Jer. 10:1–10
10:1 You people of Israel, listen to what the Lord has to say to you.
2The Lord says:
“Do not start following pagan religious practices.
Do not be in awe of signs that occur in the sky
even though the nations hold them in awe.
3For the religion of these people is worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest,
and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.
4He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.
He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together
so that it will not fall over.
5Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They cannot talk.
They must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them
because they cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.”
6I said,
“There is no one like you, Lord.
You are great,
and you are renowned for your power.
7Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations,
because you deserve to be revered.
For there is no one like you
among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings.
8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish.
Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!
9Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish
and gold is brought from Ufaz to cover those idols.
They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths.
They are clothed in blue and purple clothes.
They are all made by skillful workers.
10The Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
When he shows his anger, the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
(NET Bible)Ps. 125
125:1 A song of ascents.
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved and will endure forever.
2As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
now and forevermore.
3Indeed, the scepter of a wicked king will not settle
upon the allotted land of the godly.
Otherwise the godly
might do what is wrong.
4Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
to the morally upright.
5As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path,
may the Lord remove them, along with those who behave wickedly.
May Israel experience peace.
(NET Bible)Acts 6:1–7
6:1 Now in those days, when the disciples were growing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables. 3But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task. 4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch. 6They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on them. 7The word of God continued to spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
(NET Bible)At the end of November the Reformer published his writing, On the Abuse of the Mass. At the beginning of this we read: “ Therefore let the unreasonable sophists, the ignorant bishops, monks, and parsons, the Pope with all his Gomorrahs know that we were not baptized in the name of Augustine, Bernard, Gregory, Peter or Paul, nor yet in the name of those from Paris but only in the name of Jesus Christ. Him only, and Him not otherwise than crucified, and no other do we acknowledge as our Master. Paul does not desire that we should believe him or an angel, unless Christ lives and speaks in him. … The saints were subject to error in their writings and to sin in their lives; Scripture cannot err.” Again, “It is not the Word of God because the Church says so, but because God’s Word said so, therefore is the Church. The Church does not make the Word but is made by the Word.” (22)
–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.