I wrote to you (before)
in the letter,
not to be mixed up with immoral people,
– not altogether (meaning) the immoral people of this world,
or the greedy people and swindlers
or the idol worshippers.
since then you would need to leave the world!

But now I am writing to you
not to mixed up with anyone
called brother / sister
who is an immoral person
or a greedy person
or an idol worshipper
or a slanderer
or a drunkard
or a swindler.
Do not even eat with such a one.
For what (business) is it of mine to to judge outsiders?
Do you not judge insiders?
But God will judge outsiders.
Banish the immoral person from among you. ¹

1. Deuteronomy 17:7 ↩︎

Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen

St Anselm

Not pleasant, your boasting
– do you not know that
a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.
Clean out the old leaven
so that you might be a new lump of dough,
as you are leavenless.
For Christ, our passover (lamb)
has been sacrificed.
So let us celebrate the festival
not with the old leaven
nor with the leaven of vice and evil
but with the unleavened (bread) of purity and truth.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

Most assuredly,
sexual immorality is reported (to be) among you,
and immorality of a such as a kind
which (is) not among the pagans,
in that someone has the wife of his father.

And are you ‘puffed up’
-should you rather not grieve?
And have you removed from your midst
the one who did this deed?

For I, for my part
(am) away in the body,
but
(present) in the Spirit,
already
have resolved (what should be done) –
as (if present)
to the one who perpetrated this in this way
in the name of (our) Lord Jesus –
my spirit and yours coming together –
with the power of our Lord Jesus,
to hand over this one to Satan
for destruction of the fleshly ,
so that (his?) spirit might be saved
on the day of the Lord.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy,
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

I am NOT writing these to you to shame you,
but I correct you as my beloved children.
For you might have a myriad of ‘people to correct you’ in Christ
but you do not have many fathers.
For
In Christ Jesus
through the gospel
I became (a Father) for you.
So I encourage you, then
to take me as your model.

For this reason,
I sent to you Timothy,
who is my beloved child
and faithful in the Lord
who will remind you of my ways in Christ,
just as I teach
everywhere,
in every church.

Then, as if I was not coming to you,
some have become puffed up.
But I will come to you soon,
if the Lord is willing,
and I will discover
not the talk of the arrogant ones,
but (even more) the power (if there is any).
For the Kingdom of God is
is not (just a matter of) word
but in power.
What do you want?-
Am I to come (to beat you) with a stick,
or in love with a spirit of gentleness?

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

Already you have been filled!
already you are beginning to be rich!
you begin to reign as kings without us!
and indeed I could wish you did reign as kings
so that we might reign with you too!

For, it seems to me,
God paraded us apostles last
as ones doomed to die
because we have become a spectacle to the world:
both to angels
and to people.
We are foolish because of Christ,
yet you are wise in Christ
we are are weak
yet you are strong,
you are honoured
yet we are despised.

Until this present hour
we are hungry and thirsty
we are naked and beaten
and are homeless and
we toil, by working with our hands.
Although insulted, we speak kindly
although persecuted, we endure
although slandered, we are positive
We have become the world’s scum
everyone’s scrapings- until now.

Eternal God and Fatther,
you create us by your power,
and redeem us by your love,
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

Now,
these things
brothers/sisters
I have applied them to myself, and Apollos (as examples)
for your sake,
so that you may learn
through us
‘Not beyond what is written,’
so that you may not be puffed up
one on behalf of one (of us), against another.
For who distinguishes (between) you? ,
What do you have that you did not receive?
For if you received,
why boast,
-as if you did not receive?

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

In this way
let a person think about us
as servants of Christ
and managers of the mysteries of God.
Here, for the rest, it is ‘required’ amongst managers
that one might be found faithful /trustworthy.

Then as for me,
it is a small matter to me
that I am examined by you
or by a human court (day).
But I do I not even examine myself.
For I am conscious that I am nothing,
but not in this am I pronounced in the right
The one who examines is the Lord.

So do not judge anything before the time
– until the Lord comes,
who will also bring to light the hidden things of darkness
and reveal the purposes of the heart.
and at that time
the recognition – due to each- will come
from God.

Keep us, O Lord, while we tarry on this earth,
in a serious seeking after thee,
and in an affectionate walking with thee,
every day of our lives;
that when thou comest,
we may be found not hiding our talent,
nor yet asleep with our lamp unfurnished,
but waiting and longing for our Lord,
our glorious King, for ever and ever.

Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

Let no one deceive themselves.
If someone among you thinks
they are wise
in this age
let them become foolish
in order to become wise.
For the wisdom of this age is foolish
beside God,
For it is written:
He catches the wise in their craftiness¹
and again
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile²
so then
let no one boast in human people
For everything is yours.
whether Paul
or Apollos,
or Cephas
or the world
or life
or death
or the present
or the future
– you all are Christ’s
and Christ is God’s.

1. Job 5:13 ↩︎
2. Psalm 94:11
   ↩︎

Lord God,
you feed us with the living bread from heaven;
you renew our faith,
increase our hope,
and strengthen our love.

Teach us to hunger
for Christ who is the true and living bread,
and to live by every word
that comes from your mouth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Do you not know that
you are a temple of God
and the Spirit of God dwells in you all?
If anyone destroys the temple of God,
God will destroy them.
For the temple of God is holy,
which is what you are.

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts;
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil;
Eternal Power, be our support;
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance:
That we may seek your face
with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. Amen.

Alcuin

According to the grace of God,
given to me,
as a skilled master-builder
I laid a foundation
but another builds on (it.)
Each person – give attention to how to build!
For nobody can lay another foundation
other than the one that has been laid down,
which is Jesus Christ.
For if someone builds upon the foundation
with gold, or silver, or precious stones or, wood, or hay or straw,
the work of each (builder) will become seen,
for the Day will make it clear,
because it (the Day?) will be revealed by fire.
And the fire will test what sort of work each (has done).
If the work that some had built remains,
they will receive a reward.
If someone’s work is burnt up,
they will suffer loss,
They themselves will be saved,
but as through fire.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.