Saturday, February 11, 2023

The Daily Lectionary for Saturday, February 11, 2023

 

The Daily Lectionary
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Psalm 119:1-8; Deuteronomy 30:1-9a; Matthew 15:1-9
(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

A Psalm and A Prayer
Responsive Readings from the Psalms and Prayers
for Public Worship and Private Devotions

Psalm 119:1-8
Happy are those who walk in the law

Beati immaculati

Happy are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!

Happy are they who observe his decrees
and seek him with all their hearts!

Who never do any wrong,
but always walk in his ways.

You laid down your commandments,
that we should fully keep them.

Oh, that my ways were made so direct
that I might keep your statutes!

Then I should not be put to shame,
when I regard all your commandments.

I will thank you with an unfeigned heart,
when I have learned your righteous judgments.

I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.

Heavenly Father, You have given us Your law that we might walk according to Your precepts and standards. You have called us to love You with our whole heart, and love our neighbors as ourselves. Indeed, we know this is the pathway to happiness and the way to enjoy eternal life now and forevermore. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ into our world to show us the depth of Your commitment to us. Help us to be likewise committed to You, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen. Now hear our prayers as You taught us to pray:
“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”

Deuteronomy 30:1-9a
God’s fidelity assured


30:1 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today. 9a Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land.

Matthew 15:1-9
God’s commandments and religious tradition


15:1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
     but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
     their teachings are merely human rules.’”

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 Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Responsive Readings from the Common Book of Prayer (1789).

The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year A. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2023, we will be in Year B. The year which ended at Advent 2022 was Year A. 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
The Daily Lectionary for Saturday, February 11, 2023
Psalm 119:1-8; Deuteronomy 30:1-9a; Matthew 15:1-9

The Morning Prayer for Saturday, February 11, 2023

 

The Morning Prayer
Saturday, February 11, 2023


But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13, NIV


Dear Father in heaven, grant your Spirit to us, your children. May something from you be revealed on earth so that divine strength and divine truth, not what is only human, are with us in all we do. Keep courage alive in our hearts even when things look dark. May powers of peace and healing be revealed through us because you are near and your kingdom is all around us. You can do all things, also things beyond our understanding. With your help we do what we are able, but we cannot do what you do. We trust in you, and we believe that through your power and your Spirit you will take possession of our whole lives and the lives of the many who sigh in their hearts for absolute truth. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Saturday, February 11, 2023

 

Verse of the Day
Saturday, February 11, 2023


1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love is not merely a feeling—it is Jesus living in and through us (John 13:34, 35; 15:9–17; 1 John 4:7–21). If we say we believe in God and are maturing in our relationship with Him, but we are not growing in our unconditional love for others, something is wrong with our walk (1 Cor. 13). This is because as Jesus increases in us and we decrease, His loving nature should intensify within us as the evidence of His lordship in our life (Gal. 5:22, 23; 2 Pet. 1:3–8).

Read all of First Corinthians Chapter 13

Listen to First Corinthians Chapter 13


Scripture from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

That The World May Know, Volume 3 | Episode 2 | My Rock and My Fortress

 

That The World May Know
My Rock and My Fortress

Volume 3 | Episode 2

The ancient land of Israel is a testimony, an evidence if you will, of the greatness of what God did in that country, a testimony to the truth of the words that we find in the pages of the Bible.

Volume 2 focuses on the birth of Jesus, his life, and his short but powerful ministry—a ministry that has shaped empires and changed the course of history.

In Episode 2, the Jews under Roman rule searched for an effective response to Hellenistic influence; our defense against corruption must be God, our masada (fortress).



Volume 3 | Episode 2 | My Rock and My Fortress