Scripture for December 4, 2011 Mark 1:1-8The Message (MSG) Mark 1
The good news of Jesus Christ—the Message!—begins here, following to the letter the scroll
of the prophet Isaiah.
Watch closely: I'm sending my preacher ahead of you;
He'll
make the road smooth for you.
Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God's
arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight! 4-6John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness
of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the
Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and
wild field honey. 7-8As
he preached he said, "The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will
change your life. I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a
holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out."
Scripture for December 24, 2011 Genesis 1:26-28The Message (MSG
26-28 God spoke:
"Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds
in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every
animal that moves on the face of Earth."
God created human beings;
he
created them godlike,
Reflecting God's nature.
He created
them male and female.
God blessed them:
"Prosper! Reproduce!
Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for
every living thing that moves on the face of Earth." Genesis 9:8-17The Message (MSG) 8-11 Then God spoke to Noah and his sons: "I'm setting
up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you, along with everything alive around you—birds,
farm animals, wild animals—that came out of the ship with you. I'm setting up my covenant with you that never
again will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters; no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth." 12-16 God continued, "This is
the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you.
I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud
over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living,
that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember
the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth." 17 And God said, "This is the sign
of the covenant that I've set up between me and everything living on the Earth." Isaiah 9:2The Message (MSG) 2-7The people who walked in darkness
have
seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—
light! sunbursts of
light!
You repopulated the nation,
you expanded its joy.
Oh, they're so glad in your
presence!
Festival joy!
The joy of a great celebration,
sharing rich
gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—
all their whips
and cudgels and curses—
Is gone, done away with, a deliverance
as surprising and sudden
as Gideon's old victory over Midian.
The boots of all those invading troops,
along with their
shirts soaked with innocent blood,
Will be piled in a heap and burned,
a fire that will burn
for days!
For a child has been born—for us!
the gift of a son—for us!
He'll
take over
the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
Strong
God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow,
and
there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He'll rule from the historic David throne
over
that promised kingdom.
He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing
and keep it going
With
fair dealing and right living,
beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
will do all this. Isaiah 9:2The
Message (MSG) 2-7The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
For those
who lived in a land of deep shadows—
light! sunbursts of light!
You repopulated the nation,
you expanded its joy.
Oh, they're so glad in your presence!
Festival
joy!
The joy of a great celebration,
sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of
oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—
all their whips and cudgels and curses—
Is gone,
done away with, a deliverance
as surprising and sudden as Gideon's old victory over Midian.
The boots of all those invading troops,
along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,
Will
be piled in a heap and burned,
a fire that will burn for days!
For a child has been born—for
us!
the gift of a son—for us!
He'll take over
the running of
the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince
of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow,
and there'll be no limits to the wholeness
he brings.
He'll rule from the historic David throne
over that promised kingdom.
He'll
put that kingdom on a firm footing
and keep it going
With fair dealing and right living,
beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
will
do all this.
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Scripture for December 11, 2011 Isaiah 61:1-4 Isaiah 61 1-7 The Spirit of God, the Master,
is on me because God anointed me.
He sent me to preach good news to the poor,
heal the heartbroken,
Announce freedom to all captives,
pardon all prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of
his grace—
a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies—
and
to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
give them bouquets
of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
a praising heart instead
of a languid spirit.
Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness"
planted by God to display
his glory.
They'll rebuild the old ruins,
raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They'll
start over on the ruined cities,
take the rubble left behind and make it new.
You'll hire
outsiders to herd your flocks
and foreigners to work your fields,
But you'll have the title
"Priests of God,"
honored as ministers of our God.
You'll feast on the bounty of
nations,
you'll bask in their glory.
Because you got a double dose of trouble
and
more than your share of contempt,
Your inheritance in the land will be doubled
and your joy go
on forever. Isaiah 61:8-11The Message (MSG) 8-9"Because I, God, love fair dealing
and
hate thievery and crime,
I'll pay your wages on time and in full,
and establish my eternal
covenant with you.
Your descendants will become well-known all over.
Your children in foreign
countries
Will be recognized at once
as the people I have blessed." 10-11I will sing for joy in God,
explode in praise from deep in my soul!
He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,
he
outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo
and a bride a jeweled
tiara.
For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,
and as a garden cascades with blossoms,
So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom
and puts praise on display before the nations.
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Scripture for December 18, 2011 Luke 1:26-55The Message (MSG) 26-28In the sixth month of Elizabeth's
pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended
from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
Good
morning!
You're beautiful with God's beauty,
Beautiful inside and
out!
God be with you. 29-33She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured
her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son
and call his name Jesus.
He will be great,
be called
'Son of the Highest.'
The Lord God will give him
the
throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob's house forever—
no
end, ever, to his kingdom." 34Mary
said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man." 35The angel answered,
The Holy Spirit will
come upon you,
the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore,
the child you bring to birth
will be called Holy, Son of God. 36-38"And did you know that your
cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing,
you see, is impossible with God." And
Mary said,
Yes, I see it all now:
I'm the Lord's
maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
just as you say.
Then the angel left her. 39-45Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up
and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth
heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You're so blessed among women,
and the babe in your
womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
the mother
of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
greeting
entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb
for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed
every word would come true! 46-55And
Mary said,
I'm bursting with God-news;
I'm
dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I'm the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has
done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart
from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those
who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered
the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled
victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the
callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he
remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It's exactly what he promised,
beginning
with Abraham and right up to now.
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