Luke 1:1-4 (NRSV)

That you may know the truth

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.

Isaiah 33:17-22 (NRSV)
Our God rules

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
they will behold a land that stretches far away.
Your mind will muse on the terror:
"Where is the one who counted?
Where is the one who weighed the tribute?
Where is the one who counted the towers?"
No longer will you see the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend, stammering in a language that you cannot understand.
Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a quiet habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be pulled up,
and none of whose ropes will be broken.
But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor stately ship can pass.
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler,
the Lord is our king; he will save us.

zlukr 23;33-43 (NRSV)

11/25/2007

Christ the King

Jesus crucified with two thieves

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God,
his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour
wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was
also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Areyou not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying,
"Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deservefor our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you,today you will be with me in Paradise."

Psalm 46 (NRSV)

11/24/2007

The God of Jacob is our stronghold

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth."
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah

1 Peter 1:3-9 (NRSV)

11/23/2007

An imperishable inheritance

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he
has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith - being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and
honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love
him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice
with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Hebrews 9:23-28 (NRSV)

11/22/2007

Christ has appeared once for all

Thus it was necessary for the sketches of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices than
these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy
of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high
priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the
world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear
the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to
save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Matthew 23:37-24:14 (NRSV)

11/21/2007

The last things

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say. 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"


As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to
point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah!' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you arenot alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

"Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you
will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away,and
they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the
love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.