Preparing for the Seventeenth
Sunday after Pentecost
Year B

Daily Readings for Thursday
September 12, 2024

Prayer

Wisdom of God, 

from the street corners and at the entrances to the city 

you proclaim the way of life and of death. 

Grant us the wisdom to recognize your Messiah, 

that following in the way of the cross, 

we may know the way of life and glory. Amen.

 

Psalm 19

God’s statutes rejoice the heart

 

The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours forth speech,

and night to night declares knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words;

their voice is not heard;

yet their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,

which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,

and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them;

and nothing is hid from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the decrees of the Lord are sure,

making wise the simple;

the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is clear,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the Lord are true

and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey,

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

But who can detect their errors?

Clear me from hidden faults.

Keep back your servant also from the insolent;

do not let them have dominion over me.

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

 

Proverbs 15:1-17

God sees everything

 

A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise dispenses knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good.

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

A fool despises a parent’s instruction,

but the one who heeds admonition is prudent.

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the minds of fools.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but he loves the one who pursues righteousness.

There is severe discipline for one who forsakes the way,

but one who hates a rebuke will die.

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord,

how much more human hearts!

Scoffers do not like to be rebuked;

they will not go to the wise.

A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance,

but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.

The mind of one who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

All the days of the poor are hard,

but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord

than great treasure and trouble with it.

Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is

than a fatted ox and hatred with it.

 

Hebrews 11:17-22

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob act on faith

 

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.” By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.

 

 

Prayer

Through suffering and rejection, O God, 

you bring forth our salvation, 

for in Jesus you embrace our humanity 

and transform our lives by the glory of his cross. 

Grant that for the sake of the gospel 

we may rebuke the lure of this world, 

take up our cross, 

and follow your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Psalm 116:1-9

I will walk in God’s presence

 

I love the Lord, because he has heard

my voice and my supplications.

Because he inclined his ear to me,

therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

The snares of death encompassed me;

the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;

I suffered distress and anguish.

Then I called on the name of the Lord:

“O Lord, I pray, save my life!”

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

our God is merciful.

The Lord protects the simple;

when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return, O my soul, to your rest,

for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling.

I walk before the Lord

in the land of the living.

 

Joshua 2:1-14

Rahab shelters Joshua’s spies

 

Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there. The king of Jericho was told, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land.” But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.” She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

 

Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” The men said to her, “Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.”

 

Hebrews 11:17-22

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob act on faith

 

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.” By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.

 

 

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Prayer reprinted from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts. Reproduced by permission.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress. Reproduced by permission. No further reproduction allowed without the written permission of Augsburg Fortress.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


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