I gave you a land on which you had not laboured, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. From Joshua 24:1-13, NRSV Joshua was by now an old man, and when he knew that his death…
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The Lord said to Joshua, ‘This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. From Joshua 3:11,13-17, NRSV After Moses’ death the mantle of the leadership of Israel passed to Joshua. In today’s reading we hear…
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Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unequalled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays…
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A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven…
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So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your…
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The Lord was not in the wind; … the Lord was not in the earthquake; … the Lord was not in the fire; … and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. From 1 Kings 19: 9, 11-13 (NRSV) This extract is taken from an account of the experience of Elijah in the Sinai…
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Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. From Deuteronomy 6:4-13, NRSV The opening words from today’s Old Testament reading form the words of the Shema…
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So acknowledge today and take to heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Keep his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding you today for your own well-being and that of your descendants after you, so that you may long remain in the land that the Lord…
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The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. From 2 Corinthians 9:6-10, NRSV Paul appealed to the…
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On that day, says the Lord, you will call me, ‘My husband’, and no longer will you call me, ‘My Baal’. For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more. From Hosea 2:16,17,21-22, NRSV Like many of the prophets, Hosea did not have an…
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