Sunday 12 December 2010<!--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">Isaiah 13:6-13<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it will come like destruction from the Almighty!*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore all hands will be feeble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and every human heart will fail,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they will be dismayed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pangs and agony will seize them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they will be in anguish like a woman in labour.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They will look aghast at one another;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their faces will be aflame.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">See, the day of the Lord comes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to make the earth a desolation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to destroy its sinners from it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the stars of the heavens and their constellations</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>will not give their light;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the sun will be dark at its rising,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the moon will not shed its light.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will punish the world for its evil,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the wicked for their iniquity;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and lay low the insolence of tyrants.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will make mortals more rare than fine gold,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and humans than the gold of Ophir.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the earth will be shaken out of its place,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">at the wrath of the Lord of hosts</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on the day of his fierce anger.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hebrews 12:18-29</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">You have not come to something* that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly* of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ This phrase ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">John 3:22-30</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized— John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew.* They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I am not the Messiah,* but I have been sent ahead of him.” He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.’<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 63, 98</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 63</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O God, you are my God, I seek you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my soul thirsts for you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">my flesh faints for you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>beholding your power and glory.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because your steadfast love is better than life,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my lips will praise you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So I will bless you as long as I live;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will lift up my hands and call on your name.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my mouth praises you with joyful lips</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">when I think of you on my bed,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and meditate on you in the watches of the night;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for you have been my help,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My soul clings to you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your right hand upholds me.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But those who seek to destroy my life</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>shall go down into the depths of the earth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they shall be given over to the power of the sword,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they shall be prey for jackals.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the king shall rejoice in God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all who swear by him shall exult,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the mouths of liars will be stopped.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 98</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O sing to the Lord a new song,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for he has done marvellous things.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His right hand and his holy arm</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>have gained him victory.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord has made known his victory;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to the house of Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All the ends of the earth have seen</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the victory of our God.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>break forth into joyous song and sing praises.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with the lyre and the sound of melody.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With trumpets and the sound of the horn</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the world and those who live in it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the floods clap their hands;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the hills sing together for joy</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to judge the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He will judge the world with righteousness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the peoples with equity.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 103</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 103</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Bless the Lord, O my soul,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and all that is within me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>bless his holy name.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bless the Lord, O my soul,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and do not forget all his benefits—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who forgives all your iniquity,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who heals all your diseases,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who redeems your life from the Pit,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who satisfies you with good as long as you live*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord works vindication</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and justice for all who are oppressed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He made known his ways to Moses,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his acts to the people of Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is merciful and gracious,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He will not always accuse,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor will he keep his anger for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He does not deal with us according to our sins,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor repay us according to our iniquities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For as the heavens are high above the earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as far as the east is from the west,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so far he removes our transgressions from us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a father has compassion for his children,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he knows how we were made;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he remembers that we are dust.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">As for mortals, their days are like grass;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they flourish like a flower of the field;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and its place knows it no more.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on those who fear him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and his righteousness to children’s children,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to those who keep his covenant</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and remember to do his commandments.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and his kingdom rules over all.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bless the Lord, O you his angels,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you mighty ones who do his bidding,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>obedient to his spoken word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bless the Lord, all his hosts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his ministers that do his will.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bless the Lord, all his works,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in all places of his dominion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bless the Lord, O my soul.</p>
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