Great Plains Episcopal Area Daily
Devotion – Saturday, 30 November 2013
Pastor Pat Buss of Americus-Reading UMCs
of the Flint Hills District of the Kansas East Conference
Pastor David Upp of South-America
Nazarine Theological Seminary of the Hutchinson District of the Kansas West
Conference
Pastor Jim Corson of Bellevue
Aldersgate-Omaha Lefler UMCs of the Missouri River District of the Nebraska
Conference
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This Week's Lectionary
Last
Sunday after Pentecost/in Kingdomtide – White
Christ the King/Reign of Christ
Sunday
Jeremiah 23: An Authentic David-Branch
1-4 “Doom to the shepherd-leaders who
butcher and scatter my sheep!” God’s Decree. “So here is what I, God, Israel’s
God, say to the shepherd-leaders who misled my people: ‘You’ve scattered my
sheep. You’ve driven them off. You haven’t kept your eye on them. Well, let me
tell you, I’m keeping my eye on you, keeping track of your criminal behavior.
I’ll take over and gather what’s left of my sheep, gather them in from all the
lands where I’ve driven them. I’ll bring them back where they belong, and
they’ll recover and flourish. I’ll set shepherd-leaders over them who will take
good care of them. They won’t live in fear or panic anymore. All the lost sheep
rounded up!’ God’s Decree.”
5-6 “Time’s coming”—God’s Decree—
“when I’ll establish a truly righteous David-Branch,
A ruler who knows how to rule justly.
He’ll make sure of justice and keep people united.
In his time Judah will be secure again
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name they’ll give him:
‘God-Who-Puts-Everything-Right.’(The Message
Luke 1: 67-79
Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the
center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies
and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,
What he swore to our father Abraham—
a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in
the world,
made holy before him as long as we live.
And you, my child, “Prophet of the
Highest,”
will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his
people,
the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a
time,
down the path of peace.(The Message)
Colossians 1: 9-12 Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t
stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned
to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God
works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as
you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you
will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick
it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the
glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and
spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take
part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.
13-14 God rescued us from dead-end alleys
and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much,
the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were
doomed to keep repeating.
Christ Holds It All Together
15-18 We look at this Son and see the God
who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in
everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below,
visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got
started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came
into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it
comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a
body.
18-20 He was supreme in the beginning
and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to
end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so
roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding.
Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people
and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant
harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.(The
Message)
Luke 23: 33 When
they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the
criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.
34-35 Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive
them; they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice
for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made
faces, taunting, “He saved others. Let’s see him save himself! The Messiah of
God—ha! The Chosen—ha!”
36-37 The soldiers also came up and poked
fun at him, making a game of it. They toasted him with sour wine: “So you’re King
of the Jews! Save yourself!”
38 Printed over him was a sign: this is
the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals hanging alongside
cursed him: “Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!”
40-41 But the other one made him shut up:
“Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same as him. We deserve this, but
not him—he did nothing to deserve this.”
your kingdom.”
43 He said, “Don’t worry, I will. Today
you will join me in paradise.”(The Message)
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Today's Devotional
Matthew 9: 1 And
after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
2 And just then some people were carrying
a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 Then some of the scribes said to
themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts,
said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may
know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said
to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.” 7 And he stood
up and went to his home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe,
and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.(NRSV)
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Great Churches. Great Leaders. Great
Disciples. Transformed World.
Contact Information
Great Plains Episcopal Office
9440 E Boston, Suite 160
Wichita KS 67207
316-686-0600
800-745-2350
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