Tuesday, July 12, 2022

The Daily Lectionary for Wednesday, July 13, 2022

The Judgment of the Nations
Matthew 25:31-46

The Daily Lectionary
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Psalm 7; Amos 5:1-9; Matthew 25:31-46
(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)
(Semi-continuous Reading Plan)

Psalm 7
Plea for Help against Persecutors
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
1  O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
     save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2  or like a lion they will tear me apart;
     they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.

3  O Lord my God, if I have done this,
     if there is wrong in my hands,
4  if I have repaid my ally with harm
     or plundered my foe without cause,
5  then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
     trample my life to the ground,
     and lay my soul in the dust.   Selah

6  Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
     lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
     awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.
7  Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
     and over it take your seat on high.
8  The Lord judges the peoples;
     judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
     and according to the integrity that is in me.

9  O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
     but establish the righteous,
   you who test the minds and hearts,
     O righteous God.
10 God is my shield,
     who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
     and a God who has indignation every day.

12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword;
     he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons,
     making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See how they conceive evil,
     and are pregnant with mischief,
     and bring forth lies.
15 They make a pit, digging it out,
     and fall into the hole that they have made.
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
     and on their own heads their violence descends.

17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
     and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Amos 5:1-9
A Lament for Israel’s Sin
5:1 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

2  Fallen, no more to rise,
     is maiden Israel;
   forsaken on her land,
     with no one to raise her up.

3  For thus says the Lord God:
   The city that marched out a thousand
     shall have a hundred left,
   and that which marched out a hundred
     shall have ten left.

4  For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
   Seek me and live;
5    but do not seek Bethel,
   and do not enter into Gilgal
     or cross over to Beer-sheba;
   for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
     and Bethel shall come to nothing.

6  Seek the Lord and live,
     or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire,
     and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.
7  Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood,
     and bring righteousness to the ground!

8  The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,
     and turns deep darkness into the morning,
     and darkens the day into night,
   who calls for the waters of the sea,
     and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
   the Lord is his name,
9  who makes destruction flash out against the strong,
     so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

Matthew 25:31-46
The Judgment of the Nations
25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Optional parts of the readings are set off in [square brackets.]

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year C. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2022, we will be in Year A. The year which ended at Advent 2021 was Year B. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest on what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

The Morning Prayer for Wednesday, July 13, 2022

 


The Morning Prayer
Wednesday, July 13, 2022


Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:2 (NIV)

Lord our mighty God, look upon us in our poverty, for you call us your children and give us of your Spirit. From your fullness we constantly need to receive strength for the struggle meant for us in life. Grant that light may come wherever darkness still reigns, especially where it is so black that we do not know which way to turn. Hear our prayer for all people, and let your justice and your truth alone be victorious. Let all people receive what you have promised them, and let them realize that no matter what happens, they remain your children. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Wednesday, July 13, 2022

 


Verse of the Day
Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Everyone—both those who are redeemed and those who have rejected Jesus Christ—will one day bow before Him and acknowledge that He is Savior and Lord. Though some think they are exercising their independence by refusing to believe in Him, what they are really doing is denying the truth—that He is God’s Son and our living Messiah.

What do we mean when we say that Jesus Christ is Lord? It means that He is the “only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). He is in absolute control of all things—nothing happens without His divine permission or exists apart from Him. And a time is coming when everyone will acknowledge that only He is truly worthy of praise—even those who’ve spent their lives opposing Him (Is. 45:23, 24).


Read all of Philippians chapter 2

Listen to Philippians chapter 2


Scripture from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.