Exodus 19:1-16
On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites." So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. The people all answered as one: "Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do." Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD. Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after." When Moses had told the words of the people to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses: "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain." So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said to the people, "Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman." On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
Colossians 1:1-14
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Matthew 3:7-12
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Morning Psalms
Psalm 26
1 Give judgment for me, O LORD, for I have lived with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.
2 Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and my mind.
3 For your love is before my eyes; I have walked faithfully with you.
4 I have not sat with the worthless, nor do I consort with the deceitful.
5 I have hated the company of evildoers; I will not sit down with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence, O LORD, that I may go in procession round your altar,
7 Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving and recounting all your wonderful deeds.
8 LORD, I love the house in which you dwell and the place where your glory abides.
9 Do not sweep me away with sinners, nor my life with those who thirst for blood,
10 Whose hands are full of evil plots, and their right hand full of bribes.
11 As for me, I will live with integrity; redeem me, O LORD, and have pity on me.
12 My foot stands on level ground; in the full assembly I will bless the LORD.
Psalm 28
1 O LORD, I call to you; my Rock, do not be deaf to my cry; lest, if you do not hear me, I become like those who go down to the Pit.
2 Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you, when I lift up my hands to your holy of holies.
3 Do not snatch me away with the wicked or with the evildoers, who speak peaceably with their neighbors, while strife is in their hearts.
4 Repay them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their actions.
5 According to the work of their hands repay them, and give them their just deserts.
6 They have no understanding of the LORD'S doings, nor of the works of his hands; therefore he will break them down and not build them up.
7 Blessed is the LORD! for he has heard the voice of my prayer.
8 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I have been helped;
9 Therefore my heart dances for joy, and in my song will I praise him.
10 The LORD is the strength of his people, a safe refuge for his anointed.
11 Save your people and bless your inheritance; shepherd them and carry them for ever.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 36
1 There is a voice of rebellion deep in the heart of the wicked; there is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 He flatters himself in his own eyes that his hateful sin will not be found out.
3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has left off acting wisely and doing good.
4 He thinks up wickedness upon his bed and has set himself in no good way; he does not abhor that which is evil.
5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, and your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, your justice like the great deep; you save both man and beast, O LORD.
7 How priceless is your love, O God! your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast upon the abundance of your house; you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the well of life, and in your light we see light.
10 Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, and your favor to those who are true of heart.
11 Let not the foot of the proud come near me, nor the hand of the wicked push me aside.
12 See how they are fallen, those who work wickedness! they are cast down and shall not be able to rise.
Psalm 39
1 I said, "I will keep watch upon my ways, so that I do not offend with my tongue.
2 I will put a muzzle on my mouth while the wicked are in my presence."
3 So I held my tongue and said nothing; I refrained from rash words; but my pain became unbearable.
4 My heart was hot within me; while I pondered, the fire burst into flame; I spoke out with my tongue:
5 LORD, let me know my end and the number of my days, so that I may know how short my life is.
6 You have given me a mere handful of days, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight; truly, even those who stand erect are but a puff of wind.
7 We walk about like a shadow, and in vain we are in turmoil; we heap up riches and cannot tell who will gather them.
8 And now, what is my hope? O Lord, my hope is in you.
9 Deliver me from all my transgressions and do not make me the taunt of the fool.
10 I fell silent and did not open my mouth, for surely it was you that did it.
11 Take your affliction from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
12 With rebukes for sin you punish us; like a moth you eat away all that is dear to us; truly, everyone is but a puff of wind.
13 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears.
14 For I am but a sojourner with you, a wayfarer, as all my forebears were.
15 Turn your gaze from me, that I may be glad again, before I go my way and am no more.
