AME Zion Universal Reading January 1st 2023

Sunday School Zoom Link

First Portion

Genesis Chapter 44

18Then Judah approached him and said, "Please, my lord, let now your servant speak something into my lord's ears, and let not your wrath be kindled against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.19My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a brother?'20And we said to my lord, 'We have an old father and a young child of his old age, and his brother is dead, and he is left alone of his mother, and his father loves him.'21And you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, and I will set my eye[s] upon him.'22And we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father, for if he leaves his father, he will die.'23And you said to your servants, 'If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.'24And it came to pass when we went up to your servant, my father, and we told him the words of my lord,25that our father said, 'Go back, buy us a little food.'26But we said, 'We cannot go down; [only] if our youngest brother is with us will we go down, for we cannot see the man's face if our youngest brother is not with us.'27And your servant, my father, said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two [children].28The one went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces, and I have not seen him since."29Now if you take this one too away from me, and misfortune befalls him, you will bring down my hoary head in misery to the grave.'30And now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us [since] his soul is attached to his (the boy's) soul,

2 Chronicles 7:12–22 (NLT):

12 Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said,

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

17 “As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 18 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.’

19 “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, 20 then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. 21 And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’

22 “And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why he has brought all these disasters on them.’ ”

Second Portion

Genesis Chapter 44

31it will come to pass, when he sees that the boy is gone, he will die, and your servants will have brought down the hoary head of your servant, our father, in grief to the grave.32For your servant assumed responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him to you, I will have sinned against my father forever.'33So now, please let your servant stay instead of the boy as a slave to my lord, and may the boy go up with his brothers.34For how will I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? Let me not see the misery that will befall my father!"

Genesis Chapter 45

1Now Joseph could not bear all those standing beside him, and he called out, "Take everyone away from me!" So no one stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.2And he wept out loud, so the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard.3And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" but his brothers could not answer him because they were startled by his presence.4Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come closer to me," and they drew closer. And he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.5But now do not be sad, and let it not trouble you that you sold me here, for it was to preserve life that God sent me before you.6For already two years of famine [have passed] in the midst of the land, and [for] another five years, there will be neither plowing nor harvest.7And God sent me before you to make for you a remnant in the land, and to preserve [it] for you for a great deliverance.

Monday

Deuteronomy 30:1–10 (NLT): A Call to Return to the Lord

“In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions. 2 If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. 4 Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. 5 The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!

6 “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live! 7 The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you. 8 Then you will again obey the Lord and keep all his commands that I am giving you today.

9 “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors. 10 The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.

Third Portion

Genesis Chapter 45

8And now, you did not send me here, but God, and He made me a father to Pharaoh, a lord over all his household, and a ruler over the entire land of Egypt.9Hasten and go up to my father, and say to him, 'So said your son, Joseph: "God has made me a lord over all the Egyptians. Come down to me, do not tarry.10And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children and your grandchildren, and your flocks and your cattle and all that is yours.11And I will sustain you there for there are still five years of famine lest you become impoverished, you and your household and all that is yours." '12And behold, your eyes see, as well as the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth speaking to you.13And you shall tell my father [of] all my honor in Egypt and all that you have seen, and you shall hasten and bring my father down here."14And he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.15And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and afterwards his brothers spoke with him.16And the voice was heard [in] Pharaoh's house, saying, "Joseph's brothers have come!" And it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.17And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Do this load up your beasts and go, enter the land of Canaan.18And take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and [you will] eat the fat of the land.'19And you [Joseph] have been commanded [to tell them], 'Do this: take yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and for your wives, and you shall carry your father and come.20And let your eye not be concerned about your utensils, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.' "21And the sons of Israel did so, and Joseph gave them wagons by Pharaoh's orders, and he gave them provisions for the way.22He gave them all, to each one [several] changes of clothes, and to Benjamin he gave three hundred [pieces of] silver and five changes of clothes.23And to his father he sent the following: ten he donkeys carrying of the best of Egypt, and ten she donkeys carrying grain, bread, and [other] food, for his father for the way.24And he sent off his brothers, and they went, and he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the way."25So they went up from Egypt, and they came to the land of Canaan, to their father, Jacob.26And they told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive," and [they told him] that he ruled over the entire land of Egypt, and his heart changed, for he did not believe them.27And they told him all of Joseph's words that he had said to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, and the spirit of their father Jacob was revived.

Tuesday

Deuteronomy 30:11–20 (NLT): The Choice of Life or Death

11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. 12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ 13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ 14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.

17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Fourth Portion

Genesis Chapter 45

28And Israel said, "Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

Genesis Chapter 46

1And Israel and all that was his set out and came to Beer sheba, and he slaughtered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.2And God said to Israel in visions of the night, and He said, "Jacob, Jacob!" And he said, "Here I am."3And He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.4I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up, and Joseph will place his hand on your eyes.5And Jacob arose from Beer sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their young children and their wives, in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him.6And they took their livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him.7His sons and his sons' sons with him, his daughters and his sons' daughters and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

Wednesday

1 John 1:1–10 (NLT): Introduction

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.

Living in the Light

5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Fifth Portion

Genesis Chapter 46

8And these are the names of the children of Israel who were coming to Egypt: Jacob and his sons Jacob's firstborn was Reuben.9And the sons of Reuben were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.10And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, and Zohar, and Saul the son of the Canaanitess.11And the sons of Levi were Gershon, Kehath, and Merari.12And the sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Now Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan; and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.13And the sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvvah, Iob, and Shimron.14And the sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.15These are the sons of Leah, that she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, and Dinah his daughter. All the souls of his sons and daughters were thirty three.16And the sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.17And the sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Briah, and Serah, their sister; and the sons of Briah were Heber and Malkiel.18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, and she bore these to Jacob, sixteen souls.19The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife, were Joseph and Benjamin.20And to Joseph were born in the land of Egypt, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the governor of On, bore to him: Manasseh and Ephraim.21And the sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Na'aman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.22These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.23And the sons of Dan: Hushim.24And the sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.25These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob, all the souls were seven.26All the souls coming to Egypt with Jacob, those descended from him, excluding the wives of Jacob's sons, all the souls were sixty six.27And Joseph's sons, who were born to him in Egypt, two souls; all the souls of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.

Thursday

1 John 2:1–11 (NLT):

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

A New Commandment

7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

Sixth Portion

Genesis Chapter 46

28He sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen, and they came to the land of Goshen.29And Joseph harnessed his chariot, and he went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and he appeared to him, and he fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck for a long time.30And Israel said to Joseph, "I will die this time, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive."31Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and I will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me.32The men are shepherds, for they were [always] owners of livestock, and their flocks and their cattle and all they have they have brought.'33And if it comes to pass that Pharaoh calls you and asks, 'What is your occupation?'34You shall say, 'Your servants have been owners of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our ancestors,' so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, because all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians."

Genesis Chapter 47

1Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and he said, "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their cattle and all that is theirs, have come from the land of Canaan, and behold, they are in the land of Goshen."2And from among his brothers he took five men, and he presented them before Pharaoh.3And Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our forefathers."4And they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for your servants' flocks have no pasture, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."5And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.6The land of Egypt is [open] before you; in the best of the land settle your father and your brothers. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen, and if you know that there are capable men among them, make them livestock officers over what is mine."7So Joseph brought his father Jacob and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob greeted Pharaoh.8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?"9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and miserable, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my forefathers in the days of their sojournings."10So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left Pharaoh's presence.

Friday

1 John 3:1–10 (NLT):

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

Seventh Portion

Genesis Chapter 47

11Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had mandated.12And Joseph sustained his father and his brothers and his father's entire household [with] bread according to the young children.13Now there was no food in the entire land, for the famine had grown exceedingly severe, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted because of the famine.14And Joseph collected all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan with the grain that they were buying, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.15Now the money was depleted from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan, and all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, "Give us food; why should we die in your presence, since the money has been used up?"16And Joseph said, "Give [me] your livestock, and I will give you [food in return] for your livestock, if the money has been used up."17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food [in return] for the horses and for the livestock in flocks and in cattle and in donkeys, and he provided them with food [in return] for all their livestock in that year.18That year ended, and they came to him in the second year, and they said to him, "We will not hide from my lord, for insofar as the money and the property in animals have been forfeited to my lord, nothing remains before my lord, except our bodies and our farmland.19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our farmland? Buy us and our farmland for food, so that we and our farmland will be slaves to Pharaoh, and give [us] seed, so that we live and not die, and the soil will not lie fallow."20So Joseph bought all the farmland of the Egyptians for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold, each one his field, for the famine had become too strong for them, and the land became Pharaoh's.21And he transferred the populace to the cities, from [one] end of the boundary of Egypt to its [other] end.22Only the farmland of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they ate their allotment that Pharaoh had given them; therefore, they did not sell their farmland.23Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have bought you and your farmland today for Pharaoh. Behold, you have seed, so sow the soil.24And it shall be concerning the crops, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and the [remaining] four parts shall be yours: for seed for [your] field[s], for your food, for those in your houses, and for your young children to eat."25They replied, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in my lord's eyes, and we will be slaves to Pharaoh."26So Joseph made it a statute to this day concerning the farmland of Egypt for the one fifth. Only the farmland of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.27And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt in the land of Goshen, and they acquired property in it, and they were prolific and multiplied greatly.

Saturday

2 Chronicles 7:1–11 (NLT): The Dedication of the Temple

When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. 2 The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying,

“He is good!

His faithful love endures forever!”

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. 6 The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!” They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the Lord. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood.

7 Solomon then consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar he had built could not hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrificial fat.

8 For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. 9 On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days. 10 Then at the end of the celebration, Solomon sent the people home. They were all joyful and glad because the Lord had been so good to David and to Solomon and to his people Israel.

The Lord’s Response to Solomon

11 So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace.

Maftir Portion

Genesis Chapter 47

25They replied, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in my lord's eyes, and we will be slaves to Pharaoh."26So Joseph made it a statute to this day concerning the farmland of Egypt for the one fifth. Only the farmland of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.27And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt in the land of Goshen, and they acquired property in it, and they were prolific and multiplied greatly.

Haftarah

Ezekiel Chapter 37

15And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:16"And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write upon it, 'For Judah and for the children of Israel his companions'; and take one stick and write upon it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.'17And bring them close, one to the other into one stick, and they shall be one in your hand.18And when the children of your people say to you, saying, 'Will you not tell us what these are to you?'19Say to them, So says the Lord God: Behold I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will place them with him with the stick of Judah, and I will make them into one stick, and they shall become one in My hand.20And the sticks upon which you shall write shall be in your hand before their eyes.21And say to them, So says the Lord God: Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side, and I will bring them to their land.22And I will make them into one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be to them all as a king; and they shall no longer be two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms anymore.23And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols, with their detestable things, or with all their transgressions, and I will save them from all their habitations in which they have sinned, and I will purify them, and they shall be to Me as a people, and I will be to them as a God.24And My servant David shall be king over them, and one shepherd shall be for them all, and they shall walk in My ordinances and observe My statutes and perform them.25And they shall dwell on the land that I have given to My servant, to Jacob, wherein your forefathers lived; and they shall dwell upon it, they and their children and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.26And I will form a covenant of peace for them, an everlasting covenant shall be with them; and I will establish them and I will multiply them, and I will place My Sanctuary in their midst forever.27And My dwelling place shall be over them, and I will be to them for a God, and they shall be to Me as a people.28And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, Who sanctifies Israel, when My Sanctuary is in their midst forever."