Saturday, April 26, 2025

Daily Lectionary Readings for April 26, 2025

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Daily Lectionary Readings
(Two-Year Cycle)

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Daily Lectionary Readings for April 26, 2025

By Daily Lectionary Readings, Saturday, April 26, 2025 12:00 AM

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 Isaiah 25:1-9

1   O 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 peoples
          a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
          of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
7   And he will destroy on this mountain
          the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
          the sheet that is spread over all nations;
8        he will swallow up death forever.
     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.

Second Reading Acts 4:13-21 (22-31)

13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. 14When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. 16They said, “What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. 17But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; 20for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. 22For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

23After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, 25it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:
     ‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
          and the peoples imagine vain things?
26  The kings of the earth took their stand,
          and the rulers have gathered together
               against the Lord and against his Messiah.’
27For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

Gospel Reading John 16:16-33

16“A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? 20Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. 21When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. 22So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

25“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”

29His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! 30Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” 31Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”

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.

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Bible Readings for April 26, 2025

 

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Judges 6:1-40; Luke 22:54–23:12; Psalm 95:1–96:13; and Proverbs 14:5-6. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version



Judges 6:1-40 (Contemporary English Version)


Judges 6

Midian Steals Everything from Israel

 1Then once again the Israelites started disobeying the LORD, so he let the nation of Midian control Israel for seven years.     2The Midianites were so cruel that many Israelites ran to the mountains and hid in caves.
    3Every time the Israelites would plant crops, the Midianites invaded Israel together with the Amalekites and other eastern nations.
    4-5They rode in on their camels, set up their tents, and then let their livestock eat the crops as far as the town of Gaza. The Midianites stole food, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. Like a swarm of locusts, a<="" value="[a]" >[] they could not be counted, and they ruined the land wherever they went.
    6-7The Midianites took almost everything that belonged to the Israelites, and the Israelites begged the LORD for help.
    8-9Then the LORD sent a prophet to them with this message:
   I am the LORD God of Israel, so listen to what I say. You were slaves in Egypt, but I set you free and led you out of Egypt into this land. And when nations here made life miserable for you, I rescued you and helped you get rid of them and take their land.
    10I am your God, and I told you not to worship Amorite gods, even though you are living in the land of the Amorites. But you refused to listen.     

The LORD Chooses Gideon

 11One day an angel from the LORD went to the town of Ophrah and sat down under the big tree that belonged to Joash, a member of the Abiezer clan. Joash's son Gideon was nearby, threshing grain in a shallow pit, where he could not be seen by the Midianites.     12The angel appeared and spoke to Gideon, " The LORD is helping you, and you are a strong warrior."
    13Gideon answered, " Please don't take this wrong, but if the LORD is helping us, then why have all of these awful things happened? We've heard how the LORD performed miracles and rescued our ancestors from Egypt. But those things happened long ago. Now the LORD has abandoned us to the Midianites."
    14Then the LORD himself said, " Gideon, you will be strong, because I am giving you the power to rescue Israel from the Midianites."
    15Gideon replied, " But how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest one in Manasseh, and everyone else in my family is more important than I am."
    16" Gideon," the LORD answered, " you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man."
    17Gideon said, " It's hard to believe that I'm actually talking to the LORD. Please do something so I'll know that you really are the LORD.
    18And wait here until I bring you an offering."
   " All right, I'll wait," the LORD answered.
    19Gideon went home and killed a young goat, then started boiling the meat. Next, he opened a big sack of flour and made it into thin bread. [b<="">] When the meat was done, he put it in a basket and poured the broth into a clay cooking pot. He took the meat, the broth, and the bread and placed them under the big tree.
    20God's angel said, " Gideon, put the meat and the bread on this rock, and pour the broth over them." Gideon did as he was told.
    21The angel was holding a walking stick, and he touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick. Flames jumped from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread.
   When Gideon looked, the angel was gone.
    22Gideon realized that he had seen one of the LORD's angels. " Oh!" he moaned. " Now I'm going to die." [c<="">]
    23" Calm down!" the LORD told Gideon. " There's nothing to be afraid of. You're not going to die."
    24Gideon built an altar for worshiping the LORD and called it " The LORD Calms Our Fears." It still stands there in Ophrah, a town in the territory of the Abiezer clan.     

Gideon Tears Down Baal's Altar

 25That night the LORD spoke to Gideon again:    Get your father's second-best bull, the one that's seven years old. Use it to pull down the altar where your father worships Baal and cut down the sacred pole [d<="">] next to the altar.
    26Then build an altar for worshiping me on the highest part of the hill where your town is built. Use layers of stones for my altar, not just a pile of rocks. Cut up the wood from the pole, make a fire, kill the bull, and burn it as a sacrifice to me.
    27Gideon chose ten of his servants to help him, and they did everything God had said. But since Gideon was afraid of his family and the other people in town, he did it all at night.
    28When the people of the town got up the next morning, they saw that Baal's altar had been knocked over, and the sacred pole next to it had been cut down. Then they noticed the new altar covered with the remains of the sacrificed bull.
    29" Who could have done such a thing?" they asked. And they kept on asking, until finally someone told them, " Gideon the son of Joash did it."
    30The men of the town went to Joash and said, " Your son Gideon knocked over Baal's altar and cut down the sacred pole next to it. Hand him over, so we can kill him!"
    31The crowd pushed closer and closer, but Joash replied, " Are you trying to take revenge for Baal? Are you trying to rescue Baal? If you are, you will be the ones who are put to death, and it will happen before another day dawns. If Baal really is a god, let him take his own revenge on someone who tears down his altar."
    32That same day, Joash changed Gideon's name to Jerubbaal, explaining, " He tore down Baal's altar, so let Baal take revenge himself." [e<="">]     

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

 33All the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations got together and crossed the Jordan River. Then they invaded the land of Israel and set up camp in Jezreel Valley.     34The LORD's Spirit took control of Gideon, and Gideon blew a signal on a trumpet to tell the men in the Abiezer clan to follow him.
    35He also sent messengers to the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, telling the men of these tribes to come and join his army. Then they set out toward the enemy camp.
    36-37Gideon prayed to God, " I know that you promised to help me rescue Israel, but I need proof. Tonight I'll put some wool on the stone floor of that threshing-place over there. If you really will help me rescue Israel, then tomorrow morning let there be dew on the wool, but let the stone floor be dry."
    38And that's just what happened. Early the next morning, Gideon got up and checked the wool. He squeezed out enough water to fill a bowl.
    39But Gideon prayed to God again. " Don't be angry at me," Gideon said. " Let me try this just one more time, so I'll really be sure you'll help me. Only this time, let the wool be dry and the stone floor be wet with dew."
    40That night, God made the stone floor wet with dew, but he kept the wool dry.
    
Footnotes:
  1. Judges 6:4 locusts: Insects like grasshoppers that travel in swarms and cause great damage to crops.
  2. Judges 6:19 thin bread: Bread made without yeast, since there was no time for the dough to rise.
  3. Judges 6:22 Now I'm going to die: The Hebrew text has " I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face." Some people believed that if they saw one of the LORD's angels, they would die (see 13.22).
  4. Judges 6:25 sacred pole: Or " sacred tree," used as a symbol of Asherah, the Canaanite goddess of fertility.
  5. Judges 6:32 Jerubbaal. . . take revenge himself: In Hebrew, " Jerubbaal" means " Let Baal take revenge."



Luke 22:54-23:12 (Contemporary English Version)

Peter Says He Doesn't Know Jesus
(Matthew 26.57,58,67-75; Mark 14.53,54,66-72; John 18.12-18, 25-27)

 54Jesus was arrested and led away to the house of the high priest, while Peter followed at a distance. 55Some people built a fire in the middle of the courtyard and were sitting around it. Peter sat there with them, 56and a servant girl saw him. Then after she had looked at him carefully, she said, "This man was with Jesus!"     57Peter said, "Woman, I don't even know that man!"
    58A little later someone else saw Peter and said, "You are one of them!"
   "No, I'm not!" Peter replied.
    59About an hour later another man insisted, "This man must have been with Jesus. They both come from Galilee."
    60Peter replied, "I don't know what you are talking about!" Right then, while Peter was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
    61The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered that the Lord had said, "Before a rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will say three times that you don't know me." 62Then Peter went out and cried hard.
    63The men who were guarding Jesus made fun of him and beat him. 64They put a blindfold on him and said, "Tell us who struck you!" 65They kept on insulting Jesus in many other ways.     

Jesus Is Questioned by the Council
(Matthew 26.59-66; Mark 14.55-64; John 18.19-24)

 66At daybreak the nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses got together and brought Jesus before their council. 67They said, "Tell us! Are you the Messiah?"    Jesus replied, "If I said so, you wouldn't believe me. 68And if I asked you a question, you wouldn't answer. 69But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right side of God All-Powerful."
    70Then they asked, "Are you the Son of God?" a<="" value="[a]" >[] Jesus answered, "You say I am!" [b<="">] 71They replied, "Why do we need more witnesses? He said it himself!"
    

Luke 23

Pilate Questions Jesus
(Matthew 27.1,2,11-14; Mark 15.1-5; John 18.28-38)

 1Everyone in the council got up and led Jesus off to Pilate. 2They started accusing him and said, "We caught this man trying to get our people to riot and to stop paying taxes to the Emperor. He also claims that he is the Messiah, our king."    3Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
   "Those are your words," Jesus answered.
    4Pilate told the chief priests and the crowd, "I don't find him guilty of anything."
    5But they all kept on saying, "He has been teaching and causing trouble all over Judea. He started in Galilee and has now come all the way here."     

Jesus Is Brought before Herod

 6When Pilate heard this, he asked, "Is this man from Galilee?" 7After Pilate learned that Jesus came from the region ruled by Herod, [c<="">] he sent him to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at that time. 8For a long time Herod had wanted to see Jesus and was very happy because he finally had this chance. He had heard many things about Jesus and hoped to see him work a miracle.     9Herod asked him a lot of questions, but Jesus did not answer. 10Then the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses stood up and accused him of all kinds of bad things.
    11Herod and his soldiers made fun of Jesus and insulted him. They put a fine robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. 12That same day Herod and Pilate became friends, even though they had been enemies before this.
    
Footnotes:
  1. Luke 22:70 Son of God: This was one of the titles used for the kings of Israel.
  2. Luke 22:70 You say I am: Or " That's what you say."
  3. Luke 23:7 Herod: Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.



Psalm 95-96:13 (Contemporary English Version)


Psalm 95

Worship and Obey the LORD

 1Sing joyful songs to the LORD!    Praise the mighty rock
   where we are safe.
    2Come to worship him
   with thankful hearts
   and songs of praise.
    3The LORD is the greatest God,
   king over all other gods.
    4He holds the deepest part
   of the earth in his hands,
   and the mountain peaks
   belong to him.
    5The ocean is the Lord's
   because he made it,
   and with his own hands
   he formed the dry land.
    6Bow down and worship
   the LORD our Creator!
    7The LORD is our God,
   and we are his people,
   the sheep he takes care of
   in his own pasture.
   Listen to God's voice today!
    8Don't be stubborn and rebel
   as your ancestors did
   at Meribah and Massah a<="" value="[a]" >[] out in the desert.
    9For forty years
   they tested God
   and saw
   the things he did.
    10Then God got tired of them
   and said,
   "You never show good sense,
   and you don't understand
   what I want you to do."
    11In his anger, God told them,
   "You people will never enter
   my place of rest."
    

Psalm 96

Sing a New Song to the LORD

 1Sing a new song to the LORD!    Everyone on this earth,
   sing praises to the LORD,
    2sing and praise his name.
   Day after day announce,
   "The LORD has saved us!"
    3Tell every nation on earth,
   "The LORD is wonderful
   and does marvelous things!
    4The LORD is great and deserves
   our greatest praise!
   He is the only God
   worthy of our worship.
    5Other nations worship idols,
   but the LORD created
   the heavens.
    6Give honor and praise
   to the LORD,
   whose power and beauty
   fill his holy temple."
    7Tell everyone of every nation,
   "Praise the glorious power
   of the LORD.
    8He is wonderful! Praise him
   and bring an offering
   into his temple.
    9Everyone on earth, now tremble
   and worship the LORD,
   majestic and holy."
    10Announce to the nations,
   "The LORD is King!
   The world stands firm,
   never to be shaken,
   and he will judge its people
   with fairness."
    11Tell the heavens and the earth
   to be glad and celebrate!
   Command the ocean to roar
   with all of its creatures
    12and the fields to rejoice
   with all of their crops.
   Then every tree in the forest
   will sing joyful songs
    13to the LORD.
   He is coming to judge
   all people on earth
   with fairness and truth.
    
Footnotes:
  1. Psalm 95:8 Meribah and Massah: See the note at 81.7.



Proverbs 14:5-6 (Contemporary English Version)


5An honest witness
   tells the truth;
   a dishonest witness
   tells nothing but lies.
    6Make fun of wisdom,
   and you will never find it.
   But if you have understanding,
   knowledge comes easily.



Thought for the Day

“He is forever able to save the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them.” (Hebrews 7:25  - Contemporary English Version) Since God entered our time and space as Jesus Christ, a son of man, he can identify with us. Therefore, when we approach him in prayer with all our fears and frustrations, we can be confident that he understands.


Italian billionaire businessman, Michele Ferrero wrote, "Never patronize a child."


Joke for Today

I stopped at a fast-food restaurant recently. I was fascinated by a sign which offered Fat-Free French Fries. I decided to give them a try.

I was dismayed when the clerk pulled a basket of fries from the fryer, which was dripping with fat. He filled a bag with these fries and put them in my order.

"Just a minute!" I said. "Those aren't fat-free."

"Yes, they are. We only charge for the potatoes . . . the fat is free!"



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 children respect and honor their parents and that parents raise their children with compassion.