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Third Sunday in Lent |
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Repent or perish |
Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help
ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls,
that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body,
and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Lesson - Exodus 3:1-15 |
Moses at the Burning Bush
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of
Mid'ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came
to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in
a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush
was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, "I will turn aside and
see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." When the LORD saw that he
turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And
he said, "Here am I." Then he said, "Do not come near; put off your shoes
from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." And
he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at
God. Then the LORD said, "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in
Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their
sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a
land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Per'izzites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites.
And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have
seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send
you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out
of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and
bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" He said, "But I will be with you;
and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have
brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this
mountain." Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and
say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me,
`What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO
I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, `I AM has sent me to
you.'" God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, `The LORD,
the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob, has sent me to you': this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be
remembered throughout all generations.
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Epistle - 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 |
Warnings from Israel's History
I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and
all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud
and in the sea, and all ate the same supernatural food and all drank the
same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which
followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless with most of them God
was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these
things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did. Do not be
idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to
eat and drink and rose up to dance." We must not indulge in immorality as
some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must
not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by
serpents; nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the
Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were
written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No
temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and
he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation
will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
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Gospel - Luke 13:1-9 |
Repent or Parish
There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them,
"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other
Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent
you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in
Silo'am fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders
than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you
repent you will all likewise perish." And he told this parable: "A man had a
fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found
none. And he said to the vinedresser, `Lo, these three years I have come
seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it
use up the ground?' And he answered him, `Let it alone, sir, this year also,
till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well
and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" |
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