AME Zion Universal Reading August 21st 2022

Sunday School Zoom Link

First Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 7

12And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that the Lord, your God, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers.13And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your oil, the offspring of your cattle and the choice of your flocks, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you.14You shall be blessed above all peoples: There will be no sterile male or barren female among you or among your livestock.15And the Lord will remove from you all illness, and all of the evil diseases of Egypt which you knew, He will not set upon you, but He will lay them upon all your enemies.16And you shall consume all the peoples which the Lord your God gives you; you shall not spare them, nor shall you worship their gods, for that will be a snare for you.17Will you say to yourself, "These nations are more numerous than I; how will I be able to drive them out"?18You shall not fear them. You shall surely remember what the Lord, your God, did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt:19The great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm with which the Lord, your God, brought you out. So will the Lord, Your God, do to all the peoples you fear.20And also the tzir'ah, the Lord, your God, will incite against them, until the survivors and those who hide from you perish.21You shall not be terrified of them, for the Lord, your God, Who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God.22And the Lord, your God, will drive out those nations from before you, little by little. You will not be able to destroy them quickly, lest the beasts of the field outnumber you.23But the Lord, your God, will deliver them to you, and He will confound them with great confusion, until they are destroyed.24And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from beneath the heavens; no man will be able to stand up before you, until you have destroyed them.25The graven images of their gods you will burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is upon them and take it for yourself, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord, your God.26Nor should you bring an abomination into your house, lest you are to be destroyed like it, but you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is to be destroyed.

Deuteronomy Chapter 8

1Every commandment that I command you this day you shall keep to do, that you may live and multiply, and come and possess the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers.2And you shall remember the entire way on which the Lord, your God, led you these forty years in the desert, in order to afflict you to test you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.3And He afflicted you and let you go hungry, and then fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, so that He would make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but rather by, whatever comes forth from the mouth of the Lord does man live.4Your clothing did not wear out upon you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.5You shall know in your heart, that just as a man chastises his son, so does the Lord, your God, chastise you.6And you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to go in His ways, and to fear Him.7For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land with brooks of water, fountains and depths, that emerge in valleys and mountains,8a land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey,9a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains you will hew copper.10And you will eat and be sated, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land He has given you.

Revelation 22:1–7 (NLT):

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

6 Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets, has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon.”

Jesus Is Coming

7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.”

Second Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 8

11Beware that you do not forget the Lord, your God, by not keeping His commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes, which I command you this day,12lest you eat and be sated, and build good houses and dwell therein,13and your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold increase, and all that you have increases,14and your heart grows haughty, and you forget the Lord, your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage,15Who led you through that great and awesome desert, [in which were] snakes, vipers and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought water for you out of solid rock,16Who fed you with manna in the desert, which your forefathers did not know, in order to afflict you and in order to test you, to benefit you in your end,17and you will say to yourself, "My strength and the might of my hand that has accumulated this wealth for me."18But you must remember the Lord your God, for it is He that gives you strength to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your forefathers, as it is this day.19And it will be, if you forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, and worship them, and prostrate yourself before them, I bear witness against you this day, that you will surely perish.20As the nations that the Lord destroys before you, so will you perish; since you will not obey the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy Chapter 9

1Hear, O Israel: Today, you are crossing the Jordan to come in to possess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities, fortified up to the heavens.2A great and tall people, the children of the 'Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard said, "Who can stand against the children of 'Anak?!"3You shall know this day, that it is the Lord your God Who passes over before you as a consuming fire He will destroy them, and He will subdue them before you; and you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord spoke to you.

Monday

Psalm 63:1–11 (NLT): Psalm 63

A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.

1 O God, you are my God;

I earnestly search for you.

My soul thirsts for you;

my whole body longs for you

in this parched and weary land

where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in your sanctuary

and gazed upon your power and glory.

3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;

how I praise you!

4 I will praise you as long as I live,

lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.

I will praise you with songs of joy.

6 I lie awake thinking of you,

meditating on you through the night.

7 Because you are my helper,

I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

8 I cling to you;

your strong right hand holds me securely.

9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.

They will go down into the depths of the earth.

10 They will die by the sword

and become the food of jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God.

All who swear to tell the truth will praise him,

while liars will be silenced.

Third Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 9

4Do not say to yourself, when the Lord, your God, has repelled them from before you, saying, "Because of my righteousness, the Lord has brought me to possess this land," and [that] because of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord drives them out from before you.5Not because of your righteousness or because of the honesty of your heart, do you come to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and in order to establish the matter that the Lord swore to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.6You shall know that, not because of your righteousness, the Lord, your God, gives you this good land to possess it; for you are a stiffnecked people.7Remember do not forget, how you angered the Lord, your God, in the desert; from the day that you went out of the land of Egypt, until you came to this place, you have been rebelling against the Lord.8At Horeb, you angered the Lord, and the Lord was incensed with you to destroy you.9When I ascended the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water;10and the Lord gave me two stone tablets, inscribed by the finger of God, and on them was [inscribed] according to all the words that the Lord spoke with you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.11And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the Lord gave me two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.12And the Lord said to me, "Arise, descend quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have become corrupt; they have quickly deviated from the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten image."13And the Lord spoke to me [further], saying, "I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.14Leave Me alone, and I will destroy them and obliterate their name from beneath the heavens, and I will make you into a nation mightier and more numerous than they."15So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were on my two hands.16And I saw, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord, your God; you had made yourselves a molten calf; you had deviated quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you.17So I grasped the two tablets, cast them out of my two hands, and shattered them before your eyes.18And I fell down before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sins you had committed, by doing evil in the eyes of the Lord to anger Him.19For I was frightened of the wrath and the fury that the Lord was angry with you to destroy you, and the Lord hearkened to me also at that time.20And with Aaron, the Lord was very furious, to destroy him; so I prayed also for Aaron at that time.21And I took your sin the calf, which you had made, and I burned it with fire, and I crushed it, grinding it well, until it was fine dust, and I cast its dust into the brook that descends from the mountain.22And at Tav'erah, and at Massah, and at Kivroth Hata'avah, you provoked the Lord to anger.23And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, "Go up and possess the land I have given you," you defied the word of the Lord your God, and you did not believe Him, nor did you obey Him.24You have been rebelling against the Lord since the day I became acquainted with you.25So I fell down before the Lord the forty days and the forty nights that I had fallen down; because the Lord had said to destroy you.26And I prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance, which You have redeemed in Your greatness, and which You have brought out of Egypt with mighty hand.27Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; do not turn to the stubbornness of this people, to their wickedness, or to their sin.28Lest [the people of] the land from which you brought us out will say, 'Because of the Lord's inability to bring them to the land about which He spoke to them, and because of His hatred toward them, He has brought them out to slay them in the desert.'29But they are Your people and Your inheritance, which You brought out with Your great strength and with Your outstretched arm."

Tuesday

Zechariah 14:6–11 (NLT):

6 On that day the sources of light will no longer shine, 7 yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how this could happen. There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light.

8 On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously in both summer and winter.

9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.

10 All the land from Geba, north of Judah, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become one vast plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up in its original place and will be inhabited all the way from the Benjamin Gate over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 And Jerusalem will be filled, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed.

Fourth Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 10

1At that time, the Lord said to me, "Hew for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to Me onto the mountain, and make for yourself a wooden ark,2And I shall inscribe on the tablets the words that were upon the first tablets which you shattered and you shall place them into the ark.3So I made an ark of acacia wood, and I hewed two stone tablets like the first ones, and I ascended the mountain, with the two tablets in my hand."4And He inscribed on the tablets, like the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire, on the day of the assembly, and the Lord gave them to me.5And I turned and came down from the mountain, and placed the tablets in the ark which I had made, and there they were, as the Lord had commanded me.6The children of Israel journeyed from the wells of B'nei Ya'akan to Moserah; there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son served as kohen in his stead.7From there, they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Yotvath, a land with streams of water.8At that time, the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him, and to bless in His Name, to this day.9Therefore, Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord, your God spoke to him.10And I remained on the mountain like the first days forty days and forty nights, and the Lord hearkened to me also at that time; the Lord did not wish to destroy you.11And the Lord said to me, "Arise, go to lead the travels before the people, so that they may come and possess the land I promised their forefathers to give them.

Wednesday

John 4:4–11 (NLT):

4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?

Fifth Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 1012And now, O Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you? Only to fear the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to worship the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul,13to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes, which I command you this day, for your good.14Behold, to the Lord, your God, belong the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, the earth, and all that is on it.15Only your forefathers the Lord desired, to love them, and He chose their seed after them you, out of all peoples, as it is this day.16You shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, therefore, and be no more stiffnecked.17For the Lord, your God, is God of gods and the Lord of the lords, the great mighty and awesome God, Who will show no favor, nor will He take a bribe.18He executes the judgment of the orphan and widow, and He loves the stranger, to give him bread and clothing.19You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.20You shall fear the Lord, your God, worship Him, and cleave to Him and swear by His Name.21He is your praise and He is your God, Who did these great and awesome things for you, which your eyes have seen.22With seventy souls, Your forefathers descended to Egypt, and now the Lord, your God, has made you as the stars of heaven in abundance.

Deuteronomy Chapter 1

11[Therefore] you shall love the Lord, your God, keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments, all the days.2And you shall know this day; that [I speak] not with your children, who did not know and who did not see the chastisement of the Lord, your God, His greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm,3His signs, and His deeds, which He performed in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh, king of Egypt and to his entire land,4and what He did to the army of Egypt, to its steeds, and to its chariots, that He caused the waters of the Red Sea to inundate them when they pursued you, and the Lord destroyed them, to this day,5and what He did for you in the desert, until you arrived at this place,6and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, that the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up and their households and their tents, and all the possessions at their feet, in the midst of all Israel.7But your eyes, which have seen all the great work of the Lord, which He did.8[Therefore] keep all the commandments that I command you this day, in order that you may be strong and come and possess the land to which you are crossing, to possess it,9and in order that you may prolong your days on the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers to give to them and to their seed a land flowing with milk and honey.

Thursday

John 4:15–26 (NLT):

15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”

Sixth Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 11

10For the land to which you are coming to possess is not like the land of Egypt, out of which you came, where you sowed your seed and which you watered by foot, like a vegetable garden.11But the land, to which you pass to possess, is a land of mountains and valleys and absorbs water from the rains of heaven,12a land the Lord, your God, looks after; the eyes of Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.13And it will be, if you hearken to My commandments that I command you this day to love the Lord, your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,14I will give the rain of your land at its time, the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil.15And I will give grass in your field for your livestock, and you will eat and be sated.16Beware, lest your heart be misled, and you turn away and worship strange gods and prostrate yourselves before them.17And the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will close off the heavens, and there will be no rain, and the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from upon the good land that the Lord gives you.18And you shall set these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes.19And you shall teach them to your sons to speak with them, when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way and when you lie down and when you rise.20And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates,21in order that your days may increase and the days of your children, on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers to give them, as the days of heaven above the earth.

Friday

John 7:37–39 (NLT): Jesus Promises Living Water

37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

Seventh Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 11

22For if you keep all these commandments which I command you to do them, to love the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him,23then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will possess nations greater and stronger than you.24Every place upon which the soles of your feet will tread, will be yours: from the desert and the Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates River, and until the western sea, will be your boundary.25No man will stand up before you; the Lord your God will cast the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land upon which you tread, as He spoke to you.

Saturday

Isaiah 44:1–8 (NLT):

1 “But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant,

Israel my chosen one.

2 The Lord who made you and helps you says:

Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,

O dear Israel, my chosen one.

3 For I will pour out water to quench your thirst

and to irrigate your parched fields.

And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,

and my blessing on your children.

4 They will thrive like watered grass,

like willows on a riverbank.

5 Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord.’

Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’

Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands

and will take the name of Israel as their own.”

The Foolishness of Idols

6 This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:

“I am the First and the Last;

there is no other God.

7 Who is like me?

Let him step forward and prove to you his power.

Let him do as I have done since ancient times

when I established a people and explained its future.

8 Do not tremble; do not be afraid.

Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago?

You are my witnesses—is there any other God?

No! There is no other Rock—not one!”

Maftir Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 11

22For if you keep all these commandments which I command you to do them, to love the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him,23then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will possess nations greater and stronger than you.24Every place upon which the soles of your feet will tread, will be yours: from the desert and the Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates River, and until the western sea, will be your boundary.25No man will stand up before you; the Lord your God will cast the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land upon which you tread, as He spoke to you.

Haftarah

Isaiah Chapter 49

14And Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me."15Shall a woman forget her sucking child, from having mercy on the child of her womb? These too shall forget, but I will not forget you.16Behold on [My] hands have I engraved you; your walls are before Me always.17Your sons have hastened; those who destroy you and those who lay you waste shall go forth from you.18Lift your eyes around and see, all of them have gathered, have come to you; as I live, says the Lord, that you shall wear all of them as jewelry, and you shall tie them as a bride.19For your ruins and your desolate places and your land that has been destroyed, for now you shall be crowded by the inhabitants, and those who would destroy you shall be far away.20Your children of whom you were bereaved shall yet say in your ears, "The place is too narrow for me; move over for me so that I will dwell."21And you shall say to yourself, "Who begot these for me, seeing that I am bereaved and solitary, exiled and rejected, and who raised these? Behold I was left alone; these-[from] where are they?"22So said the Lord God, "Behold I will raise My hand to the nations, and to the peoples will I raise My standard, and they shall bring your sons in their armpits, and your daughters shall be borne on their shoulder[s].23And kings shall be your nursing fathers and their princesses your wet nurses; they shall prostrate themselves to you with their face on the ground, and they shall lick the dust of your feet, and you shall know that I am the Lord, for those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed.24Shall prey be taken from a mighty warrior, or shall the captives of the righteous escape?"25For so said the Lord, "Even the captives of a mighty warrior can be taken and the prey of a tyrant shall escape, and with your contender will I contend, and your sons I will save.26And those who taunt you-I will feed their flesh, and as with sweet wine they shall become drunk [from] their blood; and all flesh shall know that I am the Lord Who saves you, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Isaiah Chapter 50

1So said the Lord, "Where is your mother's bill of divorce that I sent her away? Or, who is it of My creditors to whom I sold you? Behold for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.2Why have I come and there is no man? [Why] have I called and no one answers? Is My hand too short to redeem, or do I have no strength to save? Behold, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make rivers into a desert; their fish become foul because there is no water and die because of thirst.3I clothe the heavens with darkness, and I make sackcloth their raiment.4The Lord God gave me a tongue for teaching, to know to establish times for the faint [for His] word; He awakens me every morning, He awakens My ear, to hear according to the teachings.5The Lord God opened my ear, and I did not rebel; I did not turn away backwards.6I gave my back to smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I did not hide my face from embarrassments and spitting.7But the Lord God helps me, therefore, I was not embarrassed; therefore, I made my face like flint, and I knew that I would not be ashamed.8He Who vindicates me is near, whoever wishes to quarrel with me-let us stand together; whoever is my contender shall approach me.9Behold, the Lord God shall help me; who is he that will condemn me? Behold all of them shall wear out like a garment, a moth shall consume them.10Who among you is God-fearing, who hearkens to the voice of His servant, who went in darkness and who has no light, let him trust in the name of the Lord and lean on his God.11Behold all of you who kindle fire, who give power to flames; go in the flame of your fire, and in the flames you have kindled; from My hand has this come to you, in grief you shall lie down.

Isaiah Chapter 51

1Hearken to Me, you pursuers of righteousness, you seekers of the Lord; look at the rock whence you were hewn and at the hole of the pit whence you were dug.2Look at Abraham your father and at Sarah who bore you, for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him and made him many.3For the Lord shall console Zion, He shall console all its ruins, and He shall make its desert like a paradise and its wasteland like the garden of the Lord; joy and happiness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and a voice of song.