General

Griffith First United Methodist Church

Weekly Bible Verses

Jeremiah 31:27-34;

Psalm 119:97-104;

2 Timothy 3:14–4:5; Luke 18:1-8

Joel 2:23-32

²³Children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, because he will give you the early rain as a sign of righteousness; he will pour down abundant rain for you, the early and the late rain, as before. ²⁴The threshing floors will be full of grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and fresh oil. ²⁵I will repay you for the years that the cutting locust, the swarming locust, the hopping locust, and the devouring locust have eaten - my great army, which I sent against you. ²⁶You will eat abundantly and be satisfied, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has done wonders for you; and my people will never again be put to shame. ²⁷You will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God - no other exists; never again will my people be put to shame. ²⁸After that I will pour out my spirit upon everyone; your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.²⁹In those days, I will also pour out my spirit on the male and female slaves.

³⁰I will give signs in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke. ³¹The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ³²But everyone who calls on the Lord’s name will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be security, as the Lord has promised; and in Jerusalem, the Lord will summon those who survive.

Psalm 65

For the music leader. A psalm of David. A song.

65 God of Zion, to you even silence is praise. Promises made to you are kept - ²you listen to prayer - and all living things come to you. ³When wrongdoings become too much for me, you forgive our sins. ⁴How happy is the one you choose to bring close, the one who lives in your courtyards! We are filled full by the goodness of your house, by the holiness of your temple. ⁵In righteousness you answer us, by your awesome deeds, God of our salvation - you, who are the security of all the far edges of the earth, even the distant seas. ⁶You establish the mountains by your strength; you are dressed in raw power. ⁷You calm the roaring seas; calm the roaring waves, calm the noise of the nations. ⁸Those who dwell on the far edges stand in awe of your acts. You make the gateways of morning and evening sing for joy. ⁹You visit the earth and make it abundant, enriching it greatly by God’s stream, full of water. You provide people with grain because that is what you’ve decided. ¹⁰Drenching the earth’s furrows, leveling its ridges, you soften it with rain showers; you bless its growth. ¹¹You crown the year with your goodness; your paths overflow with rich food. ¹²Even the desert pastures drip with it, and the hills are dressed in pure joy. ¹³The meadowlands are covered with flocks, the valleys decked out in grain - they shout for joy; they break out in song!