December 2016 Prayers

Revelation 21:1-6 1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;  4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ 6Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 6As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2For he says, 'At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.' See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 26:1-9 1On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; he sets up victory like walls and bulwarks. 2 Open the gates, so that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. 3 Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace— in peace because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. 5 For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height; the lofty city he lays low. He lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. 6 The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy. 7 The way of the righteous is level; O Just One, you make smooth the path of the righteous. 8 In the path of your judgements, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and your renown are the soul's desire. 9 My soul yearns for you in the night, my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Revelation 1:9-20 9I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11saying, ‘Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’ 12Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. 17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 20As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 25:1-9O Lord, you are my God;I will exalt you, I will praise your name;for you have done wonderful things,plans formed of old, faithful and sure. 2 For you have made the city a heap,the fortified city a ruin;the palace of aliens is a city no more,it will never be rebuilt. 3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;cities of ruthless nations will fear you. 4 For you have been a refuge to the poor,a refuge to the needy in their distress,a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, 5 the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place,you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;the song of the ruthless was stilled. 6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoplesa feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. 7 And he will destroy on this mountainthe shroud that is cast over all peoples,the sheet that is spread over all nations; 8 he will swallow up death for ever.Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,for the Lord has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day,Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.This is the Lord for whom we have waited;let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.The Word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

John 7:37-52 37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, "Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water."' 39Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 40When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, 'This is really the prophet.' 41Others said, 'This is the Messiah.' But some asked, 'Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? 42Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?' 43So there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, 'Why did you not arrest him?' 46The police answered, 'Never has anyone spoken like this!' 47Then the Pharisees replied, 'Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? 48Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49But this crowd, which does not know the law-they are accursed.' 50Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, 51'Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?' 52They replied, 'Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.' The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Revelation 1:9-20 9I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11saying, ‘Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’ 12Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. 17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 20As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 12:1-6 1 You will say in that day: I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me. 2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. 3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. 5Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. 6Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Mark 10:13-16 13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.' 16And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 49:13-23 13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones. 14But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me." 15Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. 17Your builders outdo your destroyers, and those who laid you waste go away from you. 18 Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, says the LORD, you shall put all of them on like an ornament, and like a bride you shall bind them on. 19Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land- surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20The children born in the time of your bereavement will yet say in your hearing: "The place is too crowded for me; make room for me to settle." 21Then you will say in your heart, "Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away- so who has reared these? I was left all alone- where then have these come from?" 22Thus says the Lord GOD: I will soon lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. 23Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 98  1Sing to the LORD a new song, * for he has done marvelous things. 2With his right hand and his holy arm * has he won for himself the victory. 3The LORD has made known his victory; * his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations. 4He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel, * and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. 5Shout with joy to the LORD, all you lands; * lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing. 6Sing to the LORD with the harp, * with the harp and the voice of song. 7With trumpets and the sound of the horn * shout with joy before the King, the LORD. 8Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it, * the lands and those who dwell therein. 9Let the rivers clap their hands, * and let the hills ring out with joy before the LORD, when he comes to judge the earth. 10In righteousness shall he judge the world * and the peoples with equity.

Zechariah 2:10-13 10Sing and rejoice, Odaughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. 11Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 12The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. 13Be silent, all people, before the Lord; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Luke 22:39-53 39 He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him.40When he reached the place, he said to them, 'Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.41Then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed.42'Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.43Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength.44In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.45When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief.46and he said to them, 'Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.' 47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him.48but Jesus said to him, 'Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?.49When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, 'Lord, should we strike with the sword?.50Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.51But Jesus said, 'No more of this!' And he touched his ear and healed him.52Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, 'Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?.53When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!' The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

2 Peter 1:1-11 1Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.2May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.3His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.4Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge.6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness.7and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.8For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.9For anyone who lacks these things is nearsighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins.10Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.11For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

John 5:30-47 30 'I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 'If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. 33You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. 34Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36But I have a testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. 37And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, 38and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent. 39 'You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. 40Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41I do not accept glory from human beings. 42But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? 45Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?' The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

John 3:16-21 16For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Jude 17-25 17But you, beloved, must remember the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18for they said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts.’ 19It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. 20But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22And have mercy on some who are wavering; 23save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies. 24Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, 25to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 8:16-9:116 Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. 17I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18See, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19Now if people say to you, "Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that chirp and mutter; should not a people consult their gods, the dead on behalf of the living. 20for teaching and for instruction?" Surely, those who speak like this will have no dawn. 21They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry; when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse their king and their gods. They will turn their faces upward. 22or they will look to the earth, but will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness.But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.The Word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.

John 3:22-30 22After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. 23John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized 24John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison. 25Now a discussion about purification arose between Johns disciples and a Jew. 26They came to John and said to him, Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him. 27John answered, No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 28You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him. 29He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegrooms voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Hebrews 12:18-29 18You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20(For they could not endure the order that was given, If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death. 21Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear.) 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven. 27This phrase Yet once more indicates the removal of what is shakenthat is, created thingsso that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29for indeed our God is a consuming fire. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.