Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Daily Devotion – Great Plains Episcopal Area – Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Daily Devotion – Great Plains Episcopal Area – Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Pastor Kevin Lawrence of Piedmont UMC of the Flint Hills District of the Kansas East Conference
Pastor Walter Marsella of Wichita El Mesias of the Wichita West District of the Kansas West Conference
Pastor Benjamin Wedeking of Omaha St. Andrew's UMC of the Missouri River District of the Nebraska Conference
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This Week's Lectionary
New Year’s Day – White or Gold
Ecclesiastes Everything Has Its Time
3: 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.
The God-Given Task
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.
Psalm 8: Divine Majesty and Human Dignity
To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2     Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals[a] that you care for them?
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God,[b]
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 8:4 Heb ben adam, lit. son of man
b. Psalm 8:5 Or than the divine beings or angels: Heb elohim
Revelation The New Heaven and the New Earth
21: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home[a] of God is among mortals.
He will dwell[b] with them;
they will be his peoples,[c]
and God himself will be with them;[d]
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
Footnotes:
a. Revelation 21:3 Gk the tabernacle
b. Revelation 21:3 Gk will tabernacle
c. Revelation 21:3 Other ancient authorities read people
d. Revelation 21:3 Other ancient authorities add and be their God
Matthew 25: The Judgment of the Nations
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,[a] 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.”
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 25:40 Gk these my brothers
Holy Name of Jesus - White or Gold
Numbers 6: The Priestly Benediction
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
27 So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
Psalm 8: Divine Majesty and Human Dignity
To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2     Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals[a] that you care for them?
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God,[b]
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 8:4 Heb ben adam, lit. son of man
b. Psalm 8:5 Or than the divine beings or angels: Heb elohim
Galatians 4: 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6 And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our[a] hearts, crying, “Abba![b] Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.[c]
Footnotes:
a. Galatians 4:6 Other ancient authorities read your
b. Galatians 4:6 Aramaic for Father
c. Galatians 4:7 Other ancient authorities read an heir of God through Christ
Philippians 2: 5 Let the same mind be in you that was[a] in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God
    as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8     he humbled himself
    and became obedient to the point of death—
    even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
    and gave him the name
    that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.
Footnotes:
a. Philippians 2:5 Or that you have
Luke 2: 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Jesus Is Named
21 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
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Today's Devotional:
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice[a] in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.[b] 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Footnotes:
a. Philippians 4:4 Or Farewell
b. Philippians 4:4 Or Farewell
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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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