AME Zion Universal Reading March 27th 2022

Sunday School Zoom Link

First Portion

Leviticus Chapter 9

1And it was on the eighth day, that Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.2And he said to Aaron, "Take for yourself a bull calf as a sin offering, and a ram as a burnt offering, [both] unblemished, and bring [them] near before the Lord.3And to the children of Israel, you shall speak, saying, 'Take a he goat as a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, [both] in their first year and [both] unblemished, as a burnt offering,4and an ox and a ram as peace offerings, to slaughter before the Lord, and a meal offering mixed with oil, for today the Lord is appearing to you.' "5And they took what Moses had commanded, to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the entire community approached and stood before the Lord.6And Moses said, "This is the thing the Lord has commanded; do [it], and the glory of the Lord will appear to you."7And Moses said to Aaron, "Approach the altar and perform your sin offering and your burnt offering, atoning for yourself and for the people, and perform the people's sacrifice, atoning for them, as the Lord has commanded.8So Aaron approached the altar and slaughtered his sin offering calf.9And Aaron's sons brought forward the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood, placing [some] on the horns of the altar, and he poured the blood at the base of the altar.10And the fat, the kidneys, and the diaphragm with the liver from the sin offering, he caused to [go up in] smoke on the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses.11And he burned the flesh and the hide in fire, outside the camp.12And he slaughtered the burnt offering. And Aaron's sons presented the blood to him, and he dashed it on the altar, around.13And they presented the burnt offering to him in its [prescribed] pieces, along with the head. And he caused [them] to [go up in] smoke on the altar.14And he washed the innards and the legs, and he caused [them] to [go up in] smoke on the altar, along with the burnt offering.15And he brought forward the people's sacrifice; he took the people's sin offering goat, slaughtered it, and made it a sin offering, like the first one.16And he brought forward the burnt offering and prepared it according to the law.

Deuteronomy 8:1–20 (NLT): A Call to Remember and Obey

“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. 3 Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. 5 Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.

6 “So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. 8 It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. 9 It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. 10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. 12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17 He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ 18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

19 “But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord your God.

Second Portion

Leviticus Chapter 9

17And he brought forward the meal offering, filled his palm with it, and caused it to [go up in] smoke on the altar, in addition to the morning burnt offering.18And he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the people's peace offering, and Aaron's sons presented the blood to him, and he dashed it on the altar, around,19and [they also presented] the fats from the ox and from the ram: the tail, the [fatty] covering, the kidneys and the diaphragm with the liver.20And they placed the fats on top of the breasts, and he caused the fats to [go up in] smoke on the altar.21And Aaron had [already] waved the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before the Lord, as Moses had commanded.22And Aaron lifted up his hands towards the people and blessed them. He then descended from preparing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering.23And Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting. Then they came out and blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.

Monday

Deuteronomy 8:12–20 (NLT):

12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17 He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ 18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

19 “But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord your God.

Third Portion

Leviticus Chapter 9

24And fire went forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fats upon the altar, and all the people saw, sang praises, and fell upon their faces.

Leviticus Chapter 10

1And Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his pan, put fire in them, and placed incense upon it, and they brought before the Lord foreign fire, which He had not commanded them.2And fire went forth from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.3Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke, [when He said], 'I will be sanctified through those near to Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.' " And Aaron was silent.4And Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Draw near; carry your kinsmen from within the Sanctuary, to the outside of the camp.5So they approached and carried them with their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moses had spoken.6And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, "Do not leave your heads unshorn, and do not rend your garments, so that you shall not die, and lest He be angry with the entire community, but your brothers, the entire house of Israel, shall bewail the conflagration that the Lord has burned.7And do not go out of the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die, because the Lord's anointing oil is upon you." And they did according to Moses' order.8And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying,9Do not drink wine that will lead to intoxication, neither you nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, so that you shall not die. [This is] an eternal statute for your generations,10to distinguish between holy and profane and between unclean and clean,11and to instruct the children of Israel regarding all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.

Tuesday

James 1:19–27 (NLT): Listening and Doing

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Fourth Portion

Leviticus Chapter 10

12And Moses spoke to Aaron and his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the meal offering that is left over from the Lord's fire offerings, and eat it as unleavened loaves beside the altar, for it is a holy of holies;13You shall eat it in a holy place because it is your portion and your sons' portion from the Lord's fire offerings, for so I have been commanded.14The breast of the waving and the thigh of the raising up you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for [as] your portion and your sons' portion they have been given, from the peace offerings of the children of Israel.15They shall bring the thigh of the raising up and the breast of the waving upon the fats for fire offerings, to wave as a waving before the Lord. And it shall belong to you and to your sons with you as an eternal due, as the Lord has commanded.

Wednesday

1 Peter 5:5–9 (NLT):

5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for

“God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.”

6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

Fifth Portion

Leviticus Chapter 10

16And Moses thoroughly investigated concerning the sin offering he goat, and behold, it had been burnt! So he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's surviving sons, saying,17"Why did you not eat the sin offering in the holy place? For it is holy of holies, and He has given it to you to gain forgiveness for the sin of the community, to effect their atonement before the Lord!18Behold, its blood was not brought into the Sanctuary within, so you should have surely eaten it within holy [precincts], as I commanded!"19And Aaron spoke to Moses, "But today, did they offer up their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord? But [if tragic events] like these had befallen me, and if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have pleased the Lord?"20Moses heard [this], and it pleased him.

Thursday

Psalm 103:1–10 (NLT):

1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;

with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;

may I never forget the good things he does for me.

3 He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

4 He redeems me from death

and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

5 He fills my life with good things.

My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

6 The Lord gives righteousness

and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

7 He revealed his character to Moses

and his deeds to the people of Israel.

8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

9 He will not constantly accuse us,

nor remain angry forever.

10 He does not punish us for all our sins;

he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

Sixth Portion

Leviticus Chapter 11

1And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, to say to them:2Speak to the children of Israel, saying: These are the creatures that you may eat among all the animals on earth:3Any animal that has a cloven hoof that is completely split into double hooves, and which brings up its cud that one you may eat.4But these you shall not eat among those that bring up the cud and those that have a cloven hoof: the camel, because it brings up its cud, but does not have a [completely] cloven hoof; it is unclean for you.5And the hyrax, because it brings up its cud, but will not have a [completely] cloven hoof; it is unclean for you;6And the hare, because it brings up its cud, but does not have a [completely] cloven hoof; it is unclean for you;7And the pig, because it has a cloven hoof that is completely split, but will not regurgitate its cud; it is unclean for you.8You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.9Among all [creatures] that are in the water, you may eat these: Any [of the creatures] in the water that has fins and scales, those you may eat, whether [it lives] in the waters, in the seas or in the rivers.10But any [creatures]that do not have fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, among all the creeping creatures in the water and among all living creatures that [live] in the water, are an abomination for you.11And they shall be an abomination for you. You shall not eat of their flesh, and their dead bodies you shall hold in abomination.12Any [creature] that does not have fins and scales in the water is an abomination for you.13And among birds, you shall hold these in abomination; they shall not be eaten; they are an abomination: The eagle [or the griffin vulture], the kite, the osprey,14the kestrel, and the vulture after its species,15and the raven after its species,16the ostrich, the jay, and the sparrow hawk, and the goshawk after its species;17The owl, the gull, the little owl;18The bat, the starling, the magpie;19the stork, the heron after its species; the hoopoe and the atalef [bat?];20Any flying insect that walks on four, is an abomination for you.21However, among all the flying insects that walk on four [legs], you may eat [from] those that have jointed [leg like] extensions above its [regular] legs, with which they hop on the ground.22From this [locust] category, you may eat the following: The red locust after its species, the yellow locust after its species, the spotted gray locust after its species and the white locust after its species.23But any [other] flying insect that has four legs, is an abomination for you.24And through these you will become unclean; anyone who touches their dead bodies will be unclean until evening;25And anyone who carries their carcass shall immerse his garments, and he shall be unclean until evening:26Any animal that has a cloven hoof that is not completely split, and which does not bring up its cud, is unclean for you. Anyone who touches them shall become unclean.27And among all the animals that walk on four legs, any [animal] that walks on its paws is unclean for you. Anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until evening.28And one who carries their carcass shall immerse his garments, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.29And this is unclean for you among creeping creatures that creep on the ground: The weasel, the mouse, and the toad after its species;30The hedgehog, the chameleon, the lizard, the snail, and the mole.31These are the ones that are unclean for you, among all creeping creatures; anyone who touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.32And if any of these dead [creatures] falls upon anything, it will become unclean, whether it is any wooden vessel, garment, hide or sack, any vessel with which work is done; it shall be immersed in water, but will remain unclean until evening, and it will become clean.

Friday

Psalm 103:11–22 (NLT):

11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

12 He has removed our sins as far from us

as the east is from the west.

13 The Lord is like a father to his children,

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

14 For he knows how weak we are;

he remembers we are only dust.

15 Our days on earth are like grass;

like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

16 The wind blows, and we are gone—

as though we had never been here.

17 But the love of the Lord remains forever

with those who fear him.

His salvation extends to the children’s children

18 of those who are faithful to his covenant,

of those who obey his commandments!

19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne;

from there he rules over everything.

20 Praise the Lord, you angels,

you mighty ones who carry out his plans,

listening for each of his commands.

21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels

who serve him and do his will!

22 Praise the Lord, everything he has created,

everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

Seventh Portion

Leviticus Chapter 11

33But any earthenware vessel, into whose interior any of them falls, whatever is inside it shall become unclean, and you shall break [the vessel] itself.34Of any food that is [usually] eaten, upon which water comes will become unclean, and any beverage that is [usually] drunk, which is in any vessel, shall become unclean.35And anything upon which any of their carcasses of these [animals] fall, will become unclean. [Thus,] an oven or stove shall be demolished; they are unclean, and, they shall be unclean for you.36But a spring or a cistern, a gathering of water remains clean. However, one who touches their carcass shall become unclean.37And if of their carcass falls upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it remains clean.38But if water is put upon seeds, and any of their carcass falls on them, they are unclean for you.39If an animal that you [normally] eat, dies, one who touches its carcass shall be unclean until evening.40And one who eats of its carcass shall immerse his garments, and he shall be unclean until evening. And one who carries its carcass shall immerse his garments, and he shall be unclean until evening.41And any creeping creature that creeps on the ground is an abomination; it shall not be eaten.42Any [creature] that goes on its belly, and any [creature] that walks on four [legs] to any [creature] that has many legs, among all creeping creatures that creep on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are an abomination.43You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping creature that creeps, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, that you should become unclean through them.44For I am the Lord your God, and you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, because I am holy, and you shall not defile yourselves through any creeping creature that crawls on the ground.45For I am the Lord Who has brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God. Thus, you shall be holy, because I am holy.46This is the law regarding animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water and all creatures that creep on the ground,47to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.

Saturday

2 Timothy 2:8–13 (NLT):

8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. 9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

11 This is a trustworthy saying:

If we die with him,

we will also live with him.

12 If we endure hardship,

we will reign with him.

If we deny him,

he will deny us.

13 If we are unfaithful,

he remains faithful,

for he cannot deny who he is.

Maftir Portion

Numbers Chapter 19

1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:2This is the statute of the Torah which the Lord commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow, upon which no yoke was laid.3And you shall give it to Eleazar the kohen, and he shall take it outside the camp and slaughter it in his presence.4Eleazar the kohen shall take from its blood with his finger and sprinkle it toward the front of the Tent of Meeting seven times.5The cow shall then be burned in his presence; its hide, its flesh, its blood, with its dung he shall burn it.6The kohen shall take a piece of cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson wool, and cast them into the burning of the cow.7The kohen shall wash his garments and bathe his flesh in water, and then he may enter the camp, and the kohen shall be unclean until evening.8The one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water and cleanse his body in water, and he shall be unclean until evening.9A ritually clean person shall gather the cow's ashes and place them outside the camp in a clean place, and It shall be as a keepsake for the congregation of the children of Israel for sprinkling water, [used] for cleansing.10The one who gathers the cow's ashes shall wash his clothes, and he shall be unclean until evening. It shall be an everlasting statute for the children of Israel and for the proselyte who resides in their midst.11Anyone touching the corpse of a human soul shall become unclean for seven days.12On the third and seventh days, he shall cleanse himself with it, so that he can become clean. But if he does not sprinkle himself with it on the third and seventh days, he shall not become clean.13Whoever touches the corpse of a human soul which dies, and he does not cleanse himself, he has defiled the Mishkan of the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from Israel. For the sprinkling water was not sprinkled on him, so he remains unclean, and his uncleanness remains upon him.14This is the law: if a man dies in a tent, anyone entering the tent and anything in the tent shall be unclean for seven days.15Any open vessel which has no seal fastened around it becomes unclean.16Anyone who touches one slain by the sword, or a corpse, or a human bone or a grave, in an open field, he shall be unclean for seven days.17They shall take for that unclean person from the ashes of the burnt purification offering, and it shall be placed in a vessel [filled] with spring water.18A ritually clean person shall take the hyssop and dip it into the water and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, and on the people who were in it, and on anyone who touched the bone, the slain person, the corpse, or the grave.19The ritually clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day, and he shall cleanse him on the seventh day, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall become ritually clean in the evening.20If a person becomes unclean and does not cleanse himself, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation, for he has defiled the Sanctuary of the Lord; the sprinkling waters were not sprinkled upon him. He is unclean.21This shall be for them as a perpetual statute, and the one who sprinkles the sprinkling waters shall wash his clothes, and one who touches the sprinkling waters shall be unclean until evening.22Whatever the unclean one touches shall become unclean, and anyone touching him shall be unclean until evening.

Haftarah

Ezekiel Chapter 36

16And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:17"Son of man! The house of Israel, as long as they lived on their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their misdeeds, like the uncleanness of a woman in the period of her separation was their way before Me.18Wherefore I poured My wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, because they had defiled it with their idols.19And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and their misdeeds did I judge them.20And they entered the nations where they came, and they profaned My Holy Name, inasmuch as it was said of them, 'These are the people of the Lord, and they have come out of His land.'21But I had pity on My Holy Name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had come.22Therefore, say to the house of Israel; So says the Lord God: Not for your sake do I do this, O house of Israel, but for My Holy Name, which you have profaned among the nations to which they have come.23And I will sanctify My great Name, which was profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord-is the declaration of the Lord God-when I will be sanctified through you before their eyes.24For I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you to your land.25And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean; from all your impurities and from all your abominations will I cleanse you.26And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.27And I will put My spirit within you and bring it about that you will walk in My statutes and you will keep My ordinances and do [them].28Then will you dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, and you will be a people to Me, and I will be to you as a God.29And I will save you from all your uncleannesses, and I will call to the corn and will multiply it, and I will not decree famine again over you.30And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you shall no more have to accept the shame of famine among the nations.31And you shall remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own eyes on account of your sins and on account of your abominations.32Not for your sake do I do it, says the Lord God, may it be known to you; be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.33So says the Lord God: On the day that I will have cleansed you from all your iniquities, and I will resettle the cities, and the ruins shall be built up.34And the desolate land shall be worked, instead of its lying desolate in the sight of all that pass by.35And they shall say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden, and the cities that were destroyed and desolate and pulled down have become settled as fortified [cities].'36And the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, the Lord, have built up the ruined places and have planted the desolate ones; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will perform [it].