Advent 1. Luke 1:26-33 Dec 5th 2013

Luke 1: 26-33 - The Annunciation.  

During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin girl who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary.  The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord is with you; you are very special to him.”

 But Mary was very confused about what the angel said. She wondered, “What does this mean?”

 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is very pleased with you.  Listen! You will become pregnant and have a baby boy. You will name him Jesus.  He will be great. People will call him the Son of the Most High God, and the Lord God will make him king like his ancestor David.  He will rule over the people of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.

John 15:4-5 November 28th 2013

John 15:4-5

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

Jeremiah 18:1-6 - Nov 7th 2013

Jeremiah 18:1-6

 (ERV)

18 This is the message that came to Jeremiah from God: ² “Jeremiah, go down to the potter’s house. I will give you my message there.”

³ So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working with clay at the wheel. ⁴ He was making a pot from clay. But there was something wrong with the pot. So the potter used that clay to make another pot. With his hands he shaped the pot the way he wanted it to be.

⁵ Then this message from God came to me: ⁶ “Family of Israel, you know that I can do the same thing with you. You are like the clay in the potter’s hands, and I am the potter.” This message is from God.

James 5:7-8, October 10th

James 5:7-8

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

⁷ Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 

Isaiah 26:2-4, Oct 3rd

Isaiah 26:2-4

 (ERV)

² Open the gates for the good people to enter.
    They are the God’s faithful followers.

³ God, you give true peace
    to people who depend on you,
    to those who trust in you.

⁴ So trust the Lord always,
    because in the Lord you have a place of safety forever.

Matthew 5:14 -16, Sept 26th

Matthew 5:14-16

The Voice (VOICE)

¹⁴ And you, beloved, are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Similarly it would be silly to light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl. When someone lights a lamp, she puts it on a table or a desk or a chair, and the light illumines the entire house.¹⁶ You are like that illuminating light. Let your light shine everywhere you go, that you may illumine creation, so men and women everywhere may see your good actions, may see creation at its fullest, may see your devotion to Me, and may turn and praise your Father in heaven because of it.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Psalm 139: 1-6, 23; Sept 19th

Psalm 139:1-6, 23

New International Version (NIV)

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain. ...

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.