Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

2 Samuel 7:1-14a

Verse 1. After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, Verse 2. he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” Verse 3. And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.” Verse 4. But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, Verse 5. “Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build for Me a house to dwell in? Verse 6. For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling. Verse 7. In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’ Verse 8. Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel. Verse 9. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like that of the greatest in the land. Verse 10. And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more. No longer will the sons of wickedness oppress them as they did at the beginning Verse 11. and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you. Verse 12. And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. Verse 13. He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Verse 14. I will be his Father, and he will be My son.

PSALM

Psalm 89:20-37

I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

My hand will sustain him; surely My arm will strengthen him.

No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.

I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.

My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him, and through My name his horn will be exalted.

I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand upon the rivers.

He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’

I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast.

I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.

If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments,

if they violate My statutes and fail to keep My commandments,

I will attend to their transgression with the rod, and to their iniquity with stripes.

But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness.

I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.

Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness — I will not lie to David —

his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun,

like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.”

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Verse 1. “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Verse 2. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD. Verse 3. Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply. Verse 4. I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD. Verse 5. Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. Verse 6. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.

PSALM

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

SECOND READING

Ephesians 2:11-22

Verse 11. Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands) — Verse 12. remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. Verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Verse 14. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility Verse 15. by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace Verse 16. and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. Verse 17. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. Verse 18. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Verse 19. Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, Verse 20. built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. Verse 21. In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Verse 22. And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.

GOSPEL

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Verse 30. Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. Verse 31. And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. Verse 32. So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place. Verse 33. But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them. Verse 34. When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things. Verse 53. When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and moored the boat. Verse 54. As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus Verse 55. and ran through that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was. Verse 56. And wherever He went — villages and towns and countrysides — they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.