Theme: Finishing well

Reading: 2 Chronicles 7:4-10

⁴ Then King Solomon and all the Israelites offered sacrifices to the Lord. ⁵ King Solomon offered 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. So the king and the people showed that they had dedicated the Temple to God. ⁶ The priests stood ready to do their work. The Levites stood with the instruments they would use to play music to the Lord. King David had made these instruments to use when they gave thanks to the Lord and sang, “His faithful love will last forever.” The priests blew their trumpets as they stood across from the Levites. And all the Israelites were standing.

⁷ King Solomon also dedicated the middle of the courtyard, the part that is in front of the Temple of the Lord. There he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the animals that were used as fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar he had built was too small to hold all these offerings.

⁸ So there at the Temple, King Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the festival.^[a] People came from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the border of Egypt in the south. This huge crowd of people enjoyed themselves for seven days. ⁹ On the eighth day, they had a holy meeting because they had celebrated for seven days. They made the altar holy and it was to be used only for worshiping the Lord. And they celebrated the festival for seven days. ¹⁰ On the 23rd day of the seventh month, Solomon told the people to go home. All the people thanked the king, said goodbye, and went home. They were happy because of all the good things that the Lord had done for David his servant and for his people Israel.

 

Prayer for the week:

Dear Lord,

Thank you that you have made us, us,

And given each of us talents that we can share with others.

Regardless of the times that we have not tried our best or achieved as we wanted,

You continue to show us that you love us and that you are proud;

Help us now, and in the future, to rely on you,

And when we find things hard, to ask for your strength and wisdom to support us in all the things we do.

Amen

 

Song for the week: Stand Up