FRIDAY 6TH JANUARY 2017 - EPIPHANY.
THEME: JESUS CHRIST IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Psalm 72:15-17, Acts 8:26-35, Matthew 4:12-17
Psalm 72:15-17 New International Version (NIV)
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.
16 May grain abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops flourish like Lebanon
and thrive[a] like the grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
Then all nations will be blessed through him,[b]
and they will call him blessed.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 72:16 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text Lebanon, / from the city
- Psalm 72:17 Or will use his name in blessings (see Gen. 48:20)
Acts 8:26-35
Philip and the Ethiopian
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
Footnotes:
Matthew 4:12-17
Jesus Begins to Preach
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”[a]
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Footnotes:
- Matthew 4:16 Isaiah 9:1,2
Jesus is the light of the world. He came to oppose spiritual darkness and all evil. Jesus came to reveal God to us. Jesus is the way to God.
Have you seen the true light in Jesus Christ? Follow the true light.
IJUMAA TAREHE 6 JANUARI 2017 - SIKU YA EPIFANIA
WAZO KUU: YESU NI NURU YA ULIMWENGU
Zaburi 72:15-17, Matendo 8:26-35, Mathayo 4:12-17
Zaburi 72:15-17
15 Basi na aishi; Na wampe dhahabu ya Sheba; Na wamwombee daima; Na kumbariki mchana kutwa.
16 Na uwepo wingi wa nafaka Katika ardhi juu ya milima; Matunda yake na yawaye-waye kama Lebanoni, Na watu wa mjini wasitawi kama majani ya nchi.
17 Jina lake na lidumu milele, Pindi ling'aapo jua jina lake liwe na wazao; Mataifa yote na wajibariki katika yeye, Na kumwita heri.
Matendo 8:26-35
26 Malaika wa Bwana akasema na Filipo, akamwambia, Ondoka ukaende upande wa kusini hata njia ile itelemkayo kutoka Yerusalemu kwenda Gaza; nayo ni jangwa.
27 Naye akaondoka, akaenda; mara akamwona mtu wa Kushi, towashi, mwenye mamlaka chini ya Kandake malkia wa Kushi, aliyewekwa juu ya hazina yake yote; naye alikuwa amekwenda Yerusalemu kuabudu,
28 akawa akirejea, ameketi garini mwake akisoma chuo cha nabii Isaya.
29 Roho akamwambia Filipo, Sogea karibu na gari hili, ukashikamane nalo.
30 Basi Filipo akaenda mbio, akamsikia anasoma chuo cha nabii Isaya; akanena, Je! Yamekuelea haya unayosoma?
31 Akasema, Nitawezaje kuelewa, mtu asiponiongoza? Akamsihi Filipo apande na kuketi pamoja naye.
32 Na fungu la Maandiko alilokuwa akilisoma ni hili, Aliongozwa kwenda machinjoni kama kondoo, Na kama vile mwana-kondoo alivyo kimya mbele yake amkataye manyoya, Vivyo hivyo yeye naye hafunui kinywa chake.
33 Katika kujidhili kwake hukumu yake iliondolewa. Ni nani atakayeeleza kizazi chake? Kwa maana uzima wake umeondolewa katika nchi.
34 Yule towashi akamjibu Filipo, akasema, Nakuomba, nabii huyu; asema maneno haya kwa habari ya nani; ni habari zake mwenyewe au za mtu mwingine?
35 Filipo akafunua kinywa chake, naye, akianza kwa andiko lilo hilo, akamhubiri habari njema za Yesu.
Mathayo 4:12-17
12 Basi Yesu aliposikia ya kwamba Yohana amefungwa, alikwenda zake mpaka Galilaya;
13 akatoka Nazareti, akaja akakaa Kapernaumu, mji ulioko pwani, mipakani mwa Zabuloni na Naftali;
14 ili litimie neno lililonenwa na nabii Isaya, akisema,
15 Nchi ya Zabuloni na nchi ya Naftali, Njia ya bahari, ng'ambo ya Yordani, Galilaya ya mataifa,
16 Watu wale waliokaa katika giza Wameona mwanga mkuu, Nao waliokaa katika nchi na uvuli wa mauti Mwanga umewazukia.
17 Tokea wakati huo Yesu alianza kuhubiri, na kusema, Tubuni; kwa maana ufalme wa mbinguni umekaribia.
Yesu ni Nuru ya Ulimwengu. Yesu ni mwana wa Mungu na alikuja duniani kutuelekeza kwa Mungu. Yesu anasimama kinyume na ubaya wote. Yesu ni njia pekee kufika kwa Mungu Baba.
Je! Umeona nuru ya kweli katika Yesu Kristo? Ufuate hiyo nuru.
