January 2 - Luke 6.1-26, Genesis 3-5 and Psalm 2
January 2 - Luke 6.1-26, Genesis 3-5 and Psalm 2
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A Question about the Sabbath
 2Some Pharisees said, "Why are you picking grain on the Sabbath? You're not supposed to do that!"
3Jesus answered, "You surely have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry. 4He went into the house of God and took the sacred loaves of bread that only priests were supposed to eat. He not only ate some himself, but even gave some to his followers."
5Jesus finished by saying, "The Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath."
A Man with a Crippled Hand
6On another Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a Jewish meeting place, and a man with a crippled right hand was there. 7Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses kept watching Jesus to see if he would heal the man. They did this because they wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong.
8Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man to stand up where everyone could see him. And the man stood up. 9Then Jesus asked, "On the Sabbath should we do good deeds or evil deeds? Should we save someone's life or destroy it?"
10After he had looked around at everyone, he told the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did, and his bad hand became completely well.
11The teachers and the Pharisees were furious and started saying to each other, "What can we do about Jesus?"
Jesus Chooses His Twelve Apostles
12About that time Jesus went off to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night there. 13The next morning he called his disciples together and chose twelve of them to be his apostles. 14One was Simon, and Jesus named him Peter. Another was Andrew, Peter's brother. There were also James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus. The rest of the apostles were Simon, known as the Eager One, 16Jude, who was the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.
Jesus Teaches, Preaches, and Heals
17Jesus and his apostles went down from the mountain and came to some flat, level ground. Many other disciples were there to meet him. Large crowds of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon were there too. 18These people had come to listen to Jesus and to be healed of their diseases. All who were troubled by evil spirits were also healed. 19Everyone was trying to touch Jesus, because power was going out from him and healing them all.
Blessings and Troubles
20Jesus looked at his disciples and said:
 God will bless you people
who are poor.
 His kingdom belongs to you!
 21God will bless
you hungry people.
You will have plenty
to eat!
God will bless you people
who are crying.
You will laugh!
 24But you rich people
are in for trouble.
 You have already had
an easy life!
25You well-fed people
are in for trouble.
You will go hungry!
 You people
who are laughing now
are in for trouble.
You are going to cry
and weep!
The First Sin Genesis 3 The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the LORD God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, "Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?"2The woman answered, "God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 3except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die."
4"No, you won't!" the snake replied. 5"God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does."
6The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.
8Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the LORD God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees.
The Trouble with Sin 9The LORD called out to the man and asked, "Where are you?"
10The man answered, "I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!"
11"How did you know you were naked?" God asked. "Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?"
12"It was the woman you put here with me," the man said. "She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it."
13The LORD God then asked the woman, "What have you done?"
"The snake tricked me," she answered. "And I ate some of that fruit."
14So the LORD God said to the snake:
"Because of what you have done,
you will be the only animal
to suffer this curse--
For as long as you live,
you will crawl on your stomach
and eat dirt.
15You and this woman
will hate each other;
your descendants and hers
will always be enemies.
One of hers will strike you
on the head,
and you will strike him
on the heel."
16Then the LORD said to the woman,
"You will suffer terribly
when you give birth.
But you will still desire
your husband,
and he will rule over you."
17The LORD said to the man,
"You listened to your wife
and ate fruit from that tree.
And so, the ground
will be under a curse
because of what you did.
As long as you live,
you will have to struggle
to grow enough food.
18Your food will be plants,
but the ground
will produce
thorns and thistles.
19You will have to sweat
to earn a living;
you were made out of soil,
and you will once again
turn into soil."
20The man Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all who live.
21Then the LORD God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.
22The LORD said, "These people now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever." 23So the LORD God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made. 24Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.
Cain Murders Abel Genesis 4 Adam and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, "I'll name him Cain because I got him with the help of the LORD." 2Later she had another son and named him Abel.Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land. 3One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the LORD, 4and Abel also gave an offering to the LORD. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the LORD the best parts of it. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering, 5but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.
6The LORD said to Cain:
8Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go for a walk." And when they were out in a field, Cain killed him.
9Afterwards the LORD asked Cain, "Where is Abel?"
"How should I know?" he answered. "Am I supposed to look after my brother?"
10Then the LORD said:
13"This punishment is too hard!" Cain said. 14"You're making me leave my home and live far from you. I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me."
15"No!" the LORD answered. "Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you." So the LORD put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him. 16But Cain had to go far from the LORD and live in the Land of Wandering, which is east of Eden.
More and More People 17Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son. 18Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.
19Lamech married Adah, then Zillah. 20-21Lamech and Adah had two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Their son Jabal was the first to live in tents and raise sheep and goats. Jubal was the first to play harps and flutes.
22Lamech and Zillah had a son named Tubal Cain who made tools out of bronze and iron. They also had a daughter, whose name was Naamah.
23One day, Lamech said to his two wives, "A young man wounded me, and I killed him. 24Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain."
25Adam and his wife had another son. They named him Seth, because they said, "God has given us a son to take the place of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain." 26Later, Seth had a son and named him Enosh.
About this time people started worshiping the LORD.
Descendants of Adam Genesis 5 1-2God created men and women to be like himself. He gave them his blessing and called them human beings. This is a list of the descendants of Adam, the first man:3-4When Adam was one hundred thirty, he had a son who was just like him, and he named him Seth. Adam had more children 5and died at the age of nine hundred thirty.
6When Seth was one hundred five, he had a son named Enosh. 7Seth had more children 8and died at the age of nine hundred twelve.
9When Enosh was ninety, he had a son named Kenan. 10Enosh had more children 11and died at the age of nine hundred five.
12When Kenan was seventy, he had a son named Mahalalel. 13Kenan had more children 14and died at the age of nine hundred ten.
15When Mahalalel was sixty-five, he had a son named Jared. 16Mahalalel had more children 17and died at the age of eight hundred ninety-five.
18When Jared was one hundred sixty-two, he had a son named Enoch. 19Jared had more children 20and died at the age of nine hundred sixty-two.
21When Enoch was sixty-five, he had a son named Methuselah, 22and during the next three hundred years he had more children. Enoch truly loved God, 23-24and God took him away at the age of three hundred sixty-five.
25When Methuselah was one hundred eighty-seven, he had a son named Lamech. 26Methuselah had more children 27and died at the age of nine hundred sixty-nine.
28When Lamech was one hundred eighty-two, he had a son. 29Lamech said, "I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort, as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the LORD has put under a curse." 30Lamech had more children 31and died at the age of seven hundred seventy-seven.
32After Noah was five hundred years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Psalm 2
 1Why do the nations plot,
 and why do their people
make useless plans?
2The kings of this earth
have all joined together
to turn against the LORD
and his chosen one.
3They say, "Let's cut the ropes
and set ourselves free!"
4In heaven the LORD laughs
as he sits on his throne,
making fun of the nations.
5The LORD becomes furious
and threatens them.
 His anger terrifies them
as he says,
 6 "I've put my king on Zion,
my sacred hill."
7I will tell the promise
that the LORD made to me:
"You are my son, because today
I have become your father.
8Ask me for the nations,
and every nation on earth
will belong to you.
9You will smash them
with an iron rod
and shatter them
like dishes of clay."
10Be smart, all you rulers,
and pay close attention.
11Serve and honor the LORD;
be glad and tremble.
12Show respect to his son
because if you don't,
the LORD might become furious
and suddenly destroy you.
But he blesses and protects
everyone who runs to him.
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This reading is from The
Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version, copyright © American
Bible Society, 1995.
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