February 28th, 2016

Isaiah 50:4-11

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,

    to know the word that sustains the weary.

He wakens me morning by morning,

    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.

The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;

    I have not been rebellious,

    I have not turned away.

I offered my back to those who beat me,

    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;

I did not hide my face

    from mocking and spitting.

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,

    I will not be disgraced.

Therefore have I set my face like flint,

    and I know I will not be put to shame.

He who vindicates me is near.

    Who then will bring charges against me?

    Let us face each other!

Who is my accuser?

    Let him confront me!

It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.

    Who will condemn me?

They will all wear out like a garment;

    the moths will eat them up.

Who among you fears the Lord

    and obeys the word of his servant?

Let the one who walks in the dark,

    who has no light,

trust in the name of the Lord

    and rely on their God.

But now, all you who light fires

    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,

go, walk in the light of your fires

    and of the torches you have set ablaze.

This is what you shall receive from my hand:

    You will lie down in torment.

    

Luke 18:31-34

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

February 21st, 2016

Isaiah 49:8-16

Restoration of Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you;

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people,

to restore the land

and to reassign its desolate inheritances,

to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads

and find pasture on every barren hill.

They will neither hunger nor thirst,

nor will the desert heat or the sun beat

down on them.

He who has compassion on them will guide them

and lead them beside springs of water. I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up.

See, they will come from afar—

some from the north, some from the west,

some from the region of Aswan.” Shout for joy, you heavens;

rejoice, you earth;

burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people

and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she

has borne?

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are ever before me. 

Luke 23:32-43

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

February 14th, 2016

Isaiah 42:1-9

The Servant of the Lord

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out,

or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.

In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” This is what God the Lord says—

the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,

who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people,

and life to those who walk on it:

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,

to open eyes that are blind,

to free captives from prison

and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

“I am the Lord; that is my name!

I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare;

before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

February 7th, 2016

Isaiah 43:1-3

Israel’s Only Savior

But now, this is what the Lord says—

    he who created you, Jacob,

    he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

    I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

    they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

    you will not be burned;

    the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

    Cush and Seba in your stead.

Matthew 3:13-17

The Baptism of Jesus

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

January 31st, 2016

Micah 6:6-8

With what shall I come before the Lord

    and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

    with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,

    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

    And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

    and to walk humbly with your God.

    

John 19:28-37

The Death of Jesus

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”