(~) Bible Readings for Sunday September 18
Jonah 3:10-4:11
Philippians 1:21-27
Matthew 20:1-16
Old Testament Jonah 3:10-4:11
When God saw what the people of Nineveh did, how they turned from their
evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he
would bring upon them; and he did not do it. But this was very
displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said,
"O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That
is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a
gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O LORD, please take my life
from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." And the LORD said,
"Is it right for you to be angry?" Then Jonah went out of the city and sat
down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it
in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. The LORD God
appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his
head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the
bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that
attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a
sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he
was faint and asked that he might die. He said, "It is better for me to
die than to live." But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be
angry about the bush?" And he said, "Yes, angry enough to die." Then the
LORD said, "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor
and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in
a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in
which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not
know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"
The Epistle Philippians 1:21-27
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the
flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer.
I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with
Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more
necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain
and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I
may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you
again. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so
that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will
know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with
one mind for the faith of the gospel.
The Gospel Matthew 20:1-16
Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early
in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the
laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he
went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the
marketplace; and he said to them, `You also go into the vineyard, and I
will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again
about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five
o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them,
`Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, `Because no
one has hired us.' He said to them, `You also go into the vineyard.' When
evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, `Call the
laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going
to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them
received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they
would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.
And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
`These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who
have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied
to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with
me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to
give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I
choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Pax Christi,
• Ninure Saunders aka Rainbow Christian
Jesus is my Shepherd and He knows I'm Gay
http://Ninure-Saunders.tk
My Yahoo Group
http://Ninure.tk
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
http://www.MCCchurch.org
The Bible Site - help provide free scripture
http://www.thebiblesite.org
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