Open Word

FIRST READING

Isaiah 60:15-22

Verse 15. Whereas you have been forsaken and despised, with no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, a joy from age to age. Verse 16. You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breasts of royalty; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Verse 17. Instead of bronze I will bring you gold; I will bring silver in place of iron, bronze instead of wood, and iron instead of stones. I will appoint peace as your governor and righteousness as your ruler. Verse 18. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. Verse 19. No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor. Verse 20. Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease. Verse 21. Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified. Verse 22. The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will accomplish it quickly.

PSALM

Psalm 107:1-16

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy

and gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to a city in which to dwell.

They were hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.

He led them on a straight path to reach a city where they could live.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.

For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,

because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.

He humbled their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.

For He has broken down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

SECOND READING

John 8:12-20

Verse 12. Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” Verse 13. So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not valid.” Verse 14. Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going. Verse 15. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Verse 16. But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone; I am with the Father who sent Me. Verse 17. Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. Verse 18. I am One who testifies about Myself, and the Father, who sent Me, also testifies about Me.” Verse 19. “Where is Your Father?” they asked Him. “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.” Verse 20. He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.