Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Daily Lectionary Readings for December 31, 2025

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Daily Lectionary Readings
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Lectionary Readings for

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

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 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 1 Kings 3:5-14

5At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you." 6And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 9Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?"

10It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. 13I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. 14If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life."

Second Reading James 4:13-17, 5:7-11

13Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money." 14Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

7Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Gospel Reading John 5:1-15

1After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3In these lay many invalids blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" 7The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me." 8Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." 9At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, "It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." 11But he answered them, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'" 12They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take it up and walk'?" 13Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. 14Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you." 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Evening Psalm 45

1   My heart overflows with a goodly theme;
          I address my verses to the king;
          my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.


2   You are the most handsome of men;
          grace is poured upon your lips;
          therefore God has blessed you forever.

3   Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
          in your glory and majesty.


4   In your majesty ride on victoriously
          for the cause of truth and to defend the right;
          let your right hand teach you dread deeds.
5   Your arrows are sharp
          in the heart of the king’s enemies;
          the peoples fall under you.


6   Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever.
          Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
7        you love righteousness and hate wickedness.
     Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
          with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8        your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
     From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9        daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
          at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.


10  Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
          forget your people and your father’s house,
11       and the king will desire your beauty.
     Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12       the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
          the richest of the people 13 with all kinds of wealth.


     The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
14       in many-colored robes she is led to the king;
          behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
15  With joy and gladness they are led along
          as they enter the palace of the king.


16  In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons;
          you will make them princes in all the earth.
17  I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations;
          therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.

Evening Psalm 96

1   O sing to the LORD a new song;
          sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2   Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
          tell of his salvation from day to day.
3   Declare his glory among the nations,
          his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4   For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
          he is to be revered above all gods.
5   For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
          but the LORD made the heavens.
6   Honor and majesty are before him;
          strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7   Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
          ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8   Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
          bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9   Worship the LORD in holy splendor;
          tremble before him, all the earth.


10  Say among the nations, “The LORD is king!
          The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
          He will judge the peoples with equity.”
11  Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
          let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12       let the field exult, and everything in it.
     Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13       before the LORD; for he is coming,
          for he is coming to judge the earth.
     He will judge the world with righteousness,
          and the peoples with his truth.

 

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Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202

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Bible Readings for December 31, 2025

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Malachi 3:1–4:6; Revelation 22:1-21; Psalm 150:1-6; and Proverbs 31:25-31. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.


Malachi 3-4Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The Promised Messenger

3 I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will send my messenger
    to prepare the way for me.
Then suddenly the Lord
you are looking for
    will appear in his temple.
The messenger you desire
is coming with my promise,
    and he is on his way.

A Day of Change

2 On the day the Lord comes, he will be like a furnace that purifies silver or like strong soap in a washbasin. No one will be able to stand up to him. 3 TheLord will purify the descendants of Levi,a] as though they were gold or silver. Then they will bring the proper offerings to the Lord, 4 and the offerings of the people of Judah and Jerusalem will please him, just as they did in the past.

Don’t Cheat God

5 The Lord All-Powerful said:
I’m now on my way to judge you. And I will quickly condemn all who practice witchcraft or cheat in marriage or tell lies in court or rob workers of their pay or mistreat widows and orphans or steal the property of foreigners or refuse to respect me.
6 Descendants of Jacob, I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I never change. That’s why you haven’t been wiped out, 7 even though you have ignored and disobeyed my laws ever since the time of your ancestors. But if you return to me, I will return to you.
And yet you ask, “How can we return?”
8 You people are robbing me, your God. And, here you are, asking, “How are we robbing you?”
You are robbing me of the offerings and of the ten percent that belongs to me.b] 9 That’s why your whole nation is under a curse. 10 I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing.c]11 I will also stop locustsd] from destroying your crops and keeping your vineyards from producing. 12 Everyone of every nation will talk about how I have blessed you and about your wonderful land. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken!
13 You have said horrible things about me, and yet you ask, “What have we said?”
14 Here is what you have said: “It’s foolish to serve the Lord God All-Powerful. What do we get for obeying him and from going around looking sad? 15 See how happy those arrogant people are. Everyone who does wrong is successful, and when they put God to the test, they always get away with it.”

Faithfulness Is Rewarded

16 All those who truly respected the Lord and honored his name started discussing these things, and when God saw what was happening, he had their namese] written as a reminder in his book.
17 Then the Lord All-Powerful said:
You people are precious to me, and when I come to bring justice, I will protect you, just as parents protect an obedient child. 18 Then everyone will once again see the difference between those who obey me by doing right and those who reject me by doing wrong.

The Day of Judgment

The Lord said:
4 The day of judgment is certain to come. And it will be like a red-hot furnace with flames that burn up proud and sinful people, as though they were straw. Not a branch or a root will be left. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken! 2 But for you that honor my name, victory will shine like the sun with healing in its rays, and you will jump around like calves at play. 3 When I come to bring justice, you will trample those who are evil, as though they were ashes under your feet. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken!
4 Don’t ever forget the laws and teachings I gave my servant Moses on Mount Sinai.f]
5 I, the Lord, promise to send the prophet Elijah before that great and terrible day comes. 6 He will lead children and parents to love each other more, so that when I come, I won’t bring doom to the land.

Footnotes:

  1. 3.3 descendants of Levi: The priests.
  2. 3.8 the ten percent. . . to me: The people of Israel were supposed to give a tenth of their harvests and of their flocks and herds to the Lord (see Leviticus 27.30-33; Deuteronomy 14.22-29).
  3. 3.10 open the windows. . . blessing: This may refer to rain, since there seems to have been a terrible drought at this time.
  4. 3.11 locusts: A kind of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life.
  5. 3.16 names: Or “deeds.”
  6. 4.4 Sinai: Hebrew “Horeb.”

Revelation 22Contemporary English Version (CEV)

22 The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated.2 Then it flowed down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river are treesa] that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations.
3 God’s curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God 4 and will see him face to face. God’s name will be written on the foreheads of the people. 5 Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.

The Coming of Christ

6 Then I was told:
These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord God controls the spirits of his prophets, and he is the one who sent his angel to show his servants what must happen right away. 7 Remember, I am coming soon! God will bless everyone who pays attention to the message of this book.
8 My name is John, and I am the one who heard and saw these things. Then after I had heard and seen all this, I knelt down and began to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown it to me.
9 But the angel said,
Don’t do that! I am a servant, just like you. I am the same as a follower or a prophet or anyone else who obeys what is written in this book. God is the one you should worship.
10 Don’t keep the prophecies in this book a secret. These things will happen soon.
11 Evil people will keep on being evil, and everyone who is dirty-minded will still be dirty-minded. But good people will keep on doing right, and God’s people will always be holy.
12 Then I was told:
I am coming soon! And when I come, I will reward everyone for what they have done. 13 I am Alpha and Omega,b] the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
14 God will bless all who have washed their robes. They will each have the right to eat fruit from the tree that gives life, and they can enter the gates of the city. 15 But outside the city will be dogs, witches, immoral people, murderers, idol worshipers, and everyone who loves to tell lies and do wrong.
16 I am Jesus! And I am the one who sent my angel to tell all of you these things for the churches. I am David’s Great Descendant,c] and I am also the bright morning star.d]
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
Everyone who hears thise] should say, “Come!”
If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It’s free!
18 Here is my warning for everyone who hears the prophecies in this book:
If you add anything to them, God will make you suffer all the terrible troubles written in this book. 19 If you take anything away from these prophecies, God will not let you have part in the life-giving tree and in the holy city described in this book.
20 The one who has spoken these things says, “I am coming soon!”
So, Lord Jesus, please come soon!
21 I pray that the Lord Jesus will be kind to all of you.

Footnotes:

  1. 22.2 trees: The Greek has “tree,” which is used in a collective sense of trees on both sides of the heavenly river.
  2. 22.13 Alpha and Omega: See the note at 1.8.
  3. 22.16 David’s Great Descendant: See the note at 5.5.
  4. 22.16 the bright morning star: Probably thought of as the brightest star (see 2.27,28).
  5. 22.17 who hears this: The reading of the book of Revelation in a service of worship.


Psalm 150Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The Lord Is Good to His People

Shout praises to the Lord!
    Praise God in his temple.
    Praise him in heaven,
    his mighty fortress.
2 Praise our God!
    His deeds are wonderful,
    too marvelous to describe.
3 Praise God with trumpets
    and all kinds of harps.
4 Praise him with tambourines
    and dancing,
    with stringed instruments
    and woodwinds.
5 Praise God with cymbals,
    with clashing cymbals.
6 Let every living creature
praise the Lord.
    Shout praises to the Lord!


Proverbs 31:25-31Contemporary English Version (CEV)

25 She is strong and graceful,a]
    as well as cheerful
    about the future.
26 Her words are sensible,
    and her advice
    is thoughtful.
27 She takes good care
of her family
    and is never lazy.
28 Her children praise her,
    and with great pride
    her husband says,
29 “There are many good women,
    but you are the best!”
30 Charm can be deceiving,
    and beauty fades away,
but a woman
who honors the Lord
    deserves to be praised.
31 Show her respect—
    praise her in public
    for what she has done.

Footnotes:

  1. 31.25 She. . . graceful: Or “The clothes she makes are attractive and of good quality.”



Thought for the Day
 

I am the one who cut a path through the mighty ocean. Forget what happened long ago! Don’t think about the past. I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands. (Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 - Contemporary English Version) We stand at the end of the old and the beginning of the new. And even though it's important to learn from the past, we must look forward, trusting that God is with us and we have the power to glorify him through both our words and work.

Quote for the Day

American author of self-help books on codependent relationships, Melody Beattie wrote, "The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals."

A Joke for Today

I wanted to cook a fancy dinner for New Year's Eve, but I ran out of thyme. 


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 we remember the dedication shown by our teachers. 

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