Home > Reading > Daily Reading – November 28, 2019

Is. 1:1–17

1:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah.

2Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth!

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, I brought them up,

but they have rebelled against me!

3An ox recognizes its owner,

a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food;

but Israel does not recognize me,

my people do not understand.”

4 Beware sinful nation,

the people weighed down by evil deeds.

They are offspring who do wrong,

children who do wicked things.

They have abandoned the Lord,

and rejected the Holy One of Israel.

They are alienated from him.

5 Why do you insist on being battered?

Why do you continue to rebel?

Your head has a massive wound,

your whole heart is sick.

6From the soles of your feet to your head,

there is no spot that is unharmed.

There are only bruises, cuts,

and open wounds.

They have not been cleansed or bandaged,

nor have they been treated with olive oil.

7Your land is devastated,

your cities burned with fire.

Right before your eyes your crops

are being destroyed by foreign invaders.

They leave behind devastation and destruction.

8Daughter Zion is left isolated,

like a hut in a vineyard

or a shelter in a cucumber field;

she is a besieged city.

9If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not left us a few survivors,

we would have quickly been like Sodom,

we would have become like Gomorrah.

10Listen to the Lord’s message,

you leaders of Sodom!

Pay attention to our God’s rebuke,

people of Gomorrah!

11“Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?”

says the Lord.

“I have had my fill of burnt sacrifices,

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want.

12When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this—

animals trampling on my courtyards?

13Do not bring any more meaningless offerings;

I consider your incense detestable!

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations!

14I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;

they are a burden

that I am tired of carrying.

15When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way;

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen

because your hands are covered with blood.

16 Wash! Cleanse yourselves!

Remove your sinful deeds

from my sight.

Stop sinning.

17Learn to do what is right.

Promote justice.

Give the oppressed reason to celebrate.

Take up the cause of the orphan.

Defend the rights of the widow.

(NET Bible)

Ps. 121

121:1 A song of ascents.

I look up toward the hills.

From where does my help come?

2My help comes from the Lord,

the Creator of heaven and earth.

3May he not allow your foot to slip.

May your Protector not sleep.

4Look! Israel’s Protector

does not sleep or slumber.

5The Lord is your protector;

the Lord is the shade at your right hand.

6The sun will not harm you by day,

or the moon by night.

7The Lord will protect you from all harm;

he will protect your life.

8The Lord will protect you in all you do,

now and forevermore.

(NET Bible)

1 Cor. 11:17–34

11:17 Now in giving the following instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18For in the first place, when you come together as a church I hear there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19For there must in fact be divisions among you, so that those of you who are approved may be evident. 20Now when you come together at the same place, you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper. 21For when it is time to eat, everyone proceeds with his own supper. One is hungry and another becomes drunk. 22Do you not have houses so that you can eat and drink? Or are you trying to show contempt for the church of God by shaming those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I will not praise you for this!

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, 24and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

27For this reason, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28A person should examine himself first, and in this way let him eat the bread and drink of the cup. 29For the one who eats and drinks without careful regard for the body eats and drinks judgment against himself. 30That is why many of you are weak and sick, and quite a few are dead. 31But if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged. 32But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned with the world. 33So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you assemble it does not lead to judgment. I will give directions about other matters when I come.

(NET Bible)

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

[Luther writes]: “The meaning of the prophet is that Christ uses no other power against the world than only the Word of God, as we daily see that he acts against the sin, the sinner, and the devil with nothing but the Word, and yet by means of the Word he has converted and subjected the whole world and till the last day his own will defend themselves against all temptation with the Word and defeat all the attempts of devil, esh and world.” —Compare Luther’s words to Spalatin of 1521 over against Hutten’s oveer to defend the gospel by the sword … Through the Word the world has been conquered, the church was preserved, through the Word it will also be renewed; but the anti-Christ also, as he began without external power (manu), will also be destroyed without external power, through the Word.” (75)

–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.

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