GENESIS 18:16- 19:38
MATTHEW 6:25- 7:14
PSALM 8:1- 9
PROVERBS 2:6- 15
Then the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way. 17 "Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked. 18 "For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised." 20 So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked. 21 I am going down to see whether or not these reports are true. Then I will know." 22 The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while. 23 Abraham approached him and said, "Will you destroy both innocent and guilty alike? 24 Suppose you find fifty innocent people there within the city-- will you still destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes? 25 Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?" 26 And the LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake." 27 Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose there are only forty- five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?" And the LORD said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty- five." 29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty." 30 "Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak-- suppose only thirty are found?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are thirty." 31 Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue-- suppose there are only twenty?" And the LORD said, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty." 32 Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only ten are found there?" And the LORD said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it." 33 The LORD went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent. 19:1 THAT evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom, and Lot was sitting there as they arrived. When he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed low to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up in the morning as early as you like and be on your way again." "Oh no," they said, "we'll just spend the night out here in the city square." 3 But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. He set a great feast before them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast. After the meal, 4 as they were preparing to retire for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5 They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so we can have sex with them." 6 Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7 "Please, my brothers," he begged, "don't do such a wicked thing. 8 Look-- I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection." 9 "Stand back!" they shouted. "Who do you think you are? We let you settle among us, and now you are trying to tell us what to do! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" And they lunged at Lot and began breaking down the door. 10 But the two angels reached out and pulled Lot in and bolted the door. 11 Then they blinded the men of Sodom so they couldn't find the doorway. 12 "Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" the angels asked. "Get them out of this place-- sons- in- law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13 For we will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters 'fianc鳬 "Quick, get out of the city! The LORD is going to destroy it." But the young men thought he was only joking. 15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. "Hurry," they said to Lot. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city." 16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful. 17 "Run for your lives!" the angels warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don't look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die." 18 "Oh no, my lords, please," Lot begged. 19 "You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you have granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20 See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved." 21 "All right," the angel said, "I will grant your request. I will not destroy that little village. 22 But hurry! For I can do nothing until you are there." From that time on, that village was known as Zoar. 23 The sun was rising as Lot reached the village. 24 Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, eliminating all life-- people, plants, and animals alike. 26 But Lot's wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 The next morning Abraham was up early and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD's presence. 28 He looked out across the plain to Sodom and Gomorrah and saw columns of smoke and fumes, as from a furnace, rising from the cities there. 29 But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. 30 Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31 One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There isn't a man anywhere in this entire area for us to marry. And our father will soon be too old to have children. 32 Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will sleep with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father." 33 So that night they got him drunk, and the older daughter went in and slept with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 34 The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, "I slept with our father last night. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him. That way our family line will be preserved." 35 So that night they got him drunk again, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 36 So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. 38 When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben- ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.
"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life-- whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. 28" And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! 31 "So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. 32 Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, 33 and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. 34" So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. 7:1 "STOP judging others, and you will not be judged. 2 For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. 3 And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye *when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying, `Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. 6" Don't give what is holy to unholy people. Don't give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. 7 "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. 9 You parents-- if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. 12" Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. 13 "You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. 14 But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it."
For the choir director:A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.
1 O LORD, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and nursing infants
to give you praise.
They silence your enemies
who were seeking revenge.
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers--
the moon and the stars you have set in place--
4 what are mortals that you should think of us,
mere humans that you should care for us?
5 For you made us only a little lower than God,
and you crowned us with glory and honor.
6 You put us in charge of everything you made,
giving us authority over all things--
7 the sheep and the cattle
and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.
9 O LORD, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!
For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of good sense to the godly. He is their shield, protecting those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of justice and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will know how to find the right course of action every time. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise planning will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose speech is corrupt. These people turn from right ways to walk down dark and evil paths. They rejoice in doing wrong, and they enjoy evil as it turns things upside down. What they do is crooked, and their ways are wrong
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