Scripture Reading. Acts 12:1-11, 18-24 - NIV                  

¹ It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ² He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. ³ When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

¹⁸ In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. ²⁰ He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

²¹ On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. ²² They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” ²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

Psalm Reading:  Psalm 46:7-11 - NIV                                             

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.

⁹ He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.  He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Scripture Reading. Isaiah 2:1-5 - NIV                   

Isaiah 2:1-5 - NIV     

1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

² In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.

³ Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob.  He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”  The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

⁴ He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.  They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

⁵ Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Psalm Reading:  Psalm: 122:1-9 - NIV              

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹ I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

² Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.

³ Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.

⁴ That is where the tribes go up— the tribes of the Lord—to praise the name of the Lordaccording to the statute given to Israel.

⁵ There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.

⁷ May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”

⁸ For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”

⁹ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.

Note: All Scriptures are New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) unless otherwise noted