Sunday 22 March 2009<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal">DAILY LECTIONARY</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jeremiah 14:1-9,17-22</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Judah mourns</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and her gates languish;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they lie in gloom on the ground,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her nobles send their servants for water;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they come to the cisterns,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they find no water,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they return with their vessels empty.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They are ashamed and dismayed</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and cover their heads,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">because the ground is cracked.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Because there has been no rain on the land</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the farmers are dismayed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they cover their heads.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because there is no grass.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The wild asses stand on the bare heights,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they pant for air like jackals;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">their eyes fail</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because there is no herbage.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although our iniquities testify against us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>act, O Lord, for your name’s sake;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">our apostasies indeed are many,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and we have sinned against you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O hope of Israel,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>its saviour in time of trouble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">why should you be like a stranger in the land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like a traveller turning aside for the night?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why should you be like someone confused,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and we are called by your name;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not forsake us!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You shall say to them this word:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and let them not cease,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for the virgin daughter—my people—is struck down with a crushing blow,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with a very grievous wound.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If I go out into the field,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>look—those killed by the sword!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And if I enter the city,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>look—those sick with* famine!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For both prophet and priest ply their trade throughout the land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have no knowledge.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have you completely rejected Judah?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Does your heart loathe Zion?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why have you struck us down</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that there is no healing for us?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We look for peace, but find no good;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the iniquity of our ancestors,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for we have sinned against you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not dishonour your glorious throne;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>remember and do not break your covenant with us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Can any idols of the nations bring rain?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Or can the heavens give showers?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Is it not you, O Lord our God?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We set our hope on you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for it is you who do all this.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Galatians 4:21-5:1</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia* and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>than the children of the one who is married.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now you,* my friends,* are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the scripture say? ‘Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.’ So then, friends,* we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. ******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mark 8:11-21</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now the disciples* had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’* They said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 66, 67</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 66</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sing the glory of his name;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>give to him glorious praise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All the earth worships you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they sing praises to you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sing praises to your name.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Come and see what God has done:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He turned the sea into dry land;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they passed through the river on foot.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There we rejoiced in him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who rules by his might for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">whose eyes keep watch on the nations—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the rebellious not exalt themselves.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bless our God, O peoples,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the sound of his praise be heard,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who has kept us among the living,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and has not let our feet slip.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you, O God, have tested us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have tried us as silver is tried.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You brought us into the net;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you laid burdens on our backs;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you let people ride over our heads;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>we went through fire and through water;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will come into your house with burnt-offerings;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will pay you my vows,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">those that my lips uttered</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will offer to you burnt-offerings of fatlings,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will make an offering of bulls and goats.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Come and hear, all you who fear God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I will tell what he has done for me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I cried aloud to him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he was extolled with my tongue.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord would not have listened.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But truly God has listened;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he has given heed to the words of my prayer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed be God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because he has not rejected my prayer</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or removed his steadfast love from me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 67</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May God be gracious to us and bless us</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and make his face to shine upon us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that your way may be known upon earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your saving power among all nations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the peoples praise you, O God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let all the peoples praise you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you judge the peoples with equity</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and guide the nations upon earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the peoples praise you, O God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let all the peoples praise you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The earth has yielded its increase;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God, our God, has blessed us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May God continue to bless us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let all the ends of the earth revere him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 19, 46</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 19</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The heavens are telling the glory of God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the firmament* proclaims his handiwork.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Day to day pours forth speech,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and night to night declares knowledge.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is no speech, nor are there words;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their voice is not heard;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">yet their voice* goes out through all the earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their words to the end of the world.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the heavens* he has set a tent for the sun,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and like a strong man runs its course with joy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Its rising is from the end of the heavens,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and its circuit to the end of them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and nothing is hidden from its heat.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The law of the Lord is perfect,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>reviving the soul;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the decrees of the Lord are sure,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>making wise the simple;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the precepts of the Lord are right,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>rejoicing the heart;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the commandment of the Lord is clear,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>enlightening the eyes;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the fear of the Lord is pure,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>enduring for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the ordinances of the Lord are true</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and righteous altogether.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More to be desired are they than gold,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>even much fine gold;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">sweeter also than honey,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and drippings of the honeycomb.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Moreover by them is your servant warned;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in keeping them there is great reward.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But who can detect their errors?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Clear me from hidden faults.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Keep back your servant also from the insolent;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not let them have dominion over me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then I shall be blameless,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and innocent of great transgression.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>be acceptable to you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 46</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God is our refuge and strength,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a very present* help in trouble.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">though its waters roar and foam,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>though the mountains tremble with its tumult.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the holy habitation of the Most High.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God is in the midst of the city;* it shall not be moved;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God will help it when the morning dawns.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he utters his voice, the earth melts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord of hosts is with us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the God of Jacob is our refuge.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Come, behold the works of the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>see what desolations he has brought on the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he burns the shields with fire.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Be still, and know that I am God!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am exalted among the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am exalted in the earth.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord of hosts is with us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the God of Jacob is our refuge.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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