But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here!’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them.. Apocalypse…
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Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, ‘Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.’ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said…
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When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sing a new song:‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,for you were slaughtered and by…
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Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the…
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‘Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.’ . Apocalypse 3: 1-6, 14-22, NRSV In today’s reading from the Book of Revelation, there are strongly worded messages of reprimand for the churches of Sardis and Laodicea. In the case of Sardis, the criticism is that they now…
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‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that…
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She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates. Proverbs 31:10-13,19-20,30-31RSV At first glance, this reading may…
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I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is…
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For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and…
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Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that…
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