Revised Common Lectionary Bible Study

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

2009-08-10T15:33:00.003-04:00

Please note that as of August 17, 2009, the online Bible study will be moving to its new location: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/107902_116094_ENG_HTM.htm.

Thank you!

8/16/09 Gospel

2009-08-09T19:47:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 16, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 6:51-58

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’
53 So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;
55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.
56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.
57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.’

8/16/09 Epistle

2009-08-09T19:46:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 16, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ephesians 5:15-20

15 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,
16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
17 So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,
20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

8/16/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-08-09T19:46:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 16, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 34:9-14

9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.

8/16/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-08-09T19:45:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 16, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Proverbs 9:1-6

1 Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
4 ‘You that are simple, turn in here!’
To those without sense she says,
5 ‘Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.’

8/16/09 Psalm

2009-08-09T19:44:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 16, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 111

1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of honour and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures for ever.
4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established for ever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant for ever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practise it have a good understanding.
His praise endures for ever.

8/16/09 Old Testament

2009-08-09T19:42:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 16, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14

10 Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David.
11 The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned for seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.

3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt-offerings on that altar.
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what I should give you.’
6 And Solomon said, ‘You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart towards you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today.
7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’

10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
11 God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,
12 I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.
13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honour all your life; no other king shall compare with you.
14 If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.’

8/9/09 Gospel

2009-08-03T13:07:00.006-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 9, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 6:35, 41-51

35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’
42 They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’
43 Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves.
44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.
47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

8/9/09 Epistle

2009-08-03T13:07:00.005-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 9, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.
26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and do not make room for the devil.
28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.
31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,
32 and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,
2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

8/9/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-08-03T13:07:00.003-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 9, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 34

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.

8/9/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-08-03T13:07:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 9, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 Kings 19:4-8

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’
5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’
6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’
8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

8/9/09 Psalm

2009-08-03T13:06:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 9, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 130

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.

8/9/09 Old Testament

2009-08-03T13:05:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 9, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

5 The king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.’ And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.
6 So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.
7 The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men.
8 The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.
9 Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.

15 And ten young men, Joab’s armour-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.

31 Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, ‘Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.’
32 The king said to the Cushite, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?’ The Cushite answered, ‘May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.’
33 The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’

8/2/09 Gospel

2009-07-27T11:19:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 2, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 6:24-35

24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
26 Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’
28 Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’
29 Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’
30 So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?
31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’
32 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’
34 They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

8/2/09 Epistle

2009-07-27T11:18:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 2, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ephesians 4:1-16

1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8 Therefore it is said,
‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people.’
9 (When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)
11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.
15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

8/2/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-07-27T11:17:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 2, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 78:23-29

23 Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
24 he rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28 he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.

8/2/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-07-27T11:17:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 2, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15

2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
3The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.” ’
10And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
11The Lord spoke to Moses and said,
12‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” ’
13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

8/2/09 Psalm

2009-07-27T11:15:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 2, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgement.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.

8/2/09 Old Testament

2009-07-27T11:15:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, August 2, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him.
27 When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.
But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,
1 and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds;
3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.
4 Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.’
5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die;
6 he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’
7 Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul;
8 I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more.
9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun.
12 For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’
13 David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan said to David, ‘Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die.

7/26/09 Gospel

2009-07-21T12:07:00.005-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 6:1-21

1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.
2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.
3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.
4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.
5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’
6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,
9 ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’
10 Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.
11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’
13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.
14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,
17 got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
18 The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified.
20 But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’
21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.

7/26/09 Epistle

2009-07-21T12:07:00.003-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ephesians 3:14-21

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit,
17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

7/26/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-07-21T12:07:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 145:10-19

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.

7/26/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-07-21T12:06:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Kings 4:42-44

42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, ‘Give it to the people and let them eat.’
43 But his servant said, ‘How can I set this before a hundred people?’ So he repeated, ‘Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, “They shall eat and have some left.”’
44 He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

7/26/09 Psalm

2009-07-21T12:06:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 14

1 Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is no one who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.

3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the Lord?

5 There they shall be in great terror,
for God is with the company of the righteous.
6 You would confound the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.

7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

7/26/09 Old Testament

2009-07-21T12:05:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Samuel 11:1-15

1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.
3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, ‘This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’
4 So David sent messengers to fetch her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house.
5 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, ‘I am pregnant.’

6 So David sent word to Joab, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’ And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going.
8 Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house, and wash your feet.’ Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.
9 But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10 When they told David, ‘Uriah did not go down to his house’, David said to Uriah, ‘You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?’
11 Uriah said to David, ‘The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.’
12 Then David said to Uriah, ‘Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.’ So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day,
13 David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 In the letter he wrote, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.’

7/19/09 Gospel

2009-07-12T20:34:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.
31 He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.
34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat.
54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him,
55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

7/19/09 Epistle

2009-07-12T20:34:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ephesians 2:11-22

11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands—
12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,
16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.
17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;
18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,
20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.

7/19/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-07-12T20:33:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.

7/19/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-07-12T20:32:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Jeremiah 23:1-6

1 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord.
2 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord.
3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.
4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.

5 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

7/19/09 Psalm

2009-07-12T20:32:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)
Psalm 89:20-37

20 I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21 my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him,
the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, “You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!”
27 I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 For-ever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.
29 I will establish his line for ever,
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my ordinances,
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with scourges;
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,
or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant,
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 His line shall continue for ever,
and his throne endure before me like the sun.
37 It shall be established for ever like the moon,
an enduring witness in the skies.’
Selah

7/19/09 Old Testament

2009-07-12T20:30:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Samuel 7:1-14a

1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.’
3 Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.’
4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan:
5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?
6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.
7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’
8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel;
9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings.

7/12/09 Gospel

2009-07-06T10:13:00.004-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 12, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Mark 6:14-29

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’
15 But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’
16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’
17 For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her.
18 For John had been telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’
19 And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not,
20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.
22 When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’
23 And he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’
24 She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the baptizer.’
25 Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’
26 The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her.
27 Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother.
29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

7/12/09 Epistle

2009-07-06T10:13:00.003-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 12, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ephesians 1:3-14

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight
9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,
10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,
12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.
13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;
14 this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

7/12/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-07-06T10:13:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 12, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 85:8-13

8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.

7/12/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-07-06T10:12:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 12, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Amos 7:7-15

7 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand.
8 And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb-line.’ Then the Lord said,
‘See, I am setting a plumb-line
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will never again pass them by;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’

10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, ‘Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.
11 For thus Amos has said,
“Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.” ’
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there;
13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.’
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycomore trees,
15 and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

7/12/09 Psalm

2009-07-06T10:12:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 12, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 24

1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
Selah

7/12/09 Old Testament

2009-07-06T10:11:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 12, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19

1 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
2 David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim.
3 They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart
4 with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark.
5 David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

12 It was told King David, ‘The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.’ So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing;
13 and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
14 David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt-offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord.
18 When David had finished offering the burnt-offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts,
19 and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

7/5/09 Gospel

2009-06-29T10:37:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 5, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Mark 6:1-13

1 He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him.
2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.
4 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’
5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.
6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching.
7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;
9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.
10 He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.
11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’
12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.
13 They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

7/5/09 Epistle

2009-06-29T10:37:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 5, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

2 I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows.
3 And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows—
4 was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.
5 On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.
6 But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me,
7 even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.
8 Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me,
9 but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

7/5/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-06-29T10:36:00.004-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 5, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 123

1 To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
until he has mercy upon us.

3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.

7/5/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-06-29T10:36:00.003-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 5, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ezekiel 2:1-5

1 He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.
2 And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day.
4 The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’
5 Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

7/5/09 Psalm

2009-06-29T10:36:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 5, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 48

1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain,
2 beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
3 Within its citadels God
has shown himself a sure defence.

4 Then the kings assembled,
they came on together.
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
they were in panic, they took to flight;
6 trembling took hold of them there,
pains as of a woman in labour,
7 as when an east wind shatters
the ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God,
which God establishes for ever.
Selah

9 We ponder your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
10 Your name, O God, like your praise,
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with victory.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad,
let the towns of Judah rejoice
because of your judgements.

12 Walk about Zion, go all around it,
count its towers,
13 consider well its ramparts;
go through its citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
14 that this is God,
our God for ever and ever.
He will be our guide for ever.

7/5/09 Old Testament

2009-06-29T10:35:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, July 5, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, ‘Look, we are your bone and flesh.
2 For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.’
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty years.
5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

9 David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inwards.
10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

6/28/09 Gospel

2009-06-22T11:15:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 28, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Mark 5:21-43

21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake.
22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet
23 and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.’
24 So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.
25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.
26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.
27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,
28 for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’
29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’
31 And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ’
32 He looked all round to see who had done it.
33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.
34 He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’
35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’
36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’
37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
39 When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’
40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.
41 He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’
42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.
43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

6/28/09 Epistle

2009-06-22T11:15:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 28, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

7 Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.
9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
10 And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something—
11 now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.
12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have.
13 I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between
14 your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.
15 As it is written,
‘The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little.’

6/28/09 Psalm (Alternate 2)

2009-06-22T11:14:00.004-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 28, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 30

1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
‘I shall never be moved.’
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cried,
and to the Lord I made supplication:
9 ‘What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
O Lord, be my helper!’

11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever.

6/28/09 Psalm (Alternate 1)

2009-06-22T11:14:00.003-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 28, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Lamentations 3:21-33

21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
‘therefore I will hope in him.’

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,
28 to sit alone in silence
when the Lord has imposed it,
29 to put one’s mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
30 to give one’s cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.

31 For the Lord will not
reject for ever.
32 Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.

6/28/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-06-22T11:14:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 28, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15; 2:23-24

13 God did not make death,
and he does not delight in the death of the living.
14 For he created all things so that they might exist;
the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them,
and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
15 For righteousness is immortal.

23 God created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity,
24 but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it.

6/28/09 Psalm

2009-06-22T11:13:00.003-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 28, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 130

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.

6/28/09 Old Testament

2009-06-22T11:13:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 28, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.

17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan.
18 (He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
19 Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.

21 You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor bounteous fields!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.

22 From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
nor the sword of Saul return empty.

23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.

24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,
who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

25 How the mighty have fallen
in the midst of the battle!

Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
your love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women.

27 How the mighty have fallen,
and the weapons of war perished!

6/21/09 Gospel

2009-06-15T10:58:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 21, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Mark 4:35-41

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’
36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.
37 A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.
38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’
39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.
40 He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’
41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

6/21/09 Epistle

2009-06-15T10:58:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 21, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Corinthians 6:1-13

1 As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
‘At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you.’
See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!
3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry,
4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,
5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger;
6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love,
7 truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;
8 in honour and dishonour, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;
9 as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed;
10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
11 We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you.
12 There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours.
13 In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.

6/21/09 Psalm (Alternate 2)

2009-06-15T10:57:00.004-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 21, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32

1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

6/21/09 Psalm (Alternate 1)

2009-06-15T10:57:00.003-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 21, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 133

1 How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the LORD ordained his blessing,
life for evermore.

6/21/09 Psalm

2009-06-15T10:57:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 21, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 9:9-20

9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13 Be gracious to me, O LORD.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
16 The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgement;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish for ever.

19 Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
20 Put them in fear, O LORD;
let the nations know that they are only human.
Selah

6/21/09 Old Testament (Alternate 2)

2009-06-15T10:56:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 21, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Job 38:1-11

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

4 ‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

8 ‘Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb?—
9 when I made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped”?

6/21/09 Old Testament (Alternate 1)

2009-06-15T10:55:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 21, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 10-16

57 On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 Saul said to him, ‘Whose son are you, young man?’ And David answered, ‘I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.’

1 When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
2 Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.
3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.
4 Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armour, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
5 David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.

10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;
11 and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, ‘I will pin David to the wall.’ But David eluded him twice.
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul.
13 So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army.
14 David had success in all his undertakings; for the LORD was with him.
15 When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him.
16 But all Israel and Judah loved David; for it was he who marched out and came in leading them.

6/21/09 Old Testament

2009-06-15T10:54:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 21, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 Samuel 17: 1-11, 19-23, 32-49

1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armoured with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him.
8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, ‘Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.’
10 And the Philistine said, ‘Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.’
11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 David rose early in the morning, left someone in charge of the sheep, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry.
21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers.
23 As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.

32 David said to Saul, ‘Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’
33 Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.’
34 But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock,
35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it.
36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.’
37 David said, ‘The LORD, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.’ So Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the LORD be with you!’

38 Saul clothed David with his armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.
39 David strapped Saul’s sword over the armour, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.’ So David removed them.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
43 The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 The Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.’
45 But David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s and he will give you into our hand.’
48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine.
49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

6/14/09 Gospel

2009-06-08T10:37:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 14, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Mark 4:26-34

26 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,
27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.
28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.
29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’
30 He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?
31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;
32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;
34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

6/14/09 Epistle

2009-06-08T10:36:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 14, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17

6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord—
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
8 Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
10 For all of us must appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.
12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart.
13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.

14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.
15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.
17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

6/14/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-06-08T10:34:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 14, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 92:1-4,11-14

1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,

3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.

4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.

14 In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,

6/14/09 Psalm

2009-06-08T10:31:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 14, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 20

1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
The name of the God of Jacob protect you!

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and give you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your offerings,
and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.

4 May he grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfil all your plans.

5 May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.

6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.

7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.

8 They will collapse and fall,
but we shall rise and stand upright.

9 Give victory to the king, O Lord;
answer us when we call.

6/14/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-06-08T10:30:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 14, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ezekiel 17:22-24

22 Thus says the Lord God:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.

23 On the mountain height of Israel
I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.

24 All the trees of the field shall know
that I am the Lord.
I bring low the high tree,
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the Lord have spoken;
I will accomplish it.

6/14/09 Old Testament

2009-06-08T10:27:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 14, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.
35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’
2 Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.”
3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’
4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’
5 He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’
9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’
10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’
11 Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’
12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

6/7/09 Gospel

2009-06-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 7, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 3:1-17

1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’
3 Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’
4 Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’
5 Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.”
8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’
9 Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’
10 Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
11 ‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.
12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

6/7/09 Epistle

2009-06-01T10:15:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 7, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Romans 8:12-17

12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh —
13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’
16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

6/7/09 Psalm (Alternate 2)

2009-06-01T10:14:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 7, 2009:
Excerpt from The Book of Common Prayer
(http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/formatted_1979.htm)

Canticle 13 (p. 90, BCP)

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers;
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name;
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple;
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim;
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths;
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

6/7/09 Psalm (Alternate)

2009-06-01T10:12:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 7, 2009:
Excerpt from The Book of Common Prayer
(http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/formatted_1979.htm)

Canticle 2 (p. 49, BCP)

Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers;
praised and exalted above all for ever.
Blessed art thou for the Name of thy Majesty;
praised and exalted above all for ever.
Blessed art thou in the temple of thy holiness;
praised and exalted above all for ever.
Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths,
and dwellest between the Cherubim;
praised and exalted above all for ever.
Blessed art thou on the glorious throne of thy kingdom;
praised and exalted above all for ever.
Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven;
praised and exalted above all for ever.
Blessed art thou, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
praised and exalted above all for ever.

6/7/09 Psalm

2009-06-01T10:11:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 7, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendour.

3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’

10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!

6/7/09 Old Testament

2009-06-01T10:10:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, June 7, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Isaiah 6:1-8

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.
2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
3 And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’
4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.
5 And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.
7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’

5/31/09 Gospel

2009-05-25T12:28:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 31, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

26 ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.
27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. ‘I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.
5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, “Where are you going?”
6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
9 about sin, because they do not believe in me;
10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;
11 about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
12 ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

5/31/09 Epistle (Alternate)

2009-05-25T12:26:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 31, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Acts 2:1-21

1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.
6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia,Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’
12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’
13 But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.
15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.
16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood,before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

5/31/09 Epistle

2009-05-25T12:25:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 31, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Romans 8:22-27

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now;
23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

5/31/09 Psalm

2009-05-25T12:24:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 31, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 104: 25-35,37

25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
37 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

5/31/09 Old Testament (Alternate)

2009-05-25T12:23:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 31, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Ezekiel 37:1-14

1 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
2 He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.
3 He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’
4 Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’
10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11 Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.”
12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.
14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’

5/31/09 Old Testament

2009-05-25T12:22:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 31, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Acts 2:1-21

1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.
6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia,Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’
12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’
13 But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.
15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.
16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit;and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood,before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

5/24/09 Gospel

2009-05-18T10:24:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 24, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 17:6-19

6 ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;
8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.
10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/24/09 Epistle

2009-05-18T10:23:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 24, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 John 5:9-13

9 If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son.
10 Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.
11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/24/09 Psalm

2009-05-18T10:22:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 24, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 1

1 Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/24/09 Old Testament

2009-05-18T10:20:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 24, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred and twenty people) and said,
16 ‘Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus—
17 for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.’

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us throughout the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.’
23 So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
24 Then they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen
25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’
26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/17/09 Gospel

2009-05-10T17:19:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 17, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 15:9-17

9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/17/09 Epistle

2009-05-10T17:17:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 17, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 John 5:1-6

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,
4 for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.
5 Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/17/09 Psalm

2009-05-10T17:15:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 17, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 98

1 O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gained him victory.
2 The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/17/09 Old Testament

2009-05-10T17:13:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 17, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Acts 10:44-48

44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.
45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,
46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said,
47 ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’
48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/10/09 Gospel

2009-05-04T09:20:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 10, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 15:1-8

1 ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.
2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/10/09 Epistle

2009-05-04T09:19:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 10, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 John 4:7-21

7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world.
15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
19 We love because he first loved us.
20 Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/10/09 Psalm

2009-05-04T09:17:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 10, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 22:24-30

24 For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
but heard when I cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live for ever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.

29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/10/09 Old Testament

2009-05-04T09:15:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 10, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Acts 8:26-40

26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.)
27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship
28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’
30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’
31 He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.
32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.’
34 The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’
35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’
38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

5/3/09 Gospel

2009-04-27T11:20:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 3, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 10:11-18

11 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

PARALLEL BIBLE COMMENTARIES via http://biblecommenter.com.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
10:10-18 Christ is a good Shepherd; many who were not thieves, yet were careless in their duty, and by their neglect the flock was much hurt. Bad principles are the root of bad practices. The Lord Jesus knows whom he has chosen, and is sure of them; they also know whom they have trusted, and are sure of Him. See here the grace of Christ; since none could demand his life of him, he laid it down of himself for our redemption. He offered himself to be the Saviour; Lo, I come. And the necessity of our case calling for it, he offered himself for the Sacrifice. He was both the offerer and the offering, so that his laying down his life was his offering up himself. From hence it is plain, that he died in the place and stead of men; to obtain their being set free from the punishment of sin, to obtain the pardon of their sin; and that his death should obtain that pardon. Our Lord laid not his life down for his doctrine, but for his sheep.

5/3/09 Epistle

2009-04-27T11:19:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 3, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 John 3:16-24

16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him
20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God;
22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

PARALLEL BIBLE COMMENTARIES via http://biblecommenter.com.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
3:16-21 Here is the condescension, the miracle, the mystery of Divine love, that God would redeem the church with his own blood. Surely we should love those whom God has loved, and so loved. The Holy Spirit, grieved at selfishness, will leave the selfish heart without comfort, and full of darkness and terror. By what can it be known that a man has a true sense of the love of Christ for perishing sinners, or that the love of God has been planted in his heart by the Holy Spirit, if the love of the world and its good overcomes the feelings of compassion to a perishing brother? Every instance of this selfishness must weaken the evidences of a man's conversion; when habitual and allowed, it must decide against him. If conscience condemn us in known sin, or the neglect of known duty, God does so too. Let conscience therefore be well-informed, be heard, and diligently attended to.

5/3/09 Psalm

2009-04-27T11:17:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 3, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

PARALLEL BIBLE COMMENTARIES via http://biblecommenter.com.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 23
Ps 23:1-6. Under a metaphor borrowed from scenes of pastoral life, with which David was familiar, he describes God's providential care in providing refreshment, guidance, protection, and abundance, and so affording grounds of confidence in His perpetual favor.

1. Christ's relation to His people is often represented by the figure of a shepherd (Joh 10:14; Heb 13:20; 1Pe 2:25; 5:4), and therefore the opinion that He is the Lord here so described, and in Ge 48:15; Ps 80:1; Isa 40:11, is not without some good reason.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
23:1-6 Confidence in God's grace and care. - "The Lord is my shepherd." In these words, the believer is taught to express his satisfaction in the care of the great Pastor of the universe, the Redeemer and Preserver of men. With joy he reflects that he has a shepherd, and that shepherd is Jehovah. A flock of sheep, gentle and harmless, feeding in verdant pastures, under the care of a skilful, watchful, and tender shepherd, forms an emblem of believers brought back to the Shepherd of their souls. The greatest abundance is but a dry pasture to a wicked man, who relishes in it only what pleases the senses; but to a godly man, who by faith tastes the goodness of God in all his enjoyments, though he has but little of the world, it is a green pasture. The Lord gives quiet and contentment in the mind, whatever the lot is. Are we blessed with the green pastures of the ordinances, let us not think it enough to pass through them, but let us abide in them. The consolations of the Holy Spirit are the still waters by which the saints are led; the streams which flow from the Fountain of living waters. Those only are led by the still waters of comfort, who walk in the paths of righteousness. The way of duty is the truly pleasant way. The work of righteousness in peace. In these paths we cannot walk, unless. God lead us into them, and lead us on in them. Discontent and distrust proceed from unbelief; an unsteady walk is the consequence: let us then simply trust our Shepherd's care, and hearken to his voice. The valley of the shadow of death may denote the most severe and terrible affliction, or dark dispensation of providence, that the psalmist ever could come under. Between the part of the flock on earth and that which is gone to heaven, death lies like a dark valley that must be passed in going from one to the other. But even in this there are words which lessen the terror. It is but the shadow of death: the shadow of a serpent will not sting, nor the shadow of a sword kill. It is a valley, deep indeed, and dark, and miry; but valleys are often fruitful, and so is death itself fruitful of comforts to God's people. It is a walk through it: they shall not be lost in this valley, but get safe to the mountain on the other side. Death is a king of terrors, but not to the sheep of Christ. When they come to die, God will rebuke the enemy; he will guide them with his rod, and sustain them with his staff. There is enough in the gospel to comfort the saints when dying, and underneath them are the everlasting arms. The Lord's people feast at his table, upon the provisions of his love. Satan and wicked men are not able to destroy their comforts, while they are anointed with the Holy Spirit, and drink of the cup of salvation which is ever full. Past experience teaches believers to trust that the goodness and mercy of God will follow them all the days of their lives, and it is their desire and determination, to seek their happiness in the service of God here, and they hope to enjoy his love for ever in heaven. While here, the Lord can make any situation pleasant, by the anointing of his Spirit and the joys of his salvation. But those that would be satisfied with the blessings of his house, must keep close to the duties of it.

5/3/09 Old Testament

2009-04-27T11:14:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, May 3, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Acts 4:5-12

5 The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.
7 When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders,
9 if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed,
10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
11 This Jesus is “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.”
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

PARALLEL BIBLE COMMENTARIES via http://biblecommenter.com.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
4:5-14 Peter being filled with the Holy Ghost, would have all to understand, that the miracle had been wrought by the name, or power, of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, whom they had crucified; and this confirmed their testimony to his resurrection from the dead, which proved him to be the Messiah. These rulers must either be saved by that Jesus whom they had crucified, or they must perish for ever. The name of Jesus is given to men of every age and nation, as that whereby alone believers are saved from the wrath to come. But when covetousness, pride, or any corrupt passion, rules within, men shut their eyes, and close their hearts, in enmity against the light; considering all as ignorant and unlearned, who desire to know nothing in comparison with Christ crucified. And the followers of Christ should act so that all who converse with them, may take knowledge that they have been with Jesus. That makes them holy, heavenly, spiritual, and cheerful, and raises them above this world.

4/26/09 Gospel

2009-04-21T09:15:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, April 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Luke 24:36b-48

36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’
37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
38 He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’
40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43 and he took it and ate in their presence.

44 Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,
46 and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,
47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?
Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

PARALLEL BIBLE COMMENTARIES via http://biblecommenter.com.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
24:36-49 Jesus appeared in a miraculous manner, assuring the disciples of his peace, though they had so lately forsaken him, and promising spiritual peace with every blessing. Many troublesome thoughts which disquiet our minds, rise from mistakes concerning Christ. All the troublesome thoughts which rise in our hearts at any time, are known to the Lord Jesus, and are displeasing to him. He spake with them on their unreasonable unbelief. Nothing had passed but what was foretold by the prophets, and necessary for the salvation of sinners. And now all men should be taught the nature and necessity of repentance, in order to the forgiveness of their sins. And these blessings were to be sought for, by faith in the name of Jesus. Christ by his Spirit works on the minds of men. Even good men need to have their understandings opened. But that we may have right thoughts of Christ, there needs no more than to be made to understand the Scriptures.

4/26/09 Epistle

2009-04-21T09:14:00.000-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, April 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 John 3:1-7

1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?
Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

PARALLEL BIBLE COMMENTARIES via http://biblecommenter.com.
People's New Testament
3:1 Children Born of God
SUMMARY OF I JOHN 3:
The Marvellous Love of the Father. Sons of God Should Be Sinless. Christ Manifested to Remove Sin. Love the Proof That We Abide in God. The Spirit a Proof That We Abide in God.
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. 1Jo 2:29 speaks of the saints as born of God. That thought suggests the wonderful love in allowing us to be born again and thus to become God's children.
That we should be called the sons of God. What greater glory than to be acknowledged as sons of the King of Kings!
Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. If the world does not know the Father it will not know his children.
Wesley's Notes
3:1 That we should be called - That is, should be, the children of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not - They know not what to make of us. We are a mystery to them.
Scofield Reference Notes
Margin world
kosmos = mankind. See Scofield Note: "Mt 4:8".
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 3
1Jo 3:1-24. Distinguishing Marks of the Children of God and the Children of the Devil. Brotherly Love the Essence of True Righteousness.
1. Behold-calling attention, as to some wonderful exhibition, little as the world sees to admire. This verse is connected with the previous 1Jo 2:29, thus: All our doing of righteousness is a mere sign that God, of His matchless love, has adopted us as children; it does not save us, but is a proof that we are saved of His grace.
what manner of-of what surpassing excellence, how gracious on His part, how precious to us.
love . bestowed-He does not say that God hath given us some gift, but love itself and the fountain of all honors, the heart itself, and that not for our works or efforts, but of His grace [Luther].
that-"what manner of love"; resulting in, proved by, our being, &c. The immediate effect aimed at in the bestowal of this love is, "that we should be called children of God."
should be called-should have received the privilege of such a glorious title (though seeming so imaginary to the world), along with the glorious reality. With God to call is to make really to be. Who so great as God? What nearer relationship than that of sons? The oldest manuscripts add, "And we ARE SO" really.
therefore-"on this account," because "we are (really) so."
us-the children, like the Father.
it knew him not-namely, the Father. "If they who regard not God, hold thee in any account, feel alarmed about thy state" [Bengel]. Contrast 1Jo 5:1. The world's whole course is one great act of non-recognition of God.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
3:1,2 Little does the world know of the happiness of the real followers of Christ. Little does the world think that these poor, humble, despised ones, are favourites of God, and will dwell in heaven. Let the followers of Christ be content with hard fare here, since they are in a land of strangers, where their Lord was so badly treated before them. The sons of God must walk by faith, and live by hope. They may well wait in faith, hope, and earnest desire, for the revelation of the Lord Jesus. The sons of God will be known, and be made manifest by likeness to their Head. They shall be transformed into the same image, by their view of him.

4/26/09 Psalm

2009-04-21T09:12:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, April 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

2 How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

4 When you are disturbed, do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.

6 There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’
7 You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.

8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?
Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

PARALLEL BIBLE COMMENTARIES via http://biblecommenter.com.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Psalm 4:1-8. On Neginoth, that is, stringed instruments, as the kind of musical accompaniment. On other parts of title, see [569]Introduction., The historical occasion was probably the same as that of the foregoing [see on [570]Ps 3:1]. The writer, praying for further relief, admonishes his enemies of the vanity of attacking God's servant, exhorts them to repentance, and avows his confidence and peace in God's favor.
1. Hear-as in Ps 3:4.
God of my righteousness-or, "my righteous God, as my holy hill" (Ps 2:6), who will act towards me on righteous principles.
thou hast enlarged-expresses relief afforded in opposition to "distress," which is expressed by a word denoting straits or pressure. Past favor is a ground of hope for the future.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
4:1-5 Hear me for thy mercy-sake, is our best plea. He who will not ask such blessings as pardon, and justifying righteousness, and eternal life, must perish for the want of them. Alas! that so many should make so fearful a choice. The psalmist warns against sin. Keep up holy reverence of the glory and majesty of God. You have a great deal to say to your hearts, they may be spoken with, let it not be unsaid. Examine them by serious self-reflection; let your thoughts fasten upon that which is good, and keep close to it. Consider your ways, and before you turn to sleep at night, examine your consciences with respect to what you have done in the day; particularly what you have done amiss, that you may repent of it. when you awake in the night, meditate upon God, and the things that belong to your peace. Upon a sick-bed, particularly, we should consider our ways. Be still. when you have asked conscience a question, be serious, be silent, wait for an answer. Open not the mouth to excuse sin. All confidence must be pan answer. Open not the mouth to excuse sin. All confidence only: therefore, after commanding the sacrifices of righteousness, the psalmist says, Put your trust in the Lord.

4/26/09 Old Testament

2009-04-21T09:09:00.001-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, April 26, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Acts 3:12-19

12 When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him.
14 But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you,
15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
16 And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

17 ‘And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.
19 Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?
Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

PARALLEL BIBLE COMMENTARIES via http://biblecommenter.com.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-16. why marvel at this?-For miracles are marvels only in relation to the limited powers of man.
as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk-Neither the might nor the merit of the cure are due to us, mere agents of Him whom we preach.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
3:12-18 Observe the difference in the manner of working the miracles. Our Lord always spoke as having Almighty power, never hesitated to receive the greatest honour that was given to him on account of his Divine miracles. But the apostles referred all to their Lord, and refused to receive any honour, except as his undeserving instruments. This shows that Jesus was one with the Father, and co-equal with Him; while the apostles knew that they were weak, sinful men, and dependent for every thing on Jesus, whose power effected the cure. Useful men must be very humble. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name, give glory. Every crown must be cast at the feet of Christ. The apostle showed the Jews the greatness of their crime, but would not anger or drive them to despair. Assuredly, those who reject, refuse, or deny Christ, do it through ignorance; but this can in no case be an excuse.

4/19/09 Gospel

2009-04-13T12:54:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, April 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

John 20:19-31

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’
28 Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’
29 Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.
31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

4/19/09 Epistle

2009-04-13T12:53:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, April 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

1 John 1:1-2:2

1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—
3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;
7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

4/19/09 Psalm

2009-04-13T12:52:00.002-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, April 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 133

1 How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
life for evermore.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.

4/19/09 Old Testament

2009-04-13T12:48:00.003-04:00

RCL reading for Sunday, April 19, 2009:
Excerpt from the New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Acts 4:32-35

32 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.
33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
34 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.
35 They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

STUDY GUIDE
What does the passage tell us about God?
What does the passage tell us about human beings and the relationships between people?
What does the passage say about the relationship between God and human beings?
How does the passage call us to change?

Adapted from “Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.