What We Believe: The Faith of the Presbyterian Church (What does the Holy Spirit do?)

Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community: What We Believe: The Faith of the Presbyterian Chu...: At Sligo Presbyterian Church, we're discussing what Presbyterians believe and how Presbyterian congregations govern themselves. During t...

The Testimony of Faithful Witnesses: Stephen, Unwavering Martyr (Acts 6:7-10; 7:54-60)

Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community: The Testimony of Faithful Witnesses: Stephen, Unwa...: Whenever we come to the Bible, we often read looking for instruction and encouragement for the day. But the Bible isn’t meant only to guide ...

Bible Readings for August 15, 2026

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today, our passages are Nehemiah 9:22–10:39; 1 Corinthians 9:19–10:13; Psalm 34:1-10; and Proverbs 21:13. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

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Nehemiah 9:22-10:39 (The Message)

 ^20-23 You gave them your good Spirit
   to teach them to live wisely. You never stinted with your manna,
   gave them plenty of water to drink. You supported them forty years in that desert;
   they had everything they needed; Their clothes didn't wear out
   and their feet never blistered. You gave them kingdoms and peoples,
   establishing generous boundaries. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon
   and the country of Og king of Bashan. You multiplied children for them,
   rivaling the stars in the night skies, And you brought them into the land
   that you promised their ancestors
   they would get and own.
 ^24-25 Well, they entered all right,
   they took it and settled in. The Canaanites who lived there
   you brought to their knees before them. You turned over their land, kings, and peoples
   to do with as they pleased. They took strong cities and fertile fields,
   they took over well-furnished houses, Cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,
   and lush, extensive orchards. And they ate, grew fat on the fat of the land;
   they reveled in your bountiful goodness.
 ^26-31 But then they mutinied, rebelled against you,
   threw out your laws and killed your prophets, The very prophets who tried to get them back on your side—
   and then things went from bad to worse. You turned them over to their enemies,
   who made life rough for them. But when they called out for help in their troubles
   you listened from heaven; And in keeping with your bottomless compassion
   you gave them saviors: Saviors who saved them
   from the cruel abuse of their enemies. But as soon as they had it easy again
   they were right back at it—more evil. So you turned away and left them again to their fate,
   to the enemies who came right back. They cried out to you again; in your great compassion
   you heard and helped them again.
   This went on over and over and over. You warned them to return to your Revelation,
   they responded with haughty arrogance: They flouted your commands, spurned your rules
   —the very words by which men and women live! They set their jaws in defiance,
   they turned their backs on you and didn't listen. You put up with them year after year
   and warned them by your spirit through your prophets; But when they refused to listen
   you abandoned them to foreigners. Still, because of your great compassion,
   you didn't make a total end to them. You didn't walk out and leave them for good;
   yes, you are a God of grace and compassion.
 ^32-37 And now, our God, the great God,
   God majestic and terrible, loyal in covenant and love, Don't treat lightly the trouble that has come to us,
   to our kings and princes, our priests and prophets, Our ancestors, and all your people from the time
   of the Assyrian kings right down to today. You are not to blame
   for all that has come down on us; You did everything right,
   we did everything wrong. None of our kings, princes, priests, or ancestors
   followed your Revelation; They ignored your commands,
   dismissed the warnings you gave them. Even when they had their own kingdom
   and were enjoying your generous goodness, Living in that spacious and fertile land
   that you spread out before them, They didn't serve you
   or turn their backs on the practice of evil. And here we are, slaves again today;
   and here's the land you gave our ancestors So they could eat well and enjoy a good life,
   and now look at us—no better than slaves on this land. Its wonderful crops go to the kings
   you put over us because of our sins; They act like they own our bodies
   and do whatever they like with our cattle.
   We're in deep trouble.
 ³⁸ "Because of all this we are drawing up a binding pledge, a sealed document signed by our princes, our Levites, and our priests." 

Nehemiah 10

 ^1-8 The sealed document bore these signatures: Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,    Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,
    Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
   Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
   Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
   Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
   Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.
These were the priests.
 ^9-13 The Levites:
   Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,
   and their kinsmen: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
   Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
   Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
   Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
 ^14-27 The heads of the people:
   Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
   Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
   Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
   Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
   Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
   Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
   Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
   Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
   Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
   Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
   Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
   Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
   Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
   Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.
 ^28-30 The rest of the people, priests, Levites, security guards, singers, Temple staff, and all who separated themselves from the foreign neighbors to keep The Revelation of God, together with their wives, sons, daughters—everyone old enough to understand—all joined their noble kinsmen in a binding oath to follow The Revelation of God given through Moses the servant of God, to keep and carry out all the commandments of God our Master, all his decisions and standards. Thus:
   We will not marry our daughters to our foreign neighbors nor let our sons marry their daughters.
 ³¹ When the foreign neighbors bring goods or grain to sell on the Sabbath we won't trade with them—not on the Sabbath or any other holy day.
   Every seventh year we will leave the land fallow and cancel all debts.
 ^32-33 We accept the responsibility for paying an annual tax of one-third of a shekel (about an eighth ounce) for providing The Temple of our God with
   bread for the Table
   regular Grain-Offerings
   regular Whole-Burnt-Offerings
   offerings for the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts
   Dedication-Offerings
   Absolution-Offerings to atone for Israel
   maintenance of The Temple of our God.
 ³⁴ We—priests, Levites, and the people—have cast lots to see when each of our families will bring wood for burning on the Altar of our God, following the yearly schedule set down in The Revelation.
 ^35-36 We take responsibility for delivering annually to The Temple of God the firstfruits of our crops and our orchards, our firstborn sons and cattle, and the firstborn from our herds and flocks for the priests who serve in The Temple of our God—just as it is set down in The Revelation.
 ^37-39 We will bring the best of our grain, of our contributions, of the fruit of every tree, of wine, and of oil to the priests in the storerooms of The Temple of our God.
    We will bring the tithes from our fields to the Levites, since the Levites are appointed to collect the tithes in the towns where we work. We'll see to it that a priest descended from Aaron will supervise the Levites as they collect the tithes and make sure that they take a tenth of the tithes to the treasury in The Temple of our God. We'll see to it that the People of Israel and Levites bring the grain, wine, and oil to the storage rooms where the vessels of the Sanctuary are kept and where the priests who serve, the security guards, and the choir meet.
    We will not neglect The Temple of our God.

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1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13 (The Message)

 ^19-23Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
 ^24-25You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.
 ^26-27I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. 

1 Corinthians 10

 ^1-5Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God's fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God's wonder and grace didn't seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.  ^6-10The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did—"First the people partied, then they threw a dance." We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day! We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.
 ^11-12These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
 ¹³No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

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Psalm 34:1-10 (The Message)

Psalm 34

 ¹ I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise.

 ² I live and breathe God;
   if things aren't going well, hear this and be happy:

 ³ Join me in spreading the news;
   together let's get the word out.

 ⁴ God met me more than halfway,
   he freed me from my anxious fears.

 ⁵ Look at him; give him your warmest smile.
   Never hide your feelings from him.

 ⁶ When I was desperate, I called out,
   and God got me out of a tight spot.

 ⁷ God's angel sets up a circle
   of protection around us while we pray.

 ⁸ Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
         how good God is.
   Blessed are you who run to him.

 ⁹ Worship God if you want the best;
   worship opens doors to all his goodness.

 ¹⁰ Young lions on the prowl get hungry,
   but God-seekers are full of God.

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Proverbs 21:13 (The Message)

 ¹³ If you stop your ears to the cries of the poor,
   your cries will go unheard, unanswered.

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Thought for the Day

“Whether we live or die, it must be for the Lord. Alive or dead, we still belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:8 - Contemporary English Version) Regardless of our circumstances, we belong to God. And since this is the result of his action without our permission or help, we can be confident that our status will transcend death itself.

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Quote for the Day

Ethiopian politician who is the current Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 2018 and the leader of the Prosperity Party since 2019, Abiy Ahmed Ali wrote, "It takes a few to make war, but it takes a village and a nation to build peace."

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Joke for Today

Dolphins are so intelligent...

That within a few weeks of captivity, they can train a man to stand on the edge of their pool and throw to them fish three times a day.

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A Prayer Request

As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.

That doctors and nurses communicate compassion and concern to their patients. 

Daily Lectionary Readings for August 14, 2026

Daily Lectionary Readings (Two-Year Cycle)

Lectionary Readings for Friday, August 14, 2026

Morning Psalm 51 1   Have mercy on me, O God,           according to your steadfast love;      according to your abundant mercy           blot out my transgressions. 2   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,           and cleanse me from my sin. 3   For I know my transgressions,           and my sin is ever before me. 4   Against you, you alone, have I sinned,           and done what is evil in your sight,      so that you are justified in your sentence           and blameless when you pass judgment. 5   Indeed, I was born guilty,           a sinner when my mother conceived me. 6   You desire truth in the inward being;           therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;           wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8   Let me hear joy and gladness;           let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9   Hide your face from my sins,           and blot out all my iniquities. 10  Create in me a clean heart, O God,           and put a new and right spirit within me. 11  Do not cast me away from your presence,           and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,           and sustain in me a willing spirit. 13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,           and sinners will return to you. 14  Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,           O God of my salvation,           and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 15  O Lord, open my lips,           and my mouth will declare your praise. 16  For you have no delight in sacrifice;           if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. 17  The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;           a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18  Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;           rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, 19  then you will delight in right sacrifices,           in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;           then bulls will be offered on your altar. Morning Psalm 148 1   Praise the Lord!      Praise the Lord from the heavens;           praise him in the heights! 2   Praise him, all his angels;           praise him, all his host! 3   Praise him, sun and moon;           praise him, all you shining stars! 4   Praise him, you highest heavens,           and you waters above the heavens! 5   Let them praise the name of the Lord,           for he commanded and they were created. 6   He established them forever and ever;           he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. 7   Praise the Lord from the earth,           you sea monsters and all deeps, 8   fire and hail, snow and frost,           stormy wind fulfilling his command! 9   Mountains and all hills,           fruit trees and all cedars! 10  Wild animals and all cattle,           creeping things and flying birds! 11  Kings of the earth and all peoples,           princes and all rulers of the earth! 12  Young men and women alike,           old and young together! 13  Let them praise the name of the Lord,           for his name alone is exalted;           his glory is above earth and heaven. 14  He has raised up a horn for his people,           praise for all his faithful,           for the people of Israel who are close to him.      Praise the Lord! First Reading Judges 14:20-15:20 20And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man. 1After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, "I want to go into my wife's room." But her father would not allow him to go in. 2Her father said, "I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister prettier than she? Why not take her instead?" 3Samson said to them, "This time, when I do mischief to the Philistines, I will be without blame." 4So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took some torches; and he turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5When he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 6Then the Philistines asked, "Who has done this?" And they said, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken Samson's wife and given her to his companion." So the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father. 7Samson said to them, "If this is what you do, I swear I will not stop until I have taken revenge on you." 8He struck them down hip and thigh with great slaughter; and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam. 9Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah, and made a raid on Lehi. 10The men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" They said, "We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us." 11Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and they said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then have you done to us?" He replied, "As they did to me, so I have done to them." 12They said to him, "We have come down to bind you, so that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines." Samson answered them, "Swear to me that you yourselves will not attack me." 13They said to him, "No, we will only bind you and give you into their hands; we will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock. 14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him; and the spirit of the LORD rushed on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. 15Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached down and took it, and with it he killed a thousand men. 16And Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men." 17When he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and that place was called Ramath-lehi. 18By then he was very thirsty, and he called on the LORD, saying, "You have granted this great victory by the hand of your servant. Am I now to die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" 19So God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came from it. When he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore it was named En-hakkore, which is at Lehi to this day. 20And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. Second Reading Acts 7:17-29 17"But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied 18until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. 19He dealt craftily with our race and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die. 20At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in his father's house; 21and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds. 23"When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the Israelites. 24When he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25He supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing them, but they did not understand. 26The next day he came to some of them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?' 27But the man who was wronging his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' 29When he heard this, Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons. Gospel Reading John 4:43-54 43When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee 44(for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet's own country). 45When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival. 46Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." 49The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my little boy dies." 50Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. 51As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. 52So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, "Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him." 53The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he himself believed, along with his whole household. 54Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee. Evening Psalm 142 1   With my voice I cry to the LORD;           with my voice I make supplication to the LORD. 2   I pour out my complaint before him;           I tell my trouble before him. 3   When my spirit is faint,           you know my way.      In the path where I walk           they have hidden a trap for me. 4   Look on my right hand and see —           there is no one who takes notice of me;      no refuge remains to me;           no one cares for me. 5   I cry to you, O LORD;           I say, “You are my refuge,           my portion in the land of the living.” 6   Give heed to my cry,           for I am brought very low.      Save me from my persecutors,           for they are too strong for me. 7   Bring me out of prison,           so that I may give thanks to your name.      The righteous will surround me,           for you will deal bountifully with me. Evening Psalm 65 1   Praise is due to you,           O God, in Zion;      and to you shall vows be performed, 2        O you who answer prayer!      To you all flesh shall come. 3   When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,           you forgive our transgressions. 4   Happy are those whom you choose and bring near           to live in your courts.      We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,           your holy temple. 5   By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,           O God of our salvation;      you are the hope of all the ends of the earth           and of the farthest seas. 6   By your strength you established the mountains;           you are girded with might. 7   You silence the roaring of the seas,           the roaring of their waves,           the tumult of the peoples. 8   Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;           you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. 9   You visit the earth and water it,           you greatly enrich it;      the river of God is full of water;           you provide the people with grain,           for so you have prepared it. 10  You water its furrows abundantly,           settling its ridges,      softening it with showers,           and blessing its growth. 11  You crown the year with your bounty;           your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 12  The pastures of the wilderness overflow,           the hills gird themselves with joy, 13  the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,           the valleys deck themselves with grain,           they shout and sing together for joy.

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