Isaiah 49:13-23

[13]  Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
          break forth, O mountains, into singing!
     For the LORD has comforted his people,
          and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

[14]  But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me,
          my Lord has forgotten me."
[15]  Can a woman forget her nursing child,
          or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
     Even these may forget,
          yet I will not forget you.
[16]  See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
          your walls are continually before me.
[17]  Your builders outdo your destroyers,
          and those who laid you waste go away from you.
[18]  Lift up your eyes all around and see;
          they all gather, they come to you.
     As I live, says the LORD,
          you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
          and like a bride you shall bind them on.

[19]  Surely your waste and your desolate places
          and your devastated land --
     surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
          and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
[20]  The children born in the time of your bereavement
          will yet say in your hearing:
     "The place is too crowded for me;
          make room for me to settle."
[21]  Then you will say in your heart,
          "Who has borne me these?
     I was bereaved and barren,
          exiled and put away --
          so who has reared these?
     I was left all alone --
          where then have these come from?"

[22]  Thus says the Lord GOD:
     I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
          and raise my signal to the peoples;
     and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
          and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
[23]  Kings shall be your foster fathers,
          and their queens your nursing mothers.
     With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
          and lick the dust of your feet.
     Then you will know that I am the LORD;
          those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

Psalm 147:1-11

[1]   Praise the Lord!   
         How good it is to sing praises to our God;   
         for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.   
[2]   The Lord builds up Jerusalem;   
         he gathers the outcasts of Israel.   
[3]   He heals the brokenhearted,   
         and binds up their wounds.   
[4]   He determines the number of the stars;   
         he gives to all of them their names.   
[5]   Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;   
         his understanding is beyond measure.   
[6]   The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;   
         he casts the wicked to the ground.

[7]   Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;   
         make melody to our God on the lyre.   
[8]   He covers the heavens with clouds,   
         prepares rain for the earth,   
         makes grass grow on the hills.   
[9]   He gives to the animals their food,   
         and to the young ravens when they cry.   
[10]  His delight is not in the strength of the horse,   
         nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;   
[11]  but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,   
         in those who hope in his steadfast love.

 

Psalm 99

[1]   The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!  
          He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!  
[2]   The LORD is great in Zion;  
          he is exalted over all the peoples.  
[3]   Let them praise your great and awesome name.  
          Holy is he!  
[4]   Mighty King, lover of justice,  
          you have established equity;  
     you have executed justice  
          and righteousness in Jacob.  
[5]   Extol the LORD our God;  
          worship at his footstool.  
          Holy is he!  
 
[6]   Moses and Aaron were among his priests,  
          Samuel also was among those who called on his name.  
          They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.  
[7]   He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;  
          they kept his decrees,  
          and the statutes that he gave them.

[8]   O LORD our God, you answered them;  
          you were a forgiving God to them,  
          but an avenger of their wrongdoings.  
[9]   Extol the LORD our God,  
          and worship at his holy mountain;  
          for the LORD our God is holy.

Psalm 145

[1]   I will extol you, my God and King,  
          and bless your name forever and ever.  
[2]   Every day I will bless you,  
          and praise your name forever and ever.  
[3]   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;  
          his greatness is unsearchable.

[4]   One generation shall laud your works to another,  
          and shall declare your mighty acts.  
[5]   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,  
          and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.  
[6]   The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,  
          and I will declare your greatness.  
[7]   They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,  
          and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

[8]   The Lord is gracious and merciful,  
          slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  
[9]   The Lord is good to all,  
          and his compassion is over all that he has made.

[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 splendor 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 fulfills the desire of all who fear him;  
          he also hears their cry, and saves them.  
[20]  The Lord watches over all who love him,  
          but all the wicked he will destroy.

[21]  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,  
          and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 118

[1]   O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;   
         his steadfast love endures forever!

[2]   Let Israel say,   
         "His steadfast love endures forever."   
[3]   Let the house of Aaron say,   
         "His steadfast love endures forever."   
[4]   Let those who fear the LORD say,   
         "His steadfast love endures forever."

[5]   Out of my distress I called on the LORD;   
         the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.   
[6]   With the LORD on my side I do not fear.   
         What can mortals do to me?   
[7]   The LORD is on my side to help me;   
         I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.   
[8]   It is better to take refuge in the LORD   
         than to put confidence in mortals.   
[9]   It is better to take refuge in the LORD   
         than to put confidence in princes.

[10]  All nations surrounded me;   
         in the name of the LORD I cut them off!   
[11]  They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;   
         in the name of the LORD I cut them off!   
[12]  They surrounded me like bees;   
         they blazed like a fire of thorns;   
         in the name of the LORD I cut them off!   
[13]  I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,   
         but the LORD helped me.   
[14]  The LORD is my strength and my might;   
         he has become my salvation.

[15]  There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:   
    "The right hand of the LORD does valiantly;   
[16]       the right hand of the LORD is exalted;   
         the right hand of the LORD does valiantly."   
[17]  I shall not die, but I shall live,   
         and recount the deeds of the LORD.   
[18]  The LORD has punished me severely,   
         but he did not give me over to death.

[19]  Open to me the gates of righteousness,   
         that I may enter through them   
         and give thanks to the LORD.

[20]  This is the gate of the LORD;   
         the righteous shall enter through it.

[21]  I thank you that you have answered me   
         and have become my salvation.   
[22]  The stone that the builders rejected   
         has become the chief cornerstone.   
[23]  This is the LORD's doing;   
         it is marvelous in our eyes.   
[24]  This is the day that the LORD has made;   
         let us rejoice and be glad in it.   
[25]  Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!   
         O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!

[26]  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.   
         We bless you from the house of the LORD.   
[27]  The LORD is God,   
         and he has given us light.   
    Bind the festal procession with branches,   
         up to the horns of the altar.

[28]  You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;   
         you are my God, I will extol you.

[29]  O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,   
         for his steadfast love endures forever.

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.

  

Isaiah 45:5-17

[5]   I am the LORD, and there is no other;  
          besides me there is no god.  
          I arm you, though you do not know me,  
[6]   so that they may know, from the rising of the sun  
          and from the west, that there is no one besides me;  
          I am the LORD, and there is no other.  
[7]   I form light and create darkness,  
          I make weal and create woe;  
          I the LORD do all these things.

[8]   Shower, O heavens, from above,  
          and let the skies rain down righteousness;  
     let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,  
          and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;  
          I the LORD have created it.

[9]   Woe to you who strive with your Maker,  
          earthen vessels with the potter!  
     Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, "What are you making"?  
          or "Your work has no handles"?  
[10]  Woe to anyone who says to a father, "What are you begetting?"  
          or to a woman, "With what are you in labor?"  
[11]  Thus says the LORD,  
          the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:  
     Will you question me about my children,  
          or command me concerning the work of my hands?  
[12]  I made the earth,  
          and created humankind upon it;  
     it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,  
          and I commanded all their host.  
[13]  I have aroused Cyrus in righteousness,  
          and I will make all his paths straight;  
     he shall build my city  
          and set my exiles free,  
     not for price or reward,  
          says the LORD of hosts.  
[14]  Thus says the LORD:  
     The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,  
          and the Sabeans, tall of stature,  
     shall come over to you and be yours,  
          they shall follow you;  
          they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.  
     They will make supplication to you, saying,  
          "God is with you alone, and there is no other;  
          there is no god besides him."  
[15]  Truly, you are a God who hides himself,  
          O God of Israel, the Savior.  
[16]  All of them are put to shame and confounded,  
          the makers of idols go in confusion together.  
[17]  But Israel is saved by the LORD  
          with everlasting salvation;  
     you shall not be put to shame or confounded  
          to all eternity.

Ephesians 5:1-14

[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.

[3]But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. [4]Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. [5]Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

[6]Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. [7]Therefore do not be associated with them. [8]For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light -- [9]for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. [10]Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. [11]Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. [12]For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; [13]but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, [14]for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
     "Sleeper, awake!
          Rise from the dead,
     and Christ will shine on you."

Ephesians 4:25-32

[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, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

 

Isaiah 44:6-8; 21-23

[6]   Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel,   
         and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:   
    I am the first and I am the last;   
         besides me there is no god.   
[7]   Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,   
         let them declare and set it forth before me.   
    Who has announced from of old the things to come?   
         Let them tell us what is yet to be.   
[8]   Do not fear, or be afraid;   
         have I not told you from of old and declared it?   
         You are my witnesses!   
    Is there any god besides me?   
         There is no other rock; I know not one.

[21]  Remember these things, O Jacob,   
         and Israel, for you are my servant;   
    I formed you, you are my servant;   
         O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.   
[22]  I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,   
         and your sins like mist;   
    return to me, for I have redeemed you.

[23]  Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;   
         shout, O depths of the earth;   
    break forth into singing, O mountains,   
         O forest, and every tree in it!   
    For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,   
         and will be glorified in Israel.

 

Psalm 104

[1]   Bless the LORD, O my soul.   
         O LORD my God, you are very great.   
    You are clothed with honor and majesty,   
[2]        wrapped in light as with a garment.   
    You stretch out the heavens like a tent,   
[3]        you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,   
    you make the clouds your chariot,   
         you ride on the wings of the wind,   
[4]   you make the winds your messengers,   
         fire and flame your ministers.

[5]   You set the earth on its foundations,   
         so that it shall never be shaken.   
[6]   You cover it with the deep as with a garment;   
         the waters stood above the mountains.   
[7]   At your rebuke they flee;   
         at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.   
[8]   They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys   
         to the place that you appointed for them.   
[9]   You set a boundary that they may not pass,   
         so that they might not again cover the earth.

[10]  You make springs gush forth in the valleys;   
         they flow between the hills,   
[11]  giving drink to every wild animal;   
         the wild asses quench their thirst.   
[12]  By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;   
         they sing among the branches.   
[13]  From your lofty abode you water the mountains;   
         the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

[14]  You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,   
         and plants for people to use,   
    to bring forth food from the earth,   
[15]       and wine to gladden the human heart,   
    oil to make the face shine,   
         and bread to strengthen the human heart.   
[16]  The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,   
         the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.   
[17]  In them the birds build their nests;   
         the stork has its home in the fir trees.   
[18]  The high mountains are for the wild goats;   
         the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.   
[19]  You have made the moon to mark the seasons;   
         the sun knows its time for setting.   
[20]  You make darkness, and it is night,   
         when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.   
[21]  The young lions roar for their prey,   
         seeking their food from God.   
[22]  When the sun rises, they withdraw   
         and lie down in their dens.   
[23]  People go out to their work   
         and to their labor until the evening.

[24]  O LORD, how manifold are your works!   
         In wisdom you have made them all;   
         the earth is full of your creatures.   
[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.   
    Bless the LORD, O my soul.   
    Praise the Lord!

 

Isaiah 42:1-17

[1]   Here is my servant, whom I uphold,   
         my chosen, in whom my soul delights;   
    I have put my spirit upon him;   
         he will bring forth justice to the nations.   
[2]   He will not cry or lift up his voice,   
         or make it heard in the street;   
[3]   a bruised reed he will not break,   
         and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;   
         he will faithfully bring forth justice.   
[4]   He will not grow faint or be crushed   
         until he has established justice in the earth;   
         and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

[5]   Thus says God, the LORD,   
         who created the heavens and stretched them out,   
         who spread out the earth and what comes from it,   
    who gives breath to the people upon it   
         and spirit to those who walk in it:   
[6]   I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness,   
         I have taken you by the hand and kept you;   
    I have given you as a covenant to the people,   
         a light to the nations,   
[7]        to open the eyes that are blind,   
    to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,   
         from the prison those who sit in darkness.   
[8]   I am the LORD, that is my name;   
         my glory I give to no other,   
         nor my praise to idols.   
[9]   See, the former things have come to pass,   
         and new things I now declare;   
    before they spring forth,   
         I tell you of them.

[10]  Sing to the LORD a new song,   
         his praise from the end of the earth!   
    Let the sea roar and all that fills it,   
         the coastlands and their inhabitants.   
[11]  Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice,   
         the villages that Kedar inhabits;   
    let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy,   
         let them shout from the tops of the mountains.   
[12]  Let them give glory to the LORD,   
         and declare his praise in the coastlands.   
[13]  The LORD goes forth like a soldier,   
         like a warrior he stirs up his fury;   
    he cries out, he shouts aloud,   
         he shows himself mighty against his foes.

[14]  For a long time I have held my peace,   
         I have kept still and restrained myself;   
    now I will cry out like a woman in labor,   
         I will gasp and pant.   
[15]  I will lay waste mountains and hills,   
         and dry up all their herbage;   
    I will turn the rivers into islands,   
         and dry up the pools.   
[16]  I will lead the blind   
         by a road they do not know,   
    by paths they have not known   
         I will guide them.   
    I will turn the darkness before them into light,   
         the rough places into level ground.   
    These are the things I will do,   
         and I will not forsake them.   
[17]  They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame --   
         those who trust in carved images,   
    who say to cast images,   
         "You are our gods."

 

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.

 

Psalm 89:1-18

[1]   I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever;  

          with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.

[2]   I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;  

          your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

[3]   You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one,  

          I have sworn to my servant David:  

[4]   'I will establish your descendants forever,  

          and build your throne for all generations.'"                  

Selah

[5]   Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,  

          your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.  

[6]   For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?  

          Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,  

[7]   a God feared in the council of the holy ones,  

          great and awesome above all that are around him?  

[8]   O LORD God of hosts,  

          who is as mighty as you, O LORD?  

          Your faithfulness surrounds you.  

[9]   You rule the raging of the sea;  

          when its waves rise, you still them.  

[10]  You crushed Rahab like a carcass;  

          you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.  

[11]  The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;  

          the world and all that is in it -- you have founded them.  

[12]  The north and the south -- you created them;  

          Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.  

[13]  You have a mighty arm;  

          strong is your hand, high your right hand.  

[14]  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;  

          steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.  

[15]  Happy are the people who know the festal shout,  

          who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;  

[16]  they exult in your name all day long,  

          and extol your righteousness.  

[17]  For you are the glory of their strength;  

          by your favor our horn is exalted.  

[18]  For our shield belongs to the LORD,  

          our king to the Holy One of Israel.

 

Psalm 42

[1]   As a deer longs for flowing streams,  

          so my soul longs for you, O God.  

[2]   My soul thirsts for God,  

          for the living God.  

     When shall I come and behold  

          the face of God?  

[3]   My tears have been my food  

          day and night,  

     while people say to me continually,  

          "Where is your God?"

[4]   These things I remember,  

          as I pour out my soul:  

     how I went with the throng,  

          and led them in procession to the house of God,  

     with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,  

          a multitude keeping festival.  

[5]   Why are you cast down, O my soul,  

          and why are you disquieted within me?  

     Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,  

          my help [6]and my God.

     My soul is cast down within me;  

          therefore I remember you  

     from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,  

          from Mount Mizar.  

[7]   Deep calls to deep  

          at the thunder of your cataracts;  

     all your waves and your billows  

          have gone over me.  

[8]   By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,  

          and at night his song is with me,  

          a prayer to the God of my life.

[9]   I say to God, my rock,  

          "Why have you forgotten me?  

     Why must I walk about mournfully  

          because the enemy oppresses me?"  

[10]  As with a deadly wound in my body,  

          my adversaries taunt me,  

     while they say to me continually,  

          "Where is your God?"

[11]  Why are you cast down, O my soul,  

          and why are you disquieted within me?  

     Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,  

          my help and my God.

Mark 1:1-13

[1]The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

[2]As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,  

     "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,  

          who will prepare your way;  

[3]   the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:  

          'Prepare the way of the Lord,  

          make his paths straight,'"  

[4]John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. [5]And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. [6]Now John was clothed with camel&rsqquos hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. [7]He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. [8]I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

[9]In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. [10]And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. [11]And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

[12]And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness [13]He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

 

John 9:1-12; 35-38

[1]As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2]His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" [3]Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. [4]We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. [5]As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." [6]When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, [7]saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. [8]The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" [9]Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." [10]But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" [11]He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight." [12]They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." 

[35]Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" [36]He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." [37]Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." [38]He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.

John 6:15-27

[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 sea, [17]got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. [18]The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. [19]When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea 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 toward which they were going.

[22]The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. [23]Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. [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 sea, 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."

 

John 6:1-14

[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 toward 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."

John 5:1-9

[1]After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

[2]Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. [3]In these lay many invalids -- blind, lame, and paralyzed. [5] One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" [7] The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me." [8]Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." [9] At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

 

John 4:46-54

[46]Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. [47]When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. [48]Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." [49]The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my little boy dies." [50]Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. [51]As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. [52]So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, "Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him." [53]The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he himself believed, along with his whole household. [54]Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

 

Psalm 97

[1]   The LORD is my light and my salvation;  

          whom shall I fear?  

     The LORD is the stronghold of my life;  

          of whom shall I be afraid?

[2]   When evildoers assail me  

          to devour my flesh --  

     my adversaries and foes --  

          they shall stumble and fall.

[3]   Though an army encamp against me,  

          my heart shall not fear;  

     though war rise up against me,  

          yet I will be confident.

[4]   One thing I asked of the LORD,  

          that will I seek after:  

     to live in the house of the LORD  

          all the days of my life,  

     to behold the beauty of the LORD,  

          and to inquire in his temple.

[5]   For he will hide me in his shelter  

          in the day of trouble;  

     he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;  

          he will set me high on a rock.

[6]   Now my head is lifted up  

          above my enemies all around me,  

     and I will offer in his tent  

          sacrifices with shouts of joy;  

     I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

[7]   Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud,  

          be gracious to me and answer me!  

[8]   "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!"  

          Your face, LORD, do I seek.  

[9]        Do not hide your face from me.

     Do not turn your servant away in anger,  

          you who have been my help.  

     Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,  

          O God of my salvation!  

[10]   If my father and mother forsake me,  

          the LORD will take me up.

[11]  Teach me your way, O LORD,  

          and lead me on a level path  

          because of my enemies.  

[12]  Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,  

          for false witnesses have risen against me,  

          and they are breathing out violence.

[13]  I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD  

          in the land of the living.  

[14]   Wait for the LORD;  

          be strong, and let your heart take courage;  

          wait for the LORD!

 

Joshua 1:1-9

[1]After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, [2]"My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. [3]Every place that the sole of your foot
will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. [4]From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. [5]No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. [6]Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. [7]Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. [8]This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. [9]I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Exodus 3:1-5

[1]Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. [2]There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. [3]Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." [4]When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." [5]Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."

  

Genesis 28:10-22

[10]Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. [11]He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. [12]And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. [13]And the LORD stood beside him and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; [14]and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. [15]Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." [16]Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place -- and I did not know it!" [17]And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

[18]So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. [19]He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. [20]Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, [21]so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, [22]and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you."

 

Genesis 12:1-7

[1]Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. [2]I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. [3]I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 

[4] So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. [5]Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother's son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, [6]Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. [7]Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

[1]   For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under
heaven:   
[2]   a time to be born, and a time to die;   
    a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;   
[3]   a time to kill, and a time to heal;   
    a time to break down, and a time to build up;   
[4]   a time to weep, and a time to laugh;   
    a time to mourn, and a time to dance;   
[5]   a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;   
    a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;   
[6]   a time to seek, and a time to lose;   
    a time to keep, and a time to throw away;   
[7]   a time to tear, and a time to sew;   
    a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;   

^{8   a time to love, and a time to hate;}   

    a time for war, and a time for peace.

[9]What gain have the workers from their toil? [10]I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. [11]He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. [12]I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; [13]moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.