Acts 9: 36-43
Peter in Lydda and Joppa
36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha,
which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of
charity.37At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her,
they laid her in a room upstairs. 38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter
was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without
delay.’ 39So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they
took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and
showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40Peter
put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the
body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter,
she sat up.41He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints
and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42This
became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.43Meanwhile
he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
Psalm 23
The
Divine Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
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.
Revelation 7: 9-17
The Multitude from Every
Nation
9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that
no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and
languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with
palm branches in their hands. 10They
cried out in a loud voice, saying,
‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’
11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders
and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne
and worshipped God, 12singing,
‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honour
and power and might
be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are
these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ 14I said
to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they
who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and worship him day and night within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
17 for the Lamb at the centre of
the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’
John 10:22-30
Jesus Is Rejected by the
Jews
22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in
Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and
Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24So the
Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in
suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’25Jesus
answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my
Father’s name testify to me; 26but you
do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27My
sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28I give
them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of
my hand. 29What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one
can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30The
Father and I are one.’