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The
Book Blog
Four readings
with recordings |
Ezra
8:
Before the Jews left Babylon to return to
Jerusalem after their 70 years of captivity,
Ezra got them to pray and fast for a safe journey.
Dear God, please help us to
remember to pray for safety each time we set out on a journey
Recording
of this reading
for English students
On the journey from Babylon
to Jerusalem
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Psalm
145:
I will give you glory, O God my king. I will bless your name day after
day.
The
Lord is great, worthy of all praise. His greatness cannot be measured.
Age
to age shall proclaim your works, shall speak of your splendor and
glory.
The
Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
How
good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
All
your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and tell all the world of your
love.
The
Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds.
The
Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.
The
eyes of all creatures look to you and you give them their food each day.
The
Lord is close to all who call him, who call on him from their hearts.
Let
the whole world bless the Lord's holy name, for ever, for ages unending.
Thank
you, Lord, for your love. Thank you for your love
Recording
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Acts 7-8:
Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked
up and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God's right hand
"I can see heaven thrown open", he
said, "and Jesus standing at the right hand of God"
At this, the religious leaders at the meeting
covered their ears with their hands. They sent Stephen out of the city and
stoned him. The false witnesses (who were required to throw the first
stones) put down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Paul
As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". Then he knelt down and prayed
"Lord, do not hold this sin against them". Then he died. Paul
entirely approved of the killing
That day a bitter persecution started against
the church in Jerusalem,
and everyone except the apostles fled to the countryside
Paul began working for the destruction of the church. He went from house to house arresting men and
women and sending them to prison
Jesus, thank you for the example of Stephen
who, like yourself, forgave those who were killing him
Recording
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Matthew
19:
A young man asked Jesus
"Master, what do I have to do to get to Heaven?"
Jesus replied "Keep the commandments:
do not kill; do not commit adultery; honor your father and mother;
care for others as much as you care about yourself".
The young man said "I have kept all these
commandments.
What else do I need to do?"
Jesus said "If you want to do something
really special with your life, go and sell all your possessions, give the
money to the poor,
then come and follow me as one of my disciples".
When the young man heard these words he went
away sad,
because he was very rich.
Jesus then said to his disciples
"It is hard for a rich person to get to Heaven".
Jesus, don't let riches endanger my
eternal life
Recording
YouTube: the
stoning of Stephen
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From
A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and
Power
by former US president Jimmy Carter:
Page 159: There are proven
disadvantages for child brides concerning their health, education,
safety, and loss of the basic human right of making decisions about
their own lives.
Young
brides under 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than
women in their twenties, and when a woman is under 18, her baby is 60%
more likely to die in its first year of life than a baby born to a woman
just two years older.
Few
child brides are permitted to remain in school, which deprives them of
the ability to support themselves or a family. In addition, they are
more likely to suffer domestic violence and sexual abuse. All these
statistics are derived from ....UN agencies. This mistreatment
contravenes both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women.
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253.
In
order to sustain dialogue with Islam, suitable
training is essential for all involved, not only so that they can
be solidly and joyfully grounded in their own identity, but so that they
can also acknowledge the values of others, appreciate the concerns
underlying their demands and shed light on shared beliefs.
We
Christians should embrace with affection and respect Muslim immigrants
to our countries in the same way that we hope and ask to be received and
respected in countries of Islamic tradition.
I
ask and I humbly entreat those countries to grant Christians freedom to
worship and to practice their faith, in light of the freedom which
followers of Islam enjoy in Western countries!
Faced
with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for
true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid
hateful generalisations, for authentic
Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of
violence.
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New
letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK
prison
- commenting on this
story:
Tanzania President: My son was not arrested in China for drug
trafficking
This
website's Tanzania
File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs
to HK)
- letters
from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons
This
website's South
America file
(stopping
South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from South American inmates in Hong Kong prisons
This
website's Hong
Kong file
(encouraging
local drug addicts to come off drugs) |
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John
W mini-Blog:
A
man whose son died in the South Korea ferry tragedy has been
fasting for 34 days, seeking a better investigation of the
tragedy. He had a brief meeting with the Pope on Friday, and
took the opportunity to ask the Pope to baptise him. So Francis
got up early yesterday (Sunday) morning and did
the baptism (and confirmation) in a 7am ceremony
-
one of many moving stories coming from South Korea these
day. Let's make the effort to try to keep up with them!
Jesus,
thank you for blessing Francis' visit to Korea!
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Please
join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Sun:
Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific
Frid:
South America
Sat:
Central & North America
Jesus,
today, Monday,
please bless the people of Europe
& Russia
And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:
On
this 18th of the month, Jesus please bless the
prisoners of Shandong
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