Year C - First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord

Isaiah 43:1-7

Thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.

Because you are precious in my sight,

and honored, and I love you,

I give people in return for you,

nations in exchange for your life.

Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

and from the west I will gather you;

I will say to the north, "Give them up,"

and to the south, "Do not withhold;

bring my sons from far away

and my daughters from the end of the earth--

everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made."

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God knows who you are even before you were born. God has loved you like God’s own from day one. Let nothing desperation as the one who loves you is greater than all others put together.

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Psalm 29

Afferte Domino

1

Ascribe to the LORD, you gods, *
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

2

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his Name; *
worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

3

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders; *
the LORD is upon the mighty waters.

4

The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; *
the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.

5

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedar trees; *
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon;

6

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.

7

The voice of the LORD splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; *
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

8

The voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe *
and strips the forests bare.

9

And in the temple of the LORD *
all are crying, "Glory!"

10

The LORD sits enthroned above the flood; *
the LORD sits enthroned as King for evermore.

11

The LORD shall give strength to his people; *
the LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace.

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Voice of God is powerful enough to transform anything. Hearing is every day is what makes us transformative people.

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Acts 8:14-17

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

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Believe in God and lay your hands to bring life. Holy Spirit is upon you from the moment of Baptism. Holy Spirit gives life and that Spirit is within you.

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Luke 3:15-17,21-22

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

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God will be pleased with you as much as God is pleased with Christ when you begin to do God’s work. You are God’s beloved and chosen, Son and Daughter.

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How to Use These Readings and Reflections

Choose the first reading and its reflections for Monday, the second Reading and Reflections for Tuesday and on for each day of the week. By the end of the week you will be ready for the Celebration of Holy Eucharist and a spiritual experience that you got ready in the course of the week. You can use these readings for centering prayer, personal meditation, early morning reflections or prayer groups etc. Make this a daily practice and you will begin to see God’s ever loving hand each and every moment of your life.

• Sermons on the readings of previous Sunday can be found here
• Podcasts of the sermons can be found here
• Visit my church: All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Russellville, AR
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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.