Lent Readings: Sunday 1 April

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LEAVING DESPAIR FOR HOPE...

Psalm 24 TNIV

Of David. A psalm.

¹ The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

² for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?

⁴ Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,
who do not put their trust in an idol
or swear by a false god. ^[a]

⁵ They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.

⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob. ^[b][c]

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

⁸ Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.

⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.

Zechariah 12:9-13:9 TNIV

⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

Mourning for the One They Pierced

¹⁰ "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit ^[a] of grace and supplication. They will look on ^[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. ¹¹ On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³ the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

Cleansing From Sin

¹ "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

² "On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. ³ And if some still prophesy, their fathers and mothers, to whom they were born, will say to them, 'You must die, because you have told lies in the LORD's name.' When they prophesy, their own parents will stab them.

⁴ "On that day the prophets will all be ashamed of their prophetic visions. They will not put on a prophet's garment of hair in order to deceive. ⁵ Every one of them will say, 'I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth. ^[c]' ⁶ If someone asks, 'What are these wounds on your body ^[d]?' they will answer, 'The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.'

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

⁷ "Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is close to me!"
declares the LORD Almighty.
"Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

⁸ In the whole land," declares the LORD,
"two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.

⁹ This third I will bring into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, 'They are my people,'
and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.' "

1 Timothy 6:12-16 TNIV

¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

Matthew 21:12-17 TNIV

Jesus at the Temple

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ "It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' ^[a] but you are making it 'a den of robbers.' ^[b]"

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

¹⁶ "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.
"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,
" 'From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise' ^[c]?"

¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.