Heirs to the Promise--Jan. 31, 2015

You call all the earth

to worship you with gladness,

to come into your presence with singing.

Surely the traditions of our forebears have a place;

we look to the rock from which we were hewn,

to the quarry from which we were dug,

as we pursue righteousness.

So we are grateful

to Sarah and Abraham

and to all their descendants,

but we understand that in Christ

all the world are heirs to the promise.

Therefore help us treat them all as kindred.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 122; 149; 100; 63

Isa. 51:1-8

Gal. 3:23-29

Mark 7:1-23

Selected Verses

Ps. 100:1-2

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. 

          Worship the LORD with gladness;
          come into his presence with singing.

Isa. 51:1

Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,
          you that seek the LORD.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
          and to the quarry from which you were dug. 

Gal. 3:29

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Mark 7:5

So the Pharisees and the scribes asked [Jesus], “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”