Bro. Alex Blocker

Isaiah 61:1-11 NRSVUE

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and release to the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
    to comfort all who mourn,

to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks;
    foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines,

but you shall be called priests of the Lord;
    you shall be named ministers of our God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,
    and in their riches you shall glory.

Because their shame was double
    and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
    everlasting joy shall be theirs.

For I, the Lord, love justice,
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their descendants shall be known among the nations
    and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
    that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my whole being shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots

    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

    to spring up before all the nations.

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Acts 12:12-17 NRSVUE

As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying.  When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.  They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.”  Meanwhile Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the gate they saw him and were amazed.  He motioned to them with his hand to be silent and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, “Tell this to James and to the brothers and sisters.” Then he left and went to another place.​

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