains.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From the womb of the morning,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like dew, your youth* will come to you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.’*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is at your right hand;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He will execute judgement among the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>filling them with corpses;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he will shatter heads</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>over the wide earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He will drink from the stream by the path;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>therefore he will lift up his head.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 116</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I love the Lord, because he has heard</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my voice and my supplications.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because he inclined his ear to me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>therefore I will call on him as long as I live.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The snares of death encompassed me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I suffered distress and anguish.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then I called on the name of the Lord:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>our God is merciful.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord protects the simple;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when I was brought low, he saved me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Return, O my soul, to your rest,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you have delivered my soul from death,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my eyes from tears,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my feet from stumbling.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I walk before the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the land of the living.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I kept my faith, even when I said,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘I am greatly afflicted’;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I said in my consternation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Everyone is a liar.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What shall I return to the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for all his bounty to me?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will lift up the cup of salvation</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and call on the name of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will pay my vows to the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the presence of all his people.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Precious in the sight of the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>is the death of his faithful ones.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, I am your servant;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You have loosed my bonds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and call on the name of the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will pay my vows to the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the presence of all his people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in the courts of the house of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in your midst, O Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Praise the Lord!</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 117</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Praise the Lord, all you nations!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Extol him, all you peoples!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For great is his steadfast love towards us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Praise the Lord!</p>
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