Amos 9:11–15
9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut of David.
I will seal its gaps,
repair its ruins,
and restore it to what it was like in days gone by.
12As a result they will conquer those left in Edom
and all the nations subject to my rule.”
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking.
13“Be sure of this, the time is coming,” says the Lord,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper,
and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter.
Juice will run down the slopes;
it will flow down all the hillsides.
14I will bring back my people, Israel;
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce;
they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce.
15I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
(NET Bible)Ps. 99
99:1 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble.
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;
the earth shakes.
2The Lord is elevated in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He is holy!
4The king is strong;
he loves justice.
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly;
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
5Praise the Lord our God.
Worship before his footstool.
He is holy!
6Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel was one of those who prayed to him.
They prayed to the Lord and he answered them.
7He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud;
they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.
8O Lord our God, you answered them.
They found you to be a forgiving God,
but also one who punished their sinful deeds.
9Praise the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.
(NET Bible)Mark 5:21–43
5:21 When Jesus had crossed again in a boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea. 22Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came up, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He asked him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.” 24Jesus went with him, and a large crowd followed and pressed around him.
25Now a woman was there who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years. 26She had endured a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28for she kept saying, “If only I touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29At once the bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30Jesus knew at once that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you and you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32But he looked around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house saying, “Your daughter has died. Why trouble the teacher any longer?” 36But Jesus, paying no attention to what was said, told the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; just believe.” 37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38They came to the house of the synagogue leader where he saw noisy confusion and people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he entered he said to them, “Why are you distressed and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep!” 40And they began making fun of him. But he forced them all outside, and he took the child’s father and mother and his own companions and went into the room where the child was. 41Then, gently taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up.” 42The girl got up at once and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). They were completely astonished at this. 43He strictly ordered that no one should know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
(NET Bible)
Even in the introduction [to his lectures on Galatians delivered between 1535 and 1545] Luther discussed how the six days of creation are to be understood. He recalls that Hilary and Augustine, these two great lights of the church, were of the opinion that the world was created suddenly and not gradually in the course of six days. Then he opposes this view and writes: “Because we are not sufficiently able to understand how these days occurred nor why God wished to observe such distinctions of times, we shall rather admit our ignorance than attempt to twist the words unnecessarily into an unnatural meaning. As far, therefore, as St. Augustine’s opinion is concerned, we hold that Moses spoke literally not allegorically or figuratively, that is, the world and all its creatures was created within the six days as the words declare. Because we are not able to comprehend we shall remain disciples and leave the instructorship to the Holy Ghost.” (51)
–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures
This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.