Thursday, September 8, 2022

The Daily Lectionary for Friday, September 9, 2022

False Prophets and Their Punishment
2 Peter 2:1-10

The Daily Lectionary
Friday, September 9, 2022
Psalm 14; Jeremiah 4:1-10; 2 Peter 2:1-10a
(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)
(Semi-continuous Reading Plan)

Psalm 14
Denunciation of Godlessness
To the leader. Of David.
1  Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
     They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
     there is no one who does good.

2  The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind
     to see if there are any who are wise,
     who seek after God.

3  They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;
     there is no one who does good,
     no, not one.

4  Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
     who eat up my people as they eat bread,
     and do not call upon the Lord?

5  There they shall be in great terror,
     for God is with the company of the righteous.
6  You would confound the plans of the poor,
     but the Lord is their refuge.

7  O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
     When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
     Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Jeremiah 4:1-10
4:1 If you return, O Israel,

        says the Lord,
     if you return to me,
   if you remove your abominations from my presence,
     and do not waver,
2  and if you swear, “As the Lord lives!”
     in truth, in justice, and in uprightness,
   then nations shall be blessed by him,
     and by him they shall boast.

3 For thus says the Lord to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

   Break up your fallow ground,
     and do not sow among thorns.
4  Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
     remove the foreskin of your hearts,
     O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
   or else my wrath will go forth like fire,
     and burn with no one to quench it,
     because of the evil of your doings.

Invasion and Desolation of Judah Threatened
5 Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

   Blow the trumpet through the land;
     shout aloud and say,
   “Gather together, and let us go
     into the fortified cities!”
6  Raise a standard toward Zion,
     flee for safety, do not delay,
   for I am bringing evil from the north,
     and a great destruction.
7  A lion has gone up from its thicket,
     a destroyer of nations has set out;
     he has gone out from his place
   to make your land a waste;
     your cities will be ruins
     without inhabitant.
8  Because of this put on sackcloth,
     lament and wail:
   “The fierce anger of the Lord
     has not turned away from us.”

9 On that day, says the Lord, courage shall fail the king and the officials; the priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded. 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, how utterly you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ even while the sword is at the throat!”

2 Peter 2:1-10a
False Prophets and Their Punishment
2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Even so, many will follow their licentious ways, and because of these teachers the way of truth will be maligned. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

4 For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of deepest darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, even though he saved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood on a world of the ungodly; 6 and if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by their lawless deeds that he saw and heard), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment 10 —especially those who indulge their flesh in depraved lust, and who despise authority.

Optional parts of the readings are set off in [square brackets.]

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year C. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2022, we will be in Year A. The year which ended at Advent 2021 was Year B. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest on what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
If the enemy is going to deceive us he will more than likely do it through a false prophet.

The Morning Prayer for Friday, September 9, 2022

 


The Morning Prayer
Friday, September 9, 2022


Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

Lord God, we thank you that it is your will to strengthen us through your presence, through Jesus Christ, the leader of your cause, who is and remains victor among all on earth. Our souls need strength and our hearts need confidence so that in our time we can draw near to you and to your kingdom. Bless us with the Holy Spirit whenever we begin to grow weary. Your Holy Spirit can give us the strength to believe and hope, the strength to see the salvation that is coming to give joy to all the world. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Friday, September 9, 2022

 


Verse of the Day
Friday, September 9, 2022

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
In every community and church, what is most needed is for believers to be obedient to God, strong, godly, and willing to stand for what is right—no matter what sacrifice is required. When we surrender our lives to Him, the Lord works powerfully through us to transform the world for the sake of His kingdom.