Sunday A B C, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Themes:
Jeremiah: His fears and his courage
Romans: Sin and Death; Adam and Christ
Matthew:
Fears and Judgment Day
Jeremiah 20:10-13 -
oracles against
Jeremiah
is in danger
"I hear the whisperings of many: `Terror on every
side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!'
Danger
even from his friends
“All those who were my friends are on the watch for any
misstep of mine.”
Prayer
for Vengeance
O Lord of hosts, You who test the just, Who probe mind and
heart,
let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to You I have entrusted my cause.
A
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord,
for has rescued the life bf the poor from the power of the
wicked!"
Romans 5:12-15 -
Original
Sin and its effects
Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin,
death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned,
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
Adam
and Christ
For if by the transgression of the one the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the One man Jesus Christ overflow
for the many.
Matthew 10:26-33 - instructions to the Apostles for their mission
No
reason to fear anyone
“Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret
that will not be known.”
Accept
God
“And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot
kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and
body in Gehenna.”
God’s
Providence
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's
knowledge.
The
Judgment
“Everyone who acknowledges Me before others I,
will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies Me before others, I will deny before My
heavenly Father."
Questions
Jeremiah: Who was Jeremiah? How was he like Christ? How did he face danger? Historically, what was the danger?
Romans: Who was the “one man”? How did death enter the world? Why did it, and what is the “death” that Saint Paul is referring to? What is original sin? Who was Adam? Who was Moses? What does “type of the One Who was to come” mean? How are Christ and Adam compared?
Matthew: Why is Jesus talking about fear? Why should the Apostles not fear? Whom should them fear? What is “Gehenna”? Who is God’s care for His creatures illustrated? Compare “fear” with “love”.
Petitions
Jeremiah: That we always trust in the ultimate justice of God, we pray to the Lord.
Romans: That we
appreciate “the gracious gift of God” because of which we now live, we pray to
the Lord.
Matthew: That we fear only the displease of God, we pray to the Lord.
Job 38:1,8-11: Lord of Creation
The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said:
Who shut within doors the sea,
when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its
swaddling bands,
when I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door,
and said: thus far shall you come but no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stilled!
2 Corinthians 5:14-17: A New Creation
The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the
conviction that One died for all.
Therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him
Who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the
flesh.
Even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now
we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation.
The old things have passed away. Behold, new things have come.
Mark
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to His
disciples:
"Let us cross to the other side."
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat
just as He was,
and other boats were with him.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the
boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke Him and said to Him,
"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!"
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then He asked them,
"Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?"
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
"Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"
Year
1
Genesis
12:1-9 - The Patriarch Abraham (11:27-25,
18)
(c. 1800-1700 B.C.: From Ur
to the Negeb)
The
Call of Abram
"Go forth from the
land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show
you."
Year 2
2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18 - “Assyria” conquers
“Samaria” and deports its people
Why
This came about because the children of Israel sinned
against the Lord, their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt,
from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and because they venerated
other gods. They followed the rites of
the nations…
They
were warned
And though the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every
prophet and seer…
Judah:
“Only the tribe of Judah was left.”
Matthew 7:1-5 -
Sermon on the Mount
Judging others
"Stop judging that you may not be judged,
for the measure, with which you measure , will be measured out to you
Hypocrisy
"Why do you notice the splinter in your
brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
Year
1
Genesis 13: 2, 5-18
The Plains of Jordan
Abram and Lot separate
"Thus they separated
from each other. Abram stayed in the
land of Canaan, while Lot settle among the cities of the Plain, pitching his
tent near Sodom."
The Covenant
"I will make your
descendents like the dust of the earth."
Year 2
2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
Hezekiah, King of Juda prays for salvation
“O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned upon the
cherubim! You alone are God over all the
kingdoms of the earth. You have made the
heavens and the earth. Incline your ear,
O Lord, and listen!”
“Therefore, O Lord, our God, save us from the
power of this man, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone,
O Lord, are God.”
God
answers through Amoz
“‘She (Juda-Jerusalem)
despises you, laughs you to scorn, the virgin daughter Zion!”
“‘For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and
from Mount Zion, survivors. The zeal of
the Lord of hosts shall do this.’
“Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall return by the same way he came,
without entering the city, says the Lord.
I will shield and save this city for My own sake, and for the sake of my
servant David.’ “
Matthew 7: 6, 12-14 - Sermon on the Mount
Dogs, gates and roads
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw
your pearls before swine..."
Do to other whatever you would have them do to
you."
Enter the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and
the road broad that leads to destruction, and those that enter through it are
many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that
leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Year
1
Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18
- the Plains of
Jordan
The faith of Abraham, and
God’s Covenant with him.
"He took him outside
and said: 'Look up at the sky and count the
stars, if you can. Just so...shall your
descendants be.'
Abram put his faith in the
Lord, Who credited it to him as an act of righteousness."
Year 2
2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3
Hilkiah
finds the Law & the king hears it
“I have found
the book of the law in the temple of the Lord.”
“When the king heard the contents of the book of
the law, he tore his garments and issued this command …
“Go,
consult the Lord for me, for the people, for all Judah, about the stipulations
of this book that has been found, for the anger of the Lord has been set
furiously ablaze against us, because our fathers did not obey the stipulations
of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations.”
A Covenant
“Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before
the Lord that they would follow him and observe his ordinances, statutes and
decrees with their whole hearts and souls, thus reviving the terms of the
covenant which were written in this book.
And all the people stood as participants in the covenant.”
Matthew 7: 15-20
- Sermon on the Mount
False prophets
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you
in sheep's clothing."
Judging by its fruits
"So by their fruits you will know
them."
Year
1
Theme:
Genesis: The family of
Abram
2 Kings: Crisis and
scandal in Israel
Matthew: When prayer
don’t work; The authority of Jesus
Genesis 16: 1-12. 15-16
Background: Abram and Sarai; Hagar and Ismael
God’s promise to Abram could not be fulfilled
without a son, but Abram and his wife Sarai
are too old to have a son, and so, as then permitted, he bears a son by a
concubine, Hagar, his wife’s servant, and Ishmael is born but
then a ugly situation which results in both Hagar and Ishmael being exiled into
the desert. However, God intervenes, to
save them, and says he will be like a strong wild animal.
[The
short version is probably the best choice]
Genesis 16: 6b-12, 15-16
"Hagar
bore Abram a son, and Abram named the son, whom Hagar bore him, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when bore him Ishmael."
Year
2
2 Kings 24:8-17 - Johoiachin’s
reign: short, evil, & disastrous; Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon conquers Judah & deports all but the poor
The Remnand
“None were left among the people of the land except the
poor.”
Matthew 7: 21-29 - Sermon on the Mount
Prayers that are answered & those that are not. The authority of Jesus in teaching.
Surprise Rejection
"Not everyone who says to Me "Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only
the one who does the will of My Father in heaven."
The Strength of the Obedient
"Anyone who hears My words and puts them
into practice is like the wise man who built his house on rock.
Teaching with Authority
"When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having
authority, and not as their scribes.”
Questions:
Genesis: Who was Abram? Who was Sarai? Who was Hagar? Who was Ishmael? Is not having a concubine sinful? Is it not wrong to mistreat a servant? How did God intervene in this family
dispute? What does the phrase “wild ass
of a man” means? How has this prophesy
been fulfilled?
2 Kings: Who was Jehoiachin? Nehusta? Elnathan? Nebuchadnezzar? Solomon?
Who was Mattaniah? Who was Zedekiah?
Matthew: Why would Jesus deny knowing people who even
performed miracles in His name? What is
the rock that Jesus was talking about?
Why did the crowds like to listen to Jesus? How can this be applied to His Church today?
Petitions:
Genesis: That God intervene in world and family
disputes, we pray to the Lord.
2 Kings: That the poor trust in God, we pray to the
Lord.
Matthew: That obedience be the foundation of our
prayers, we pray to the Lord.
Year
1
Genesis 17: 1. 9-10. 15-22
The Sign of Allegiance to
the Covenant: Circumcision
"I am God the
Almighty. Walk in My presence and be
blameless. ...On your part , you and
your descendants after you must keep My covenant throughout the ages.
This is My covenant ...
that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised."
Sarai/Sarah
and Isaac
"I will bless her,
and I will give you a son by her. Him
also will I bless. He shall give rise to
nations, and rulers of peoples shall issue from him."
Hagar & Ishmael
"He shall become
the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation."
Year 2
2 Kings 25:1-12 - Zedekiah also is attacked by
Nebuchadnezzar and his ”Chaldeans”, and deportation
leaves only some poor.
“He burned the house of the Lord, the palace of the king,
and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every
large building was destroyed by fire.”
Then the Chaldean troops who
were with the captain of the guard tore down the walls that surrounded
Jerusalem.”
Matthew 8: 1-4 - Early Galilean Ministry
A leper’s simple prayer and a simple answer..
"Lord, if You wish, you can make me
clean." [...] "I will do it. Be made clean."
Questions:
Genesis: Abram?
What did God say to Abram about the future of his family? Why was “Sarai” changed to “Sarah”?
What was her attitude concerning having a child?
2 Kings: Who was Zedekiah? Who was Nebuchadnezzar? Babylon? Jerusalem? Arabah? Chaldeans? Jericho?
Riblah?
Nebuzaradan?
“The House of the Lord”?
Matthew: What was the prayer of the leper? How was it received?
Petitions:
Genesis: That we always trust the promises of God, we
pray to the Lord.
2 Kings: That we never despair of God’s providence,
we pray to the Lord.
Matthew: That we be cleaned of our sins, we pray to
the Lord.
Year
1
Genesis 18: 1-15
By the Terebinths
of Mamre
Abraham welcomes three men.
"I will surely
return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son."
Year 2
Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19 - commentary
“To what can I liken or compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I show you for your comfort,
virgin daughter Zion? For great as the
sea is your downfall. Who can heal you?
Your prophets had for you false and specious visions. They did not lay bare your guilt, to avert
your fate. They beheld for you in vision
false and misleading portents.
Cry out to the Lord.
Moan, O daughter Zion! Let your
tears flow like a torrent day and night.
Let there be no respite for you, no repose for your eyes. Rise up, shrill in the night, at the
beginning of every watch. Pour out your
heart like water in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your little ones Who faint
from hunger at the corner of every street.”
Matthew 8: 5-17 - Early Galilean Ministry
The Centurion’s son Cured in
distancia,
"Lord, I am not worthy to
have You enter under My roof. Only say
the word and my servant will be healed."
Peter’s mother-in-law also cured,
and many others.
"Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his
mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and
waited on Him. When it was evening, they
brought Him many who were possessed by demons, and He drove out the spirit by a
word and cured all the sick..."