Thursday - September 28th 2023
Genesis 3:1-21
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The First Sin and Its Punishment
3Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God say, You shall not eat from any tree in the garden? 2The woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die. 4But the serpent said to the woman, You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,* knowing good and evil. 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?
10He said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?
12The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.
13Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent tricked me, and I ate.
14The Lord God said to the serpent,
Because you have done this,
cursed are you among all animals
and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
16To the woman he said,
I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children,
yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.
17And to the man* he said,
Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,
and have eaten of the tree
about which I commanded you,
You shall not eat of it,
cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.
20 The man named his wife Eve,* because she was the mother of all who live. 21And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man* and for his wife, and clothed them.
Monday - September 25th 2023
Genesis 1:1-13
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Genesis
Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath
1In the beginning when God created* the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God* swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
Sunday - September 24th 2023
Matthew 20:1-16
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The Labourers in the Vineyard
20For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard.
2After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage,* he sent them into his vineyard.
3When he went out about nine oclock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place;
4and he said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. So they went.
5When he went out again about noon and about three oclock, he did the same.
6And about five oclock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, Why are you standing here idle all day?
7They said to him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You also go into the vineyard.
8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.
9When those hired about five oclock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.*
10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.*
11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner,
12saying, These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.
13But he replied to one of them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?*
14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.
15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?*
16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.*
Saturday - September 23rd 2023
2 Peter 3:14-18
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Final Exhortation and Doxology
14 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; 15and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, 16speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. 17You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.*
Friday - September 22nd 2023
2 Peter 3:8-13
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8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,* not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.*
11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, 12waiting for and hastening* the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? 13But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
Thursday - September 21st 2023
Matthew 9:9-13
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The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, Follow me. And he got up and followed him.
10 And as he sat at dinner* in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting* with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners? 12But when he heard this, he said, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.
Wednesday - September 20th 2023
2 Peter 3:1-7
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The Promise of the Lords Coming
3This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you 2that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken through your apostles. 3First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts 4and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died,* all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation! 5They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, 6through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. 7But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the godless.