Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Luke 1:68-79

Verse 68. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people. Verse 69. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, Verse 70. as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past, Verse 71. salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, Verse 72. to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, Verse 73. the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us Verse 74. deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear, Verse 75. in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. Verse 76. And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, Verse 77. to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, Verse 78. because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high, Verse 79. to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Zechariah 11:1-17

Verse 1. Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may consume your cedars! Verse 2. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down! Verse 3. Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed. Verse 4. This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter, Verse 5. whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them. Verse 6. For I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land, declares the LORD, but behold, I will cause each man to fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king, who will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from their hands.” Verse 7. So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock. Verse 8. And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me. Verse 9. Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.” Verse 10. Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. Verse 11. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD. Verse 12. Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver. Verse 13. And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”— this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Verse 14. Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. Verse 15. And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. Verse 16. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves. Verse 17. Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”

PSALM

Psalm 46

For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas,

though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge.

There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.

Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when He lifts His voice.

The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, see the works of the LORD, who brings devastation upon the earth.

He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”

The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

SECOND READING

Jeremiah 22:1-17

Verse 1. This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there, Verse 2. saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David— you and your officials and your people who enter these gates. Verse 3. This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place. Verse 4. For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses — they and their officials and their people. Verse 5. But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’” Verse 6. For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, like the summit of Lebanon; but I will surely turn you into a desert, like cities that are uninhabited. Verse 7. I will appoint destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut down the choicest of your cedars and throw them into the fire. Verse 8. And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’ Verse 9. Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’” Verse 10. Do not weep for him who is dead; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for him who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land. Verse 11. For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return, Verse 12. but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.” Verse 13. “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages, Verse 14. who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion. Verse 15. Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him. Verse 16. He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD. Verse 17. “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”

SECOND READING

1 Peter 1:3-9

Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, Verse 4. and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, Verse 5. who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Verse 6. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials Verse 7. so that the proven character of your faith — more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 8. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, Verse 9. now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.