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Episodes
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Leviticus 9~10
Obedient Service - Part 5
Called to service!
Just as it was for Aaron and the Old Testament priesthood, when we serve and minister, God's honour is released. This is done because service is to show the beauty and glory of God to others. Serving, service and ministry are never to be about what we as mere humans can get out of it. When that is the motive, God is neither honoured nor glorified. God's glory and supremacy is to be the ultimate reason for service! God is both zealous and jealous for His glory and honour to be upheld! Nadab and Abihu could testify to that I am sure!
As Christians, as part of our life of true Joy, we are called to serve and minister. We are called to exhibit and show our true Joy - just as Aaron and his family were called into a lifetime of obedient service to Jehovah God. Their JOY motto was to be "Jehovah Over Yourself". For us, true joy is to be "Jesus Over Yourself". Each of us here tonight is called to perform a unique serving and ministerial function. Showing love, serving each other and giving to others are a practical outworking of our joyful obedience to God.
The ministries of Nadab and Abihu were cut short and hallmarked with disobedience. Our ministry, and all Christians have one, is to be hallmarked by obedience borne out of love for God and Him alone. Devoted obedience to God borne out of a desire to see God glorified, regardless of what other people may say or think. And we are not left alone to serve in our own power! We would most certainly fail if that was the case!
God Himself has lovingly equipped all those who follow Him, to serve! God the Holy Spirit, who lives inside each believer, has endowed each Christian with gifts, talents and abilities for that purpose - service! This is so that the whole church is built up and "that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." God wants you and I to be active in service - life long service hallmarked by loving obedience to Him, which reflects our joyful dedication to Him, to His praise, honour and glory!
Judged for our service!
Finally, just as God's judgement was upon Nadab and Abihu, the Bible also tells us that all those who follow Jesus Christ will be judged according to what they have done, with what God gave them. That includes any spiritual gifts, talents and abilities we have! This judgement will not be for salvation, because if we have decided to follow Jesus Christ, judgement for our sins has already fallen on Him, when He died on the cross.
Of our sinfulness we have been set free and declared innocent! If we here tonight, have accepted God's free offer of salvation by grace alone, through Jesus Christ alone, then we are declared right with God and in a joyous relationship with Him. Again, it is amazing! However, our belief and faith are to be visibly manifested through joyful obedient service of, and to, God! This judgement is not for your salvation but for your rewards! As followers of Jesus Christ, God will ask you and I, to give an account of ourselves, and we will be judged according to what we have done. The quality of our work will be tested and our motives exposed - either we did things for God's glory or we did them for our own glory. We will give an account of the opportunities and abilities entrusted to us as instruments of God's orchestra of joy.
Conclusion!
For those of us who would call ourselves Christians, the Bible is very clear - you are called to lovingly and obediently serve in some capacity. A life of true Joy is seen in obedient service to the glory of God the Father, through God the Son Jesus Christ, in the power of God the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Tonight, if you are engaging in either intentional or unintentional acts of disobedience, then you need to turn your life around to one of utter obedience to the God you profess to follow.
As a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit within you, as a seal of your salvation. Your body is the temple where God now resides! You can't hide from Him, so you may as well choose to be obedient to Him in a life of joyful service, exhibiting that true Joy and the hope you have in Him! Just as joy followed Moses and Aaron's obedience in Leviticus 9, so too can it be for those of us willing to lovingly serve obediently!
But if you are not a Christian yet, then please do make yourself known to us afterwards and we would love to talk to you about becoming a Christian. While you have breath, it's not too late to start this life of joyful obedience to a loving God and enter into a living and dynamic relationship of true Joy with Him. Don't leave it so late that you incur God's judgement for your sins and have everlasting separation from Him and others! God does indeed love you and He is calling you to come into a dynamic relationship of true joy with Him today. Take the opportunity today - come and follow Jesus Christ. He is calling you to respond!
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Sunday Jan 12, 2025
Sunday Jan 12, 2025
Leviticus 9~10
Obedient Service - Part 4
So what's all this got to do with us today in the 21st century? Over and over again in the Old Testament, we see that the nation of Israel were to be a people of service separated out for God! Under the terms of the covenant God made with them through Moses, that was the core of God's agreement with them.
It commenced with the stipulation "Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me (Exodus 19v5)".
This covenant was with the nation of Israel in order that those who believed God's earlier promise to Abraham could know how to live a life worthy of being God's people: to live a life relating socially to God and to other people. It was also to show how humanity could approach God on God's terms alone and not on their own conditions! God was and is a perfect and holy God! His people, Israel, were to be a holy and separated people of service and to reflect God's glory and greatness to the other nations!
This covenant was only in place until the Messiah came and made the perfect sacrifice. All the Old Testament Covenants pointed towards the time when the Saviour Messiah would come - God would come Himself to save His people! The Mosaic Covenant was never meant as a means towards salvation. It was given that they could realize the helplessness of their own efforts to save themselves and their need of God's help. One day, there would be a New Covenant between God and humanity and this Mosaic covenant would be fulfilled!
New Covenant?
So what is this New Covenant? Four primary features are:
- God will write His law on the hearts of people.
- God will be their God, and they will be His people.
- God will indwell people and they will be led by Him
- All sins will be forgiven and removed eternally
This new covenant was and is sealed only through the perfect sacrifice of the God-Man Jesus on the cross. His blood ensures the truth of this New Covenant. His death pays the penalty for the sins of all people who choose to say yes to God and follow Him. This New Covenant finalizes what the Mosaic Covenant could only point to: the follower of God engaged in a dynamic relationship of Joy with a God who loves them. No longer would human priests need to mediate between God and humans, because Jesus Christ, the full visible manifestation of God, would fulfil that role as mediator and all people would have access to God through Him! Amazing stuff!
You and I have instant access to Almighty God. We can approach God's throne of grace with confidence and assurance because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. God no longer dwells in a Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle or the Temple made of stone - He now lives in each believer - immediate access guaranteed! Amazing and yet how often we don't avail ourselves. But it is more than that, because as royal priests of this New Covenant, for that is what we are, we too are called into a joyful life of obedient service of God!
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Saturday Jan 11, 2025
Saturday Jan 11, 2025
Leviticus 9-10
Obedient Service - Part 3
A God of Judgement
Now today, in the 21st century, we have a problem. We are quite comfortable with a God of love, peace, joy and kindness. In the movie Crocodile Dundee, Mick Dundee announces that "Me and God - we'd be mates". If that is the limit of our vision of God, then may I suggest that our vision and opinion of God is too small? Perhaps our God is too nice and too comfortable. Yet a problem seemingly remains.
How on earth can a God of love, peace, gentleness, kindness and joy act like this against two of his dedicated servants, Nadab and Abihu? Is not that a God who is at odds with himself? The first thing we can say here about God is that while He is most assuredly a God of love, kindness and peace, He is also a God of judgement - a God who judges. That is plainly evident from this passage. We need to acknowledge him as a great lover, but also as a terrifying Judge. Not just a friend, but also a Judge!
The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us that it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God who is a consuming fire! Remember also, that God always prefers obedience to sacrifice. We all have, I am sure, at some point liked to think of God as being all love and never judging. People say: "It will be alright in the end, because the love of God conquers all."
Well, that love involves judging! The judgement of God is unbiased. God shows no favouritism and He is always just and right. It is a reflection of His mercy, that nobody can claim God is unfair. But God is not merely a God of mercy, peace and love but also as we have seen, He is a God who judges and administers justice impartially in accordance with His mercy, peace and love!
A God of Wrath!
Not only is He a God who judges but He is also a God who has great wrath - it is an essential, permanent and indelible part of His character! His wrath may be slow to burn, but it is still anger and wrath! The holiness of God requires that He punish sin through His wrath! What sort of God would He have been if He had not done what He did to Nadab and Abihu? What if He had said, "That's ok boys, you will get it right next time." Then He most would certainly be seen as a capricious, unjust, fickle and hostile being.
It's not a popular subject these days in our churches! Most churches mumble when it comes to bible passages such as this! While most sections of our society, and indeed parts of the church, view God as a doddery benevolent being, sitting benignly in the sky in His rocking chair and mildly ‘tutting' when people disobey His commands. But God is not a benevolent Grandfather figure and neither is His wrath or anger unwarranted, immoral, cruel, fickle, spiteful or capricious! God's wrath is always to administer and mete out a divine loving justice, which corresponds to God's innate and essential characteristics and attributes of light, perfection and holiness.
That's the picture given by all the Bible writers. When we speak of a perfect God in human terms, whether that is His being a wrathful judge or tremendous lover, it reflects the imperfect limitations of our humanity. We were made in the image of God and not the other way around! Secondly, God's honour was at stake! He is both zealous and jealous for His own honour and name! He can only act within the confines of His own characteristics and attributes! He must always work out of His immutable holiness! God was passionate about living at the centre of His people and there was no way He could allow renegade priests to disobediently defile His dwelling place!
Nadab and Abihu were punished because they worked in His immediate presence as illustrated by verse 3 "Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honoured." If God had not punished them, then that would have made God out to be a hypocrite and a liar, acting contrary to His own essential nature and He would be seen as an impotent God with seemingly multiple personalities. This story illustrates that Nadab and Abihu had to serve as an example, which is why we have the story. Thirdly, Nadab and Abihu broke the guidelines, given by God on how to enter into His presence. They took the wrong fire, went at the wrong time and were ill prepared for such an occasion. They entered a place of God's holy presence in a sinful and disobedient state. People full of sin can never enter into a place where God resides, because God is uniquely holy, sinless and perfect without fault or defect.
Nadab and Abihu chose, for whatever reason, either intentionally or unintentionally, to break God's guidelines in how, where and when to offer a sacrifice. There is no indication, however, from the Biblical text that they were eternally separated from God at their death, as in judgement of their sins. But rather it seems they were judged according to what they did with their abilities, talents and gifting as ministers in His service.
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Friday Jan 10, 2025
Friday Jan 10, 2025
Leviticus 9~10
Obedient Service - Part 2
Great tragedy!
Leviticus 10v1-11
These two men, Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron the High Priest, start their duties. They take their pans, fill them with hot coals from a fire, place aromatic incense on the coals and offer this to God as an act of worship. The fire from the glory of the Lord comes out, engulfs them and they die. What happened? They hadn't followed the strict guidelines as given by the Lord and had therefore violated all the instructions given to them. Strict regulations were required by sinful humans to be in and work in God's holy presence! How different can these two scenes be?
In the first passage we looked at, fire represented God's presence and spoke of His love, warmth, purity and blessing upon His people. Here though, the fire represents a different aspect of His presence through his active holiness and therefore danger and judgement. Who were Nadab and Abihu? They were Aaron's eldest sons and had received a privileged upbringing. They had seen God working from close quarters. When Moses went up Mount Sinai to speak with God and receive the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments, they were there. They had just spent the previous week in training for their new jobs as priests in service to God. No doubt they had witnessed at close quarters, the fire we spoke of earlier in Leviticus 9v24.
So they were not only important people, but also experienced. Yet in spite of all this, they did what was contrary to the guidelines given them. They were disobedient. We don't know why they did it. It could have been satan whispering in their ears "Go on. You have a go now. Your dad did it, didn't he? So can you. Don't worry about those guidelines God gave you. it will be alright tonight, my sons. You felt good and happy, didn't you? Trust yourself." It could have been pride, jealousy or impatience that led them to disobey the strict guidelines, or in light of 10v8 perhaps too much wine! Perhaps they were caught up in the excitable fever of the joyful occasion and wanted joy like a drug!
What may have seemed right to them, most certainly wasn't right to God. Perhaps they thought they were doing God a big favour by zealously embracing their roles as priests and wanting to offer as many sacrifices as they could! We will never know! But we do know, that regardless of the reason for doing so, they actively disobeyed God. They chose to do it! Not only was it a fragrant disobedience but also a flagrant disobedience. In offering a "strange" or unauthorised fire, they had disregarded God's instructions for the timing, place or manner. They had been set apart and dedicated to a life of serving God and His people and had now paid the ultimate consequence for their disobedience.
Their disobedience is referred to again in Leviticus 16 in the regulations for the annual Day of Atonement. Regulations probably given to ensure that this never again occurred! Aaron, their father, was silent - stunned I would imagine! He has seen at firsthand, that in a life of true joy, God requires obedience over sacrifice. Aaron and his remaining sons were not to mourn or appear to be sorrowful. This was to signify the seriousness of Nadab and Abihu's disobedience. To us this may seem harsh, but Aaron and his remaining sons had to prioritize service to God over commitment to family. This was symbolic of Joy - Jehovah Over Yourself. Aaron and his other sons had to remain engaged in priestly duties and responsibilities. Other members of the family were allowed to mourn however.
Continued in Part 3
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Thursday Jan 09, 2025
Thursday Jan 09, 2025
Leviticus 9~10
Obedient Service - Part 1
Introduction
Here we witness together a scene of great and exuberant joy! The first seven chapters of Leviticus talk about the different offerings or sacrifices that the nation of Israel was to make to God. Then in chapter 8 we see the beginning of the priesthood and the joyful work of Aaron and the priests. Their main role of service was to act as mediators between a holy God and the people of Israel, particularly in the role of making those offerings and sacrifices. In fact, they were the ultimate multi-taskers, as they seemed equally adept as butchers, doctors, teachers, quality assurors and public health inspectors! The passage we have in front of us tonight shows the culmination of this priestly ordination.
Great joy! (Leviticus 9v22-24)
Israel was a nation, chosen by God, to be His people and to be a shining light of God's glory to the world around them. This nation, God's treasured and precious people, however, way back in Exodus 19, refused to be a nation of royal priests. Instead they preferred being represented by Moses and Aaron. So Moses and Aaron have gone into the Tent of Meeting or Tabernacle to meet with God. This was where Moses and Aaron would meet with the Lord during the travels to the Promised Land. The whole nation is waiting for them! So Moses and Aaron, as we just read, come out, give a blessing to the people and God's glory appeared to the nation!
WOW! That must have been some blessing Aaron gave! Whatever his words were in v24, they were words that invocated Almighty God's power, presence and peace to be with and upon His people. No wonder the people fell on the ground with their noses in the dirt as an act of joyful worship and praise to God!! The burnt offering and fat portions on the altar were consumed in a great fire emanating from the manifestation of the glory of God! So amazing was this sight that a tremendous wave of exuberant joy overcame the people and they all fell with their face in the ground! There was probably a mixture of amazement, surprise and reverent fear!
That must have been a tremendous sight to behold! Falling face forward was a characteristic method of showing total surrender and submission to a king or master. Here it is adopted by the Israelites as symbolic surrender to their God! The infinite, almighty, majestic and glorious God, was living and being worshipped by His people. This God was a holy God and these people were to be His people.
So there is tremendous joy in the nation of Israel and this is evident in their spontaneous act of submissive, voluntary worship and expressions of thanks to their Almighty God. Moses and Aaron had followed God's guidelines obediently and the nations true joy was in evidence. Not just joy as an emotion, but true joy as evidenced through sacrifice, praise and testimony! Now it would be very nice to just stop there, but the story continues! The Bible is an honest book! Just as the celebrations were concluding and the priests were taking up their sacred roles, something happens!
Continued tomorrow into part 2!
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Sunday Jan 05, 2025
Sunday Jan 05, 2025
Psalm 71 to Psalm 75
Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection!
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Psalm 71
1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go;
give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.
5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD,
my confidence since my youth.
6 From my birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
7 I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendour all day long.
9 Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
10 For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together.
11 They say, ‘God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.’
12 Do not be far from me, my God; come quickly, God, to help me.
13 May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 As for me, I shall always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long –
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.
19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honour and comfort me once more.
22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you –
I whom you have delivered.
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long, for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.
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Psalm 72
Of Solomon.
1 Endow the king with your justice, O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
2 May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.
3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
4 May he defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
may he crush the oppressor.
5 May he endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.
6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.
7 In his days may the righteous flourish
and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 May the desert tribes bow before him
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
present him with gifts.
11 May all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.
13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.
16 May corn abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops flourish like Lebanon
and thrive like the grass of the field.
17 May his name endure for ever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.
18 Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvellous deeds.
19 Praise be to his glorious name for ever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.
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Psalm 73
A psalm of Asaph.
1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.
11 They say, ‘How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?’
12 This is what the wicked are like –
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.
15 If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.
21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
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Psalm 74
A maskil of Asaph
1 O God, why have you rejected us for ever?
Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember the nation you purchased long ago,
the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed –
Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
3 Turn your steps towards these everlasting ruins,
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
4 Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards as signs.
5 They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees.
6 They smashed all the carved panelling with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling-place of your Name.
8 They said in their hearts, ‘We will crush them completely!’
They burned every place where God was worshipped in the land.
9 We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.
10 How long will the enemy mock you, God?
Will the foe revile your name for ever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
12 But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.
13 It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
15 It was you who opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.
17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, LORD,
how foolish people have reviled your name.
19 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted people for ever.
20 Have regard for your covenant,
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamour of your adversaries,
the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.
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Psalm 75
For the director of music. To the tune of ‘Do Not Destroy’. A psalm of Asaph. A song.#
1 We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near;
people tell of your wonderful deeds.
2 You say, ‘I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge with equity.
3 When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.
4 To the arrogant I say, “Boast no more,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horns.
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak so defiantly.”’
6 No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves.
7 It is God who judges: he brings one down, he exalts another.
8 In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to its very dregs.
9 As for me, I will declare this for ever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,
10 who says, ‘I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.’
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Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Psalm 149
Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.
O Israel, rejoice in your Maker.
O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King.
Praise his name with dancing,
accompanied by tambourine and harp.
For the Lord delights in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.
Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.
Let the praises of God be in their mouths,
and a sharp sword in their hands -
to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
to bind their kings with shackles
and their leaders with iron chains,
to execute the judgment written against them.
This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.
Praise the Lord!
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Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Psalm 97
(as read by Mary)
97:1 Yahweh reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad!
97:2 Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
97:3 A fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries on every side.
97:4 His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles.
97:5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
97:6 The heavens declare his righteousness. All the peoples have seen his glory.
97:7 Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!
97:8 Zion heard and was glad. The daughters of Judah rejoiced, because of your judgments, Yahweh.
97:9 For you, Yahweh, are most high above all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods.
97:10 You who love Yahweh, hate evil. He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
97:11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
97:12 Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous people! Give thanks to his holy Name.
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Sunday Dec 08, 2024
Sunday Dec 08, 2024
The O Antiphons - Emmanuel
We continue looking at the 7 O Antiphons used by some parts of the church in their Christmas worship. Each of them addresses Jesus Christ using a Messianic title drawn from Old Testament prophecy.
Today Is Day 7 - O Emmanuel
God with us, our King and Law-giver, desired of the nations and their salvation, you came to save us, Lord our God.
Old Testament reading:
Isaiah 7:13-14 - Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).
New Testament Readings:
Matthew 1:23 - ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Acts 4:11-12 - Jesus is ‘“the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’
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Saturday Dec 07, 2024
Saturday Dec 07, 2024
The O Antiphons - Rex Gentium
We continue looking at the 7 O Antiphons used by some parts of the church in their Christmas worship. Each of them addresses Jesus Christ using a Messianic title drawn from Old Testament prophecy.
Today is day 6 - Rex Gentium
King of the Nations for whom they long, the corner-stone who makes of both one, you came and delivered humanity whom you made from clay.
Old Testament readings:
Genesis 2:7 - Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Isaiah 2:4 - He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more.
Isaiah 9:7 - Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 28:16 - Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.
Haggai 2:8-9 - “The silver is mine and the gold is mine,” declares the LORD Almighty. “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the LORD Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the LORD Almighty.’
New Testament reading:
Ephesians 2:14-16 - For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.