An article on the Creative Gift Fund of the Presbyterian Foundation features John and Marcia Porter from First, Kingsport.  Marcia, who has worked closely with the Foundation for many years, also serves as a Trustee of Holston Presbytery. John most recently served on the presbytery’s Administration & Planning Committee.

Read the story here.

• Daily Lectionary Readings for May 17, 2012
  

  Morning Psalm 47

  ¹   Clap your hands, all you peoples;
  
            shout to God with loud songs of joy.
  
  ²   For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome,
  
            a great king over all the earth.
  
  ³   He subdued peoples under us,
  
            and nations under our feet.
  
  ⁴   He chose our heritage for us,
  
            the pride of Jacob whom he loves.                    Selah

  ⁵   God has gone up with a shout,
  
            the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
  
  ⁶   Sing praises to God, sing praises;
  
            sing praises to our King, sing praises.
  
  ⁷   For God is the king of all the earth;
  
            sing praises with a psalm.

  ⁸   God is king over the nations;
  
            God sits on his holy throne.
  
  ⁹   The princes of the peoples gather
  
            as the people of the God of Abraham.
  
       For the shields of the earth belong to God;
  
            he is highly exalted.

  Morning Psalm 147:12-20

  ¹²  Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
  
            Praise your God, O Zion!
  
  ¹³  For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
  
            he blesses your children within you.
  
  ¹⁴  He grants peace within your borders;
  
            he fills you with the finest of wheat.
  
  ¹⁵  He sends out his command to the earth;
  
            his word runs swiftly.
  
  ¹⁶  He gives snow like wool;
  
            he scatters frost like ashes.
  
  ¹⁷  He hurls down hail like crumbs —
  
            who can stand before his cold?
  
  ¹⁸  He sends out his word, and melts them;
  
            he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
  
  ¹⁹  He declares his word to Jacob,
  
            his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
  
  ²⁰  He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
  
            they do not know his ordinances.
  
       Praise the Lord!

  First Reading Daniel 7:9-14

  ⁹As I watched, thrones
  were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne,
  his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head
  like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its
  wheels were burning fire. ¹⁰A stream of fire issued and
  flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousands served
  him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending
  him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were
  opened. ¹¹I watched
  then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the
  horn was speaking. And as I watched, the beast was put to
  death, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned
  with fire. ¹²As for the
  rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but
  their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
  ¹³As I watched in the
  night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with
  the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and
  was presented before him. ¹⁴To him was given dominion and
  glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and
  languages should serve him. His dominion is an
  everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his
  kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.

  Second Reading Hebrews 2:5-18

  ⁵Now God did not
  subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to
  angels. ⁶But someone
  has testified somewhere, “What are human beings that
  you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for
  them? ⁷You have made
  them for a little while lower than the angels; you have
  crowned them with glory and honor, ⁸subjecting all things under their
  feet.” Now in subjecting all things to them, God
  left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not
  yet see everything in subjection to them, ⁹but we do see Jesus, who for a
  little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned
  with glory and honor because of the suffering of death,
  so that by the grace of God he might taste death for
  everyone.

  ¹⁰It was fitting that
  God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in
  bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer
  of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
  ¹¹For the one who
  sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one
  Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them
  brothers and sisters, ¹²saying, “I will proclaim
  your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the
  congregation I will praise you.” ¹³And again, “I will put my
  trust in him.” And again, “Here am I and the
  children whom God has given me.”

  ¹⁴Since, therefore, the
  children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise
  shared the same things, so that through death he might
  destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the
  devil, ¹⁵and free those
  who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of
  death. ¹⁶For it is
  clear that he did not come to help angels, but the
  descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore he had to become like
  his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he
  might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the
  service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the
  sins of the people. ¹⁸Because he himself was tested by
  what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being
  tested.

  Gospel Matthew 28:16-20

  ¹⁶Now the eleven
  disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus
  had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped
  him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them,
  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given
  to me. ¹⁹Go therefore
  and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
  name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
  ²⁰and teaching them to
  obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember,
  I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

  Evening Psalm 68

  ¹   Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
  
            let those who hate him flee before him.
  
  ²   As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
  
            as wax melts before the fire,
  
            let the wicked perish before God.
  
  ³   But let the righteous be joyful;
  
            let them exult before God;
  
            let them be jubilant with joy.

  ⁴   Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
  
            lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds —
  
       his name is the LORD —
            be exultant before him.

  ⁵   Father of orphans and protector of widows
  
            is God in his holy habitation.
  
  ⁶   God gives the desolate a home to live in;
  
            he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
  
            but the rebellious live in a parched land.

  ⁷   O God, when you went out before your people,
  
            when you marched through the wilderness                          Selah
  
  ⁸   the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
  
            at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
  
            at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
  
  ⁹   Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
  
            you restored your heritage when it languished;
  
  ¹⁰  your flock found a dwelling in it;
  
            in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

  ¹¹  The Lord gives the command;
  
            great is the company of those who bore the tidings
  
  ¹²       “The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!”
  
       The women at home divide the spoil,
  
  ¹³       though they stay among the sheepfolds —
  
       the wings of a dove covered with silver,
  
            its pinions with green gold.
  
  ¹⁴  When the Almighty scattered kings there,
  
            snow fell on Zalmon.

  ¹⁵  O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
  
            O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
  
  ¹⁶  Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
  
            at the mount that God desired for his abode,
  
            where the LORD will reside for ever?

  ¹⁷  With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
  
            thousands upon thousands,
  
            the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
  
  ¹⁸  You ascended the high mount,
  
            leading captives in your train
  
            and receiving gifts from people,
  
       even from those who rebel against the LORD God’s biding there.
  
  ¹⁹  Blessed be the Lord,
  
            who daily bears us up;
  
            God is our salvation.                                                                        Selah
  ²⁰  Our God is a God of salvation,
  
            and to GOD, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

  ²¹  But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
  
            the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.
  
  ²²  The Lord said,
  
            “I will bring them back from Bashan,
  
       I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
  
  ²³  so that you may bathe your feet in blood,
  
            so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.”

  ²⁴  Your solemn processions are seen, O God,
  
            the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary —
  
  ²⁵  the singers in front, the musicians last,
  
            between them girls playing tambourines:

  ²⁶  “Bless God in the great congregation,
  
            the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
  
  ²⁷  There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
  
            the princes of Judah in a body,
  
            the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

  ²⁸  Summon your might, O God;
  
            show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
  
  ²⁹  Because of your temple at Jerusalem
  
            kings bear gifts to you.
  
  ³⁰  Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
  
            the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
  
       Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
  
            scatter the peoples who delight in war.
  
  ³¹  Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
  
            let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God.

  ³²  Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
  
            sing praises to the Lord,                                                                   Selah
  
  ³³  O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
  
            listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
  
  ³⁴  Ascribe power to God,
  
            whose majesty is over Israel;
  
            and whose power is in the skies.
  
  ³⁵  Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
  
            the God of Israel;
  
            he gives power and strength to his people.

       Blessed be God!

  Evening Psalm 113

  ¹   Praise the LORD!
  
       Praise, O servants of the LORD;
  
            praise the name of the LORD.

  ²   Blessed be the name of the LORD
  
            from this time on and forevermore.
  
  ³   From the rising of the sun to its setting
  
            the name of the LORD is to be praised.
  
  ⁴   The LORD is high above all nations,
  
            and his glory above the heavens.

  ⁵   Who is like the LORD our God,
  
            who is seated on high,
  
  ⁶   who looks far down
  
            on the heavens and the earth?

  ⁷   He raises the poor from the dust,
  
            and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
  
  ⁸   to make them sit with princes,
  
            with the princes of his people.
  
  ⁹   He gives the barren woman a home,
  
            making her the joyous mother of children.
  
       Praise the LORD!

• Daily Lectionary Readings for May 16, 2012
  

  Morning Psalm 99

  ¹   The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!
  
            He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
  
  ²   The LORD is great in Zion;
  
            he is exalted over all the peoples.
  
  ³   Let them praise your great and awesome name.
  
            Holy is he!
  
  ⁴   Mighty King, lover of justice,
  
            you have established equity;
  
       you have executed justice
  
            and righteousness in Jacob.
  
  ⁵   Extol the LORD our God;
  
            worship at his footstool.
  
            Holy is he!

  ⁶   Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
  
            Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
  
            They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.
  
  ⁷   He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
  
            they kept his decrees,
  
            and the statutes that he gave them.

  ⁸   O LORD our God, you answered them;
  
            you were a forgiving God to them,
  
            but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
  
  ⁹   Extol the LORD our God,
  
            and worship at his holy mountain;
  
            for the LORD our God is holy.

  Morning Psalm 147:1-11

  ¹   Praise the Lord!
  
            How good it is to sing praises to our God;
  
            for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
  
  ²   The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
  
            he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
  
  ³   He heals the brokenhearted,
  
            and binds up their wounds.
  
  ⁴   He determines the number of the stars;
  
            he gives to all of them their names.
  
  ⁵   Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
  
            his understanding is beyond measure.
  
  ⁶   The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
  
            he casts the wicked to the ground.

  ⁷   Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
  
            make melody to our God on the lyre.
  
  ⁸   He covers the heavens with clouds,
  
            prepares rain for the earth,
  
            makes grass grow on the hills.
  
  ⁹   He gives to the animals their food,
  
            and to the young ravens when they cry.
  
  ¹⁰  His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
  
            nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
  
  ¹¹  but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
  
            in those who hope in his steadfast love.

  First Reading Leviticus 26:27-42

  ²⁷But if, despite this,
  you disobey me, and continue hostile to me, ²⁸I will continue hostile to you in
  fury; I in turn will punish you myself sevenfold for your
  sins. ²⁹You shall eat
  the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of
  your daughters. ³⁰I
  will destroy your high places and cut down your incense
  altars; I will heap your carcasses on the carcasses of
  your idols. I will abhor you. ³¹I will lay your cities waste,
  will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell
  your pleasing odors. ³²I will devastate the land, so
  that your enemies who come to settle in it shall be
  appalled at it. ³³And
  you I will scatter among the nations, and I will
  unsheathe the sword against you; your land shall be a
  desolation, and your cities a waste.

  ³⁴Then the land shall
  enjoy its sabbath years as long as it lies desolate,
  while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land
  shall rest, and enjoy its sabbath years. ³⁵As long as it lies desolate, it
  shall have the rest it did not have on your sabbaths when
  you were living on it. ³⁶And as for those of you who
  survive, I will send faintness into their hearts in the
  lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall
  put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from
  the sword, and they shall fall though no one pursues.
  ³⁷They shall stumble
  over one another, as if to escape a sword, though no one
  pursues; and you shall have no power to stand against
  your enemies. ³⁸You
  shall perish among the nations, and the land of your
  enemies shall devour you. ³⁹And those of you who survive
  shall languish in the land of your enemies because of
  their iniquities; also they shall languish because of the
  iniquities of their ancestors.

  ⁴⁰But if they confess
  their iniquity and the iniquity of their ancestors, in
  that they committed treachery against me and, moreover,
  that they continued hostile to me – ⁴¹so that I, in turn, continued
  hostile to them and brought them into the land of their
  enemies; if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and
  they make amends for their iniquity, ⁴²then will I remember my covenant
  with Jacob; I will remember also my covenant with Isaac
  and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember
  the land.

  Second Reading Ephesians 1:1-10

  ¹Paul, an apostle of
  Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in
  Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

  ²Grace to you and peace
  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  ³Blessed be the God and
  Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
  Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
  places, ⁴just as he
  chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to
  be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵He destined us for adoption as his
  children through Jesus Christ, according to the good
  pleasure of his will, ⁶to the praise of his glorious
  grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
  ⁷In him we have
  redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
  trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
  ⁸that he lavished on
  us. With all wisdom and insight ⁹he has made known to us the
  mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that
  he set forth in Christ, ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of
  time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven
  and things on earth.

  Gospel Matthew 22:41-46

  ⁴¹Now while the
  Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this
  question: ⁴²“What
  do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They
  said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³He said to them, “How is it
  then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
  ⁴⁴‘The Lord said to
  my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your
  enemies under your feet”‘? ⁴⁵If David thus calls him Lord, how
  can he be his son?” ⁴⁶No one was able to give him an
  answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any
  more questions.

  Evening Psalm 9

  ¹   I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
  
            I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
  
  ²   I will be glad and exult in you;
  
            I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

  ³   When my enemies turned back,
  
            they stumbled and perished before you.
  
  ⁴   For you have maintained my just cause;
  
            you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.

  ⁵   You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
  
            you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
  
  ⁶   The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
  
            their cities you have rooted out;
  
            the very memory of them has perished.

  ⁷   But the LORD sits enthroned forever,
  
            he has established his throne for judgment.
  
  ⁸   He judges the world with righteousness;
  
            he judges the peoples with equity.

  ⁹   The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
  
            a stronghold in times of trouble.
  
  ¹⁰  And those who know your name put their trust in you,
  
            for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

  ¹¹  Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion.
  
            Declare his deeds among the peoples.
  
  ¹²  For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
  
            he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

  ¹³  Be gracious to me, O LORD.
  
            See what I suffer from those who hate me;
  
            you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
  
  ¹⁴  so that I may recount all your praises,
  
            and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
  
            rejoice in your deliverance.

  ¹⁵  The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
  
            in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
  
  ¹⁶  The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
  
            the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.               Higgaion.
  
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
       Selah

  ¹⁷  The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
  
            all the nations that forget God.

  ¹⁸  For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
  
            nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

  ¹⁹  Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail;
  
            let the nations be judged before you.
  
  ²⁰  Put them in fear, O LORD;
  
            let the nations know that they are only human.                                   Selah

  Evening Psalm 118

  ¹   O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
  
            his steadfast love endures forever!

  ²   Let Israel say,
  
            “His steadfast love endures forever.”
  
  ³   Let the house of Aaron say,
  
            “His steadfast love endures forever.”
  
  ⁴   Let those who fear the LORD say,
  
            “His steadfast love endures forever.”

  ⁵   Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
  
            the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
  
  ⁶   With the LORD on my side I do not fear.
  
            What can mortals do to me?
  
  ⁷   The LORD is on my side to help me;
  
            I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
  
  ⁸   It is better to take refuge in the LORD
  
            than to put confidence in mortals.
  
  ⁹   It is better to take refuge in the LORD
  
            than to put confidence in princes.

  ¹⁰  All nations surrounded me;
  
            in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
  
  ¹¹  They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
  
            in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
  
  ¹²  They surrounded me like bees;
  
            they blazed like a fire of thorns;
  
            in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
  
  ¹³  I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
  
            but the LORD helped me.
  
  ¹⁴  The LORD is my strength and my might;
  
            he has become my salvation.

  ¹⁵  There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
  
       “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly;
  
  ¹⁶       the right hand of the LORD is exalted;
  
            the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.”
  
  ¹⁷  I shall not die, but I shall live,
  
            and recount the deeds of the LORD.
  
  ¹⁸  The LORD has punished me severely,
  
            but he did not give me over to death.

  ¹⁹  Open to me the gates of righteousness,
  
            that I may enter through them
  
            and give thanks to the LORD.

  ²⁰  This is the gate of the LORD;
  
            the righteous shall enter through it.

  ²¹  I thank you that you have answered me
  
            and have become my salvation.
  
  ²²  The stone that the builders rejected
  
            has become the chief cornerstone.
  
  ²³  This is the LORD’s doing;
  
            it is marvelous in our eyes.
  
  ²⁴  This is the day that the LORD has made;
  
            let us rejoice and be glad in it.
  
  ²⁵  Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
  
            O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!

  ²⁶  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
  
            We bless you from the house of the LORD.
  
  ²⁷  The LORD is God,
  
            and he has given us light.
  
       Bind the festal procession with branches,
  
            up to the horns of the altar.

  ²⁸  You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
  
            you are my God, I will extol you.

  ²⁹  O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever.

• Daily Lectionary Readings for May 15, 2012
  

  Morning Psalm 98

  ¹   O sing to the LORD a new song,
  
            for he has done marvelous things.
  
       His right hand and his holy arm
  
            have gained him victory.
  
  ²   The LORD has made known his victory;
  
            he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
  
  ³   He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
  
            to the house of Israel.
  
       All the ends of the earth have seen
  
            the victory of our God.

  ⁴   Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
  
            break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
  
  ⁵   Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
  
            with the lyre and the sound of melody.
  
  ⁶   With trumpets and the sound of the horn
  
            make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.

  ⁷   Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
  
            the world and those who live in it.
  
  ⁸   Let the floods clap their hands;
  
            let the hills sing together for joy
  
  ⁹   at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming
  
            to judge the earth.
  
       He will judge the world with righteousness,
  
            and the peoples with equity.

  Morning Psalm 146

  ¹   Praise the LORD!
  
       Praise the LORD, O my soul!
  
  ²   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
  
            I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

  ³   Do not put your trust in princes,
  
            in mortals, in whom there is no help.
  
  ⁴   When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
  
            on that very day their plans perish.

  ⁵   Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
  
            whose hope is in the LORD their God,
  
  ⁶   who made heaven and earth,
  
            the sea, and all that is in them;
  
       who keeps faith forever;
  
  ⁷        who executes justice for the oppressed;
  
            who gives food to the hungry.

       The LORD sets the prisoners free;
  
  ⁸        the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
  
       The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
  
            the LORD loves the righteous.
  
  ⁹   The LORD watches over the strangers;
  
            he upholds the orphan and the widow,
  
            but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

  ¹⁰  The LORD will reign forever,
  
            your God, O Zion, for all generations.
  
       Praise the LORD!

  First Reading Leviticus 26:1-20

  ¹You shall make for
  yourselves no idols and erect no carved images or
  pillars, and you shall not place figured stones in your
  land, to worship at them; for I am the LORD your God.
  ²You shall keep my
  sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

  ³If you follow my
  statutes and keep my commandments and observe them
  faithfully, ⁴I will
  give you your rains in their season, and the land shall
  yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield
  their fruit. ⁵Your
  threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage
  shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your bread to
  the full, and live securely in your land. ⁶And I will grant peace in the
  land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you
  afraid; I will remove dangerous animals from the land,
  and no sword shall go through your land. ⁷You shall give chase to your
  enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
  ⁸Five of you shall give
  chase to a hundred, and a hundred of you shall give chase
  to ten thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by
  the sword. ⁹I will look
  with favor upon you and make you fruitful and multiply
  you; and I will maintain my covenant with you.
  ¹⁰You shall eat old
  grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the
  old to make way for the new. ¹¹I will place my dwelling in your
  midst, and I shall not abhor you. ¹²And I will walk among you, and
  will be your God, and you shall be my people.
  ¹³I am the LORD your
  God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their
  slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and
  made you walk erect.

  ¹⁴But if you will not
  obey me, and do not observe all these commandments,
  ¹⁵if you spurn my
  statutes, and abhor my ordinances, so that you will not
  observe all my commandments, and you break my covenant,
  ¹⁶I in turn will do
  this to you: I will bring terror on you; consumption and
  fever that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away.
  You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall
  eat it. ¹⁷I will set my
  face against you, and you shall be struck down by your
  enemies; your foes shall rule over you, and you shall
  flee though no one pursues you. ¹⁸And if in spite of this you will
  not obey me, I will continue to punish you sevenfold for
  your sins. ¹⁹I will
  break your proud glory, and I will make your sky like
  iron and your earth like copper. ²⁰Your strength shall be spent to
  no purpose: your land shall not yield its produce, and
  the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

  Second Reading 1 Timothy 2:1-6

  ¹First of all, then, I
  urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
  thanksgivings be made for everyone, ²for kings and all who are in high
  positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life
  in all godliness and dignity. ³This is right and is acceptable in
  the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who desires everyone to be saved
  and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God; there is
  also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ
  Jesus, himself human, ⁶who gave himself a ransom for all
  – this was attested at the right time.

  Gospel Matthew 13:18-23

  ¹⁸“Hear then the
  parable of the sower. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the
  kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes
  and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what
  was sown on the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky
  ground, this is the one who hears the word and
  immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet such a person has no root,
  but endures only for a while, and when trouble or
  persecution arises on account of the word, that person
  immediately falls away. ²²As for what was sown among
  thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares
  of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and
  it yields nothing. ²³But as for what was sown on good
  soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands
  it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a
  hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another
  thirty.”

  Evening Psalm 66

  ¹   Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
  
  ²        sing the glory of his name;
  
            give to him glorious praise.
  
  ³   Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
  
            Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
  
  ⁴   All the earth worships you;
  
            they sing praises to you,
  
            sing praises to your name.”                                                       Selah

  ⁵   Come and see what God has done:
  
            he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
  
  ⁶   He turned the sea into dry land;
  
            they passed through the river on foot.
  
       There we rejoiced in him,
  
  ⁷        who rules by his might forever,
  
       whose eyes keep watch on the nations —
  
            let the rebellious not exalt themselves.                                  Selah

  ⁸   Bless our God, O peoples,
  
            let the sound of his praise be heard,
  
  ⁹   who has kept us among the living,
  
            and has not let our feet slip.
  
  ¹⁰  For you, O God, have tested us;
  
            you have tried us as silver is tried.
  
  ¹¹  You brought us into the net;
  
            you laid burdens on our backs;
  
  ¹²  you let people ride over our heads;
  
            we went through fire and through water;
  
       yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

  ¹³  I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
  
            I will pay you my vows,
  
  ¹⁴  those that my lips uttered
  
            and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
  
  ¹⁵  I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings,
  
            with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
  
       I will make an offering of bulls and goats.                                   Selah

  ¹⁶  Come and hear, all you who fear God,
  
            and I will tell what he has done for me.
  
  ¹⁷  I cried aloud to him,
  
            and he was extolled with my tongue.
  
  ¹⁸  If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
  
            the Lord would not have listened.
  
  ¹⁹  But truly God has listened;
  
            he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

  ²⁰  Blessed be God,
  
            because he has not rejected my prayer
  
            or removed his steadfast love from me.

  Evening Psalm 116

  ¹   I love the LORD, because he has heard
  
            my voice and my supplications.
  
  ²   Because he inclined his ear to me,
  
            therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
  
  ³   The snares of death encompassed me;
  
            the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
  
            I suffered distress and anguish.
  
  ⁴   Then I called on the name of the LORD:
  
            “O LORD, I pray, save my life!”

  ⁵   Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
  
            our God is merciful.
  
  ⁶   The LORD protects the simple;
  
            when I was brought low, he saved me.
  
  ⁷   Return, O my soul, to your rest,
  
            for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

  ⁸   For you have delivered my soul from death,
  
            my eyes from tears,
  
            my feet from stumbling.
  
  ⁹   I walk before the LORD
  
            in the land of the living.
  
  ¹⁰  I kept my faith, even when I said,
  
            “I am greatly afflicted”;
  
  ¹¹  I said in my consternation,
  
            “Everyone is a liar.”

  ¹²  What shall I return to the LORD
  
            for all his bounty to me?
  
  ¹³   I will lift up the cup of salvation
  
            and call on the name of the LORD,
  
  ¹⁴  I will pay my vows to the LORD
  
            in the presence of all his people.
  
  ¹⁵  Precious in the sight of the LORD
  
            is the death of his faithful ones.
  
  ¹⁶  O LORD, I am your servant;
  
            I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
  
            You have loosed my bonds.
  
  ¹⁷  I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
  
            and call on the name of the LORD.
  
  ¹⁸  I will pay my vows to the LORD
  
            in the presence of all his people,
  
  ¹⁹  in the courts of the house of the LORD,
  
            in your midst, O Jerusalem.
  
       Praise the LORD!

For clergy and lay persons alike, and for all ages! Seminars and educational information will be posted here and updated as events come in.

Montreat Conferences:   800-572-2257 or www.montreat.org; Montreat Hub; Quarterly Updates; Montreat Wilderness School; On-line Catalog

• Road Scholar series: March 25-December 7 – visit for programs using “Montreat” as keyword
• May 25-28 – VOICE: Montreat’s Signature Conference
• May 29-June 1 – Women’s Connection,  “Caught in the Currents: Where is God When the Water Rises?”
• June 3-9, 1-16; July 8-14, 15-21, 22-28; July 29-Aug. 4 – Montreat Youth Conferences – “Perfectly Imperfect”
• June 15-17 – Union Family Reunion; a homecoming to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Union Seminary
• June 17-23, 24-30 – Worship & Music, “In God’s Abundance, Living, Moving, Being
• June 30-July 3 – Christian Life
• July 3-7 – Religious Education Theory & Practice, “Christian Education Certification Course
• July 3-7 – “Parenting With Soul”
• July 6 – A Day with Phyllis Tickle
• July 16-19 – Columbia Seminary’s Lecture Series
• July 18-22 – Montreat Middle School Conference at Presbyterian College, Clinton SC; “Rooted in Love”
• Aug. 20-22 & 23 – BOP Retirement Seminars – “Growing into Tomorrow…Today;” Getting in Shape Fiscally”
• Aug. 26-31 – Interim Pastors
• Sept. 13-15, Nov. 15-17 – McCormick Seminary Certificate in Executive Leadership
• Sept. 24-26 – Healthy Congregations Facilitator Training
• Sept. 30-Oct. 5 – Artist’s Series -  Pottery; Stained Glass Made Easy & Fun
• Oct. 15-28 – Leading with Bold Imagination: Montreat Institute for Church Leadership
• Oct. 22-24 – Wee Kirk
• Oct. 25-28 – “Exploring Wisdom’s Wonder”, Spiritual Formation Retreat
• Nov. 5-9 – Presbyterian Multicultural Network

Austin Seminary: 512.404.4800

Columbia Seminary: 404.687.4577

Louisville Seminary: 800.264.1839 ext. 352, Lisa Kolb

• through August, 2012 – The Lifelong Learning Journey; www.lpts.edu  or email dsawyer

Alban Institute Seminars: www.alban.org/learningdetail; the Alban Weekly-  weekly@alban.org

Pittsburgh Seminary: or call 800.451.4194

• June 10-13 – Summer Leadership Conference “Toward the Future Church: Cultural Movements & Individual Stories of Faith,” register online or call 412.924.1345
• June 27-July 8 – Summer Youth Institute goes to the General Assembly

Princeton Seminary:

• Princeton Seminars – throughout year

Other:

• June 2, SoulShift, register by May 29; Lexington KY
• June 4-8, Transitional Ministry Education, Whitworth University, Spokane, WA; registration deadline May 7; contact Joyce Emery
• June 12, “Rural Clergy Training,” Morristown; National VA Chaplain Service sponsored 1-day training event to learn about challenges veterans/families face during readjustment processes
• June 12-14, Sept. 9-21 – Jinishian Memorial Foundation Study Tours to Armenia & Nagorno-Karbakh; deadlines April 30, July 31
• June 30-July 7 – 220th General Assembly, Pittsburgh
• July 11-15 – Peacemaking Conference; “Restorers of Streets To Live In,” Ghost Ranch, NM; website
• July 18-22 – Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women “River of Hope,” Orlando; free booklet
• July 29-Aug. 2 – Evangelism & Church Growth Conference, “What Are You Waiting For?” St. Pete Beach, FL

From Presbyterian Peacemaking Program in 2013:

•  Feb. 12-22 – Peacemaking in the Philippines, “Environmental Devastation and Human Trafficking Connection“
• April 1-12 – Northern Ireland, “Peacemaking & Reconciliation in the Celtic Context” – apply by Aug. 1 for either

All Presbyterian churches and others are invited by the Church Development & Evangelism Committee and The Journey Church to join them Saturday, June 9 from 6-8pm for “A Call to Prayer.” This will be held at the Presbytery’s Campus Ministry House at 1412 College Heights Road in Johnson City which is on the hill behind the ETSU Campus.

Click here for flyer.

Health Concerns:

• Estelle Armistead (wife of Bob)
• Todd Jablonski (Salem)
• Cindy Bolbach (Moderator, 219th General Assembly)

Other Concerns:

• King College students and Dr. Strang on their way to Nirobi, Africa for their mission trip – May 7-24
• Ashley (Greeneville; 21, prayers for continued recovery following motorcycle wreck)
• Tri City Korean Church
• Victims of recent storms
• 220th General Assembly commissioners for Holston Presbytery:  Rev. John Shuck (First, Elizabethton), Elder Anna Maddox (Tabernacle), YAAD Emily Morrell (Timber Ridge)
• Victor Price and family (Tabernacle Church, Greeneville)
• U. S. troops, families & chaplains
• the Middle East (Syria), Afghanistan, Africa
• Churches in transition
• Ministers seeking calls
• Candidates; and, those contemplating the Inquirer phase of their call to ministry

• Daily Lectionary Readings for May 14, 2012
  

  Morning Psalm 97

  ¹   The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice;
  
            let the many coastlands be glad!
  
  ²   Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
  
            righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
  
  ³   Fire goes before him,
  
            and consumes his adversaries on every side.
  
  ⁴   His lightnings light up the world;
  
            the earth sees and trembles.
  
  ⁵   The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
  
            before the Lord of all the earth.

  ⁶   The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
  
            and all the peoples behold his glory.
  
  ⁷   All worshipers of images are put to shame,
  
            those who make their boast in worthless idols;
  
            all gods bow down before him.
  
  ⁸   Zion hears and is glad,
  
            and the towns of Judah rejoice,
  
            because of your judgments, O God.
  
  ⁹   For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
  
            you are exalted far above all gods.

  ¹⁰  The LORD loves those who hate evil;
  
            he guards the lives of his faithful;
  
            he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
  
  ¹¹  Light dawns for the righteous,
  
            and joy for the upright in heart.
  
  ¹²  Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
  
            and give thanks to his holy name!

  Morning Psalm 145

  ¹   I will extol you, my God and King,
  
            and bless your name forever and ever.
  
  ²   Every day I will bless you,
  
            and praise your name forever and ever.
  
  ³   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
  
            his greatness is unsearchable.

  ⁴   One generation shall laud your works to another,
  
            and shall declare your mighty acts.
  
  ⁵   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
  
            and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
  
  ⁶   The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
  
            and I will declare your greatness.
  
  ⁷   They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
  
            and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

  ⁸   The Lord is gracious and merciful,
  
            slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
  
  ⁹   The Lord is good to all,
  
            and his compassion is over all that he has made.

  ¹⁰  All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
  
            and all your faithful shall bless you.
  
  ¹¹  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
  
            and tell of your power,
  
  ¹²  to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
  
            and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
  
  ¹³  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
  
            and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

       The Lord is faithful in all his words,
  
            and gracious in all his deeds.
  
  ¹⁴  The Lord upholds all who are falling,
  
            and raises up all who are bowed down.
  
  ¹⁵  The eyes of all look to you,
  
            and you give them their food in due season.
  
  ¹⁶  You open your hand,
  
            satisfying the desire of every living thing.
  
  ¹⁷  The Lord is just in all his ways,
  
            and kind in all his doings.
  
  ¹⁸  The Lord is near to all who call on him,
  
            to all who call on him in truth.
  
  ¹⁹  He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
  
            he also hears their cry, and saves them.
  
  ²⁰  The Lord watches over all who love him,
  
            but all the wicked he will destroy.

  ²¹  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
  
            and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

  First Reading Leviticus 25:35-55

  ³⁵If any of your kin
  fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you
  shall support them; they shall live with you as though
  resident aliens. ³⁶Do
  not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit
  from them, but fear your God; let them live with you.
  ³⁷You shall not lend
  them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide
  them food at a profit. ³⁸I am the LORD your God, who
  brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the
  land of Canaan, to be your God.

  ³⁹If any who are
  dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell
  themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as
  slaves. ⁴⁰They shall
  remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall
  serve with you until the year of the jubilee.
  ⁴¹Then they and their
  children with them shall be free from your authority;
  they shall go back to their own family and return to
  their ancestral property. ⁴²For they are my servants, whom I
  brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold
  as slaves are sold. ⁴³You shall not rule over them with
  harshness, but shall fear your God. ⁴⁴As for the male and female slaves
  whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that
  you may acquire male and female slaves. ⁴⁵You may also acquire them from
  among the aliens residing with you, and from their
  families that are with you, who have been born in your
  land; and they may be your property. ⁴⁶You may keep them as a possession
  for your children after you, for them to inherit as
  property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your
  fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with
  harshness.

  ⁴⁷If resident aliens
  among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into
  difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an
  alien, or to a branch of the alien’s family,
  ⁴⁸after they have sold
  themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one
  of their brothers may redeem them, ⁴⁹or their uncle or their
  uncle’s son may redeem them, or anyone of their
  family who is of their own flesh may redeem them; or if
  they prosper they may redeem themselves. ⁵⁰They shall compute with the
  purchaser the total from the year when they sold
  themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price
  of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the
  time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time
  of a hired laborer. ⁵¹If many years remain, they shall
  pay for their redemption in proportion to the purchase
  price; ⁵²and if few
  years remain until the jubilee year, they shall compute
  thus: according to the years involved they shall make
  payment for their redemption. ⁵³As a laborer hired by the year
  they shall be under the alien’s authority, who shall
  not, however, rule with harshness over them in your
  sight. ⁵⁴And if they
  have not been redeemed in any of these ways, they and
  their children with them shall go free in the jubilee
  year. ⁵⁵For to me the
  people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom
  I brought out from the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your
  God.

  Second Reading Colossians 1:9-14

  ⁹For this reason, since
  the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you
  and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of
  God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
  ¹⁰so that you may lead
  lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you
  bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the
  knowledge of God. ¹¹May
  you be made strong with all the strength that comes from
  his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure
  everything with patience, while joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who
  has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints
  in the light. ¹³He has
  rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us
  into the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the
  forgiveness of sins.

  Gospel Matthew 13:1-16

  ¹That same day Jesus
  went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
  ²Such great crowds
  gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat
  there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
  ³And he told them many
  things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went
  out to sow. ⁴And as he
  sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came
  and ate them up. ⁵Other
  seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much
  soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth
  of soil. ⁶But when the
  sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root,
  they withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns, and
  the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and
  brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
  thirty. ⁹Let anyone
  with ears listen!”

  ¹⁰Then the disciples
  came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in
  parables?” ¹¹He
  answered, “To you it has been given to know the
  secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not
  been given. ¹²For to
  those who have, more will be given, and they will have an
  abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what
  they have will be taken away. ¹³The reason I speak to them in
  parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and
  hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’
  ¹⁴With them indeed is
  fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ‘You will
  indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed
  look, but never perceive. ¹⁵For this people’s heart has
  grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they
  have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with
  their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand
  with their heart and turn – and I would heal them.’
  ¹⁶But blessed are your
  eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.”

  Evening Psalm 124

  ¹   If it had not been the LORD who was on our side
  
            — let Israel now say —
  
  ²   if it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
  
            when our enemies attacked us,
  
  ³   then they would have swallowed us up alive,
  
            when their anger was kindled against us;
  
  ⁴   then the flood would have swept us away,
  
            the torrent would have gone over us;
  
  ⁵   then over us would have gone
  
            the raging waters.

  ⁶   Blessed be the LORD,
  
            who has not given us
  
            as prey to their teeth.
  
  ⁷   We have escaped like a bird
  
            from the snare of the fowlers;
  
       the snare is broken,
  
            and we have escaped.

  ⁸   Our help is in the name of the LORD,
  
            who made heaven and earth.

  Evening Psalm 115

  ¹   Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,
  
            for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
  
  ²   Why should the nations say,
  
            “Where is their God?”

  ³   Our God is in the heavens;
  
            he does whatever he pleases.
  
  ⁴   Their idols are silver and gold,
  
            the work of human hands.
  
  ⁵   They have mouths, but do not speak;
  
            eyes, but do not see.
  
  ⁶   They have ears, but do not hear;
  
            noses, but do not smell.
  
  ⁷   They have hands, but do not feel;
  
            feet, but do not walk;
  
            they make no sound in their throats.
  
  ⁸   Those who make them are like them;
  
            so are all who trust in them.

  ⁹   O Israel, trust in the LORD!
  
            He is their help and their shield.
  
  ¹⁰  O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
  
            He is their help and their shield.
  
  ¹¹  You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
  
            He is their help and their shield.

  ¹²  The LORD has been mindful of us; he will bless us;
  
            he will bless the house of Israel;
  
            he will bless the house of Aaron;
  
  ¹³  he will bless those who fear the LORD,
  
            both small and great.

  ¹⁴  May the LORD give you increase,
  
            both you and your children.
  
  ¹⁵  May you be blessed by the LORD,
  
            who made heaven and earth.

  ¹⁶  The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
  
            but the earth he has given to human beings.
  
  ¹⁷  The dead do not praise the LORD,
  
            nor do any that go down into silence.
  
  ¹⁸  But we will bless the LORD
  
            from this time on and forevermore.
  
       Praise the LORD!

• Daily Lectionary Readings for May 13, 2012
  

  Morning Psalm 93

  ¹   The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty;
  
            the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength.
  
       He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
  
  ²        your throne is established from of old;
  
            you are from everlasting.

  ³   The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
  
            the floods have lifted up their voice;
  
            the floods lift up their roaring.
  
  ⁴   More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
  
            more majestic than the waves of the sea,
  
            majestic on high is the LORD!

  ⁵   Your decrees are very sure;
  
            holiness befits your house,
  
            O LORD, forevermore.

  Morning Psalm 150

  ¹   Praise the Lord!
  
       Praise God in his sanctuary;
  
            praise him in his mighty firmament!
  
  ²   Praise him for his mighty deeds;
  
            praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

  ³   Praise him with trumpet sound;
  
            praise him with lute and harp!
  
  ⁴   Praise him with tambourine and dance;
  
            praise him with strings and pipe!
  
  ⁵   Praise him with clanging cymbals;
  
            praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
  
  ⁶   Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
  
       Praise the Lord!

  First Reading Leviticus 25:1-17

  ¹The LORD spoke to
  Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: ²Speak to the people of Israel and
  say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving
  you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the LORD.
  ³Six years you shall
  sow your field, and six years you shall prune your
  vineyard, and gather in their yield; ⁴but in the seventh year there
  shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a
  sabbath for the LORD: you shall not sow your field or
  prune your vineyard. ⁵You shall not reap the aftergrowth
  of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned
  vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.
  ⁶You may eat what the
  land yields during its sabbath – you, your male and
  female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who
  live with you; ⁷for
  your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your
  land all its yield shall be for food.

  ⁸You shall count off
  seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that
  the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine
  years. ⁹Then you shall
  have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the
  seventh month – on the day of atonement – you shall have
  the trumpet sounded throughout all your land.
  ¹⁰And you shall hallow
  the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty
  throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a
  jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to
  your property and every one of you to your family.
  ¹¹That fiftieth year
  shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap
  the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines.
  ¹²For it is a jubilee;
  it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the
  field itself produces.

  ¹³In this year of
  jubilee you shall return, every one of you, to your
  property. ¹⁴When you
  make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor,
  you shall not cheat one another. ¹⁵When you buy from your neighbor,
  you shall pay only for the number of years since the
  jubilee; the seller shall charge you only for the
  remaining crop years. ¹⁶If the years are more, you shall
  increase the price, and if the years are fewer, you shall
  diminish the price; for it is a certain number of
  harvests that are being sold to you. ¹⁷You shall not cheat one another,
  but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

  Second Reading James 1:2-8, 16-18

  ²My brothers and
  sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider
  it nothing but joy, ³because you know that the testing
  of your faith produces endurance; ⁴and let endurance have its full
  effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking
  in nothing.

  ⁵If any of you is
  lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously
  and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. ⁶But ask in faith, never doubting,
  for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven
  and tossed by the wind; 7,
  8 for the doubter, being double-minded and
  unstable in every way, must not expect to receive
  anything from the Lord.

  ¹⁶Do not be deceived,
  my beloved.

  ¹⁷Every generous act of
  giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming
  down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
  variation or shadow due to change. ¹⁸In fulfillment of his own purpose
  he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would
  become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

  Gospel Luke 12:13-21

  ¹³Someone in the crowd
  said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the
  family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But he said to him, “Friend,
  who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”
  ¹⁵And he said to them,
  “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of
  greed; for one’s life does not consist in the
  abundance of possessions.” ¹⁶Then he told them a parable:
  “The land of a rich man produced abundantly.
  ¹⁷And he thought to
  himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to
  store my crops?’ ¹⁸Then he said, ‘I will do
  this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones,
  and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
  ¹⁹And I will say to my
  soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many
  years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”‘
  ²⁰But God said to him,
  ‘You fool! This very night your life is being
  demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose
  will they be?’ ²¹So
  it is with those who store up treasures for themselves
  but are not rich toward God.”

  Evening Psalm 136

  ¹   O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever.
  
  ²   O give thanks to the God of gods,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever.
  
  ³   O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;

  ⁴   who alone does great wonders,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ⁵   who by understanding made the heavens,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ⁶   who spread out the earth on the waters,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ⁷   who made the great lights,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ⁸   the sun to rule over the day,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ⁹   the moon and stars to rule over the night,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;

  ¹⁰  who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹¹  and brought Israel out from among them,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹²   with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹³  who divided the Red Sea in two,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹⁴  and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹⁵  but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹⁶  who led his people through the wilderness,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹⁷  who struck down great kings,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹⁸  and killed famous kings,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ¹⁹  Sihon, king of the Amorites,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ²⁰  and Og, king of Bashan,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ²¹  and gave their land as a heritage,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ²²  a heritage to his servant Israel,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever.

  ²³  It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ²⁴  and rescued us from our foes,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever;
  
  ²⁵  who gives food to all flesh,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever.

  ²⁶  O give thanks to the God of heaven,
  
            for his steadfast love endures forever.

  Evening Psalm 117

  ¹   Praise the LORD, all you nations!
  
            Extol him, all you peoples!
  
  ²   For great is his steadfast love toward us,
  
            and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
  
       Praise the LORD!

• Daily Lectionary Readings for May 12, 2012
  

  Morning Psalm 92

  ¹   It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
  
            to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
  
  ²   to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
  
            and your faithfulness by night,
  
  ³   to the music of the lute and the harp,
  
            to the melody of the lyre.
  
  ⁴   For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
  
            at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

  ⁵   How great are your works, O LORD!
  
            Your thoughts are very deep!
  
  ⁶   The dullard cannot know,
  
            the stupid cannot understand this:
  
  ⁷   though the wicked sprout like grass
  
            and all evildoers flourish,
  
       they are doomed to destruction forever,
  
  ⁸        but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
  
  ⁹   For your enemies, O LORD,
  
            for your enemies shall perish;
  
            all evildoers shall be scattered.

  ¹⁰  But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
  
            you have poured over me fresh oil.
  
  ¹¹  My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
  
            my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

  ¹²  The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
  
            and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
  
  ¹³  They are planted in the house of the LORD;
  
            they flourish in the courts of our God.
  
  ¹⁴  In old age they still produce fruit;
  
            they are always green and full of sap,
  
  ¹⁵  showing that the LORD is upright;
  
            he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

  Morning Psalm 149

  ¹   Praise the Lord!
  
       Sing to the Lord a new song,
  
            his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
  
  ²   Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
  
            let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
  
  ³   Let them praise his name with dancing,
  
            making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
  
  ⁴   For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
  
            he adorns the humble with victory.
  
  ⁵   Let the faithful exult in glory;
  
            let them sing for joy on their couches.
  
  ⁶   Let the high praises of God be in their throats
  
            and two-edged swords in their hands,
  
  ⁷   to execute vengeance on the nations
  
            and punishment on the peoples,
  
  ⁸   to bind their kings with fetters
  
            and their nobles with chains of iron,
  
  ⁹   to execute on them the judgment decreed.
  
            This is glory for all his faithful ones.
  
       Praise the Lord!

  First Reading Leviticus 23:23-44

  ²³The LORD spoke to
  Moses, saying: ²⁴Speak
  to the people of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on
  the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of
  complete rest, a holy convocation commemorated with
  trumpet blasts. ²⁵You
  shall not work at your occupations; and you shall present
  the Lord’s offering by fire.

  ²⁶The LORD spoke to
  Moses, saying: ²⁷Now,
  the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of
  atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you: you
  shall deny yourselves and present the Lord’s offering
  by fire; ²⁸and you
  shall do no work during that entire day; for it is a day
  of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the
  LORD your God. ²⁹For
  anyone who does not practice self-denial during that
  entire day shall be cut off from the people. ³⁰And anyone who does any work
  during that entire day, such a one I will destroy from
  the midst of the people. ³¹You shall do no work: it is a
  statute forever throughout your generations in all your
  settlements. ³²It shall
  be to you a sabbath of complete rest, and you shall deny
  yourselves; on the ninth day of the month at evening,
  from evening to evening you shall keep your sabbath.

  ³³The LORD spoke to
  Moses, saying: ³⁴Speak
  to the people of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of
  this seventh month, and lasting seven days, there shall
  be the festival of booths to the LORD. ³⁵The first day shall be a holy
  convocation; you shall not work at your occupations.
  ³⁶Seven days you shall
  present the Lord’s offerings by fire; on the eighth
  day you shall observe a holy convocation and present the
  Lord’s offerings by fire; it is a solemn assembly;
  you shall not work at your occupations.

  ³⁷These are the
  appointed festivals of the LORD, which you shall
  celebrate as times of holy convocation, for presenting to
  the LORD offerings by fire – burnt offerings and grain
  offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its
  proper day – ³⁸apart
  from the sabbaths of the LORD, and apart from your gifts,
  and apart from all your votive offerings, and apart from
  all your freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD.

  ³⁹Now, the fifteenth
  day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the
  produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of the
  LORD, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first
  day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. ⁴⁰On the first day you shall take
  the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees,
  boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you
  shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
  ⁴¹You shall keep it as
  a festival to the LORD seven days in the year; you shall
  keep it in the seventh month as a statute forever
  throughout your generations. ⁴²You shall live in booths for
  seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in
  booths, ⁴³so that your
  generations may know that I made the people of Israel
  live in booths when I brought them out of the land of
  Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

  ⁴⁴Thus Moses declared
  to the people of Israel the appointed festivals of the
  LORD.

  Second Reading 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18

  ¹Finally, brothers and
  sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may
  spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is
  among you, ²and that we
  may be rescued from wicked and evil people; for not all
  have faith. ³But the
  Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you
  from the evil one. ⁴And
  we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you
  are doing and will go on doing the things that we
  command. ⁵May the Lord
  direct your hearts to the love of God and to the
  steadfastness of Christ.

  ⁶Now we command you,
  beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep
  away from believers who are living in idleness and not
  according to the tradition that they received from us.
  ⁷For you yourselves
  know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when
  we were with you, ⁸and
  we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it;
  but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that
  we might not burden any of you. ⁹This was not because we do not
  have that right, but in order to give you an example to
  imitate. ¹⁰For even
  when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone
  unwilling to work should not eat. ¹¹For we hear that some of you are
  living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.
  ¹²Now such persons we
  command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their
  work quietly and to earn their own living. ¹³Brothers and sisters, do not be
  weary in doing what is right.

  ¹⁴Take note of those
  who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing
  to do with them, so that they may be ashamed.
  ¹⁵Do not regard them as
  enemies, but warn them as believers.

  ¹⁶Now may the Lord of
  peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.
  The Lord be with all of you.

  ¹⁷I, Paul, write this
  greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every
  letter of mine; it is the way I write. ¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus
  Christ be with all of you.

  Gospel Matthew 7:13-21

  ¹³“Enter through
  the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is
  easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who
  take it. ¹⁴For the gate
  is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and
  there are few who find it.

  ¹⁵“Beware of false
  prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but
  inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their
  fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from
  thistles? ¹⁷In the same
  way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree
  bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A
  good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear
  good fruit. ¹⁹Every
  tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
  into the fire. ²⁰Thus
  you will know them by their fruits.

  ²¹“Not everyone
  who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
  kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of
  my Father in heaven.

  Evening Psalm 23

  ¹   The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
  
  ²        He makes me lie down in green pastures;
  
       he leads me beside still waters;
  
  ³        he restores my soul.
  
       He leads me in right paths
  
            for his name’s sake.

  ⁴   Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
  
            I fear no evil;
  
       for you are with me;
  
            your rod and your staff —
  
            they comfort me.

  ⁵   You prepare a table before me
  
            in the presence of my enemies;
  
       you anoint my head with oil;
  
            my cup overflows.
  
  ⁶   Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
  
            all the days of my life,
  
       and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
  
            my whole life long.

  Evening Psalm 114

  ¹   When Israel went out from Egypt,
  
            the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
  
  ²   Judah became God’s sanctuary,
  
            Israel his dominion.

  ³   The sea looked and fled;
  
            Jordan turned back.
  
  ⁴   The mountains skipped like rams,
  
            the hills like lambs.

  ⁵   Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
  
            O Jordan, that you turn back?
  
  ⁶   O mountains, that you skip like rams?
  
            O hills, like lambs?

  ⁷   Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,
  
            at the presence of the God of Jacob,
  
  ⁸   who turns the rock into a pool of water,
  
            the flint into a spring of water.