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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
International Children’s Bible (ICB)
Version
Psalm 24

A Welcome for God into the Temple

A song of David.

24 The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.
    The world and all its people belong to him.
He built it on the waters.
    He set it on the rivers.

Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy Temple?
Only those with clean hands and pure hearts.
    They must not have worshiped idols.
    They must not have made promises in the name of a false god.
It is they who will receive a blessing from the Lord.
    The God who saves them will declare them right.
They try to follow God.
    They look to the God of Jacob for help. Selah

Open up, you gates.
    Open wide, you aged doors.
    Then the glorious king will come in.
Who is this glorious king?
    The Lord, strong and mighty.
    The Lord, the powerful warrior.
Open up, you gates.
    Open wide, you aged doors.
    Then the glorious king will come in.
10 Who is this glorious king?
    The Lord of heaven’s armies—
    he is the glorious king. Selah

Psalm 29

God in the Thunderstorm

A song of David.

29 Praise the Lord, you angels.
    Praise the Lord’s glory and power.
Praise the Lord for the glory of his name.
    Worship the Lord because he is holy.

The Lord’s voice is heard over the sea.
    The glorious God thunders.
    The Lord thunders over the great ocean.
The Lord’s voice is powerful.
    The Lord’s voice is majestic.
The Lord’s voice breaks the trees.
    The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes the land of Lebanon dance like a calf.
    He makes Mount Hermon jump like a baby bull.
The Lord’s voice makes the lightning flash.
The Lord’s voice shakes the desert.
    The Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
The Lord’s voice shakes the oaks.
    The leaves fall off the trees.
In his Temple everyone says, “Glory to God!”

10 The Lord controls the flood.
    The Lord will be King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people.
    The Lord blesses his people with peace.

Psalm 103

Praise to the God of Love

Of David.

103 All that I am, praise the Lord.
    Everything in me, praise his holy name.
My whole being, praise the Lord.
    Do not forget all his kindnesses.
The Lord forgives me for all my sins.
    He heals all my diseases.
He saves my life from the grave.
    He loads me with love and mercy.
He satisfies me with good things.
    He makes me young again, like the eagle.

The Lord does what is right and fair
    for all who are wronged by others.
He showed his ways to Moses
    and his miracles to the people of Israel.
The Lord shows mercy and is kind.
    He does not become angry quickly, and he has great love.
He will not always scold us.
    He will not be angry forever.
10 He has not punished us as our sins should be punished.
    He has not repaid us for the evil we have done.
11 As high as the sky is above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who respect him.
12 He has taken our sins away from us
    as far as the east is from west.
13 The Lord has mercy on those who fear him,
    as a father has mercy on his children.
14 He knows how we were made.
    He remembers that we are dust.

15 Human life is like grass.
    We grow like a flower in the field.
16 After the wind blows, the flower is gone.
    There is no sign of where it was.
17 But the Lord’s love for those who fear him
    continues forever and ever.
    And his goodness continues to their grandchildren
18 and to those who keep his agreement
    and who remember to obey his orders.

19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
    And his kingdom rules over everything.
20 You who are his angels, praise the Lord.
    You are the mighty warriors who do what he says.
    Listen to what he says.
21 You, his armies, praise the Lord.
    You are his servants who do what he wants.
22 Everything the Lord has made
    should praise him in all the places he rules.
My whole being, praise the Lord.

Zechariah 9:9-12

The King Is Coming

Rejoice, people of Jerusalem.
    Shout for joy, people of Jerusalem.
Your king is coming to you.
    He does what is right, and he saves.
    He is gentle and riding on a donkey.
    He is on the colt of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
    and the horses from Jerusalem.
    The bows used in war will be broken.
The king will talk to the nations about peace.
    His kingdom will go from sea to sea,
    and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

11 My people, I made an agreement with you
    and sealed it with the blood of sacrifices.
Because of this, I will set your prisoners free from captivity,
    which is like a dry pit.
12 You prisoners who have hope,
    return to your place of safety.
Today I am telling you
    that I will give you back twice as much as before.

Zechariah 12:9-11

At that time I will go to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

Crying for the One They Stabbed

10 “I will give David’s family and people in Jerusalem a spirit of kindness and mercy. They will look at me, the one they have stabbed. And they will cry like someone crying over the death of an only child. They will be as sad as someone who has lost a firstborn son. 11 At that time there will be much crying in Jerusalem. It will be like the crying for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

Zechariah 13:1

13 “At that time a fountain will be opened. It will be for David’s descendants and for the people of Jerusalem. It will cleanse them of their sins and wrongs.”

Zechariah 13:7-9

The Shepherd Is Killed

“Sword, hit the shepherd.
    Attack the man who is my friend,”
    says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
“Kill the shepherd,
    and the sheep will scatter.
    I will punish the little ones.”
The Lord says, “Two-thirds of the people
    through all the land will die.
    And one-third will be left.
I will test the ones left with fire.
    I will purify them like silver.
    I will test them like gold.
Then they will call on me.
    And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘You are my people.’
    And they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

1 Timothy 6:12-16

12 Keeping your faith is like running a race. Try as hard as you can to win. Be sure you receive the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life. And you confessed the great truth about Christ in a way that many people heard. 13 Before God and Christ Jesus I give you a command. Christ Jesus confessed that same great truth when he stood before Pontius Pilate. And God gives life to everything. Now I tell you: 14 Do the things you were commanded to do. Do them without wrong or blame until the time when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 15 God will make that happen at the right time. He is the blessed and only Ruler. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. 16 God is the only One who never dies. He lives in light so bright that men cannot go near it. No one has ever seen God, or can see him. May honor and power belong to God forever. Amen.

Luke 19:41-48

Jesus Cries for Jerusalem

41 Jesus came near Jerusalem. He saw the city and began to cry for it. 42 Jesus said to Jerusalem, “I wish you knew today what would bring you peace! But you can’t know it, because it is hidden from you. 43 A time is coming when your enemies will build a wall around you and will hold you in on all sides. 44 They will destroy you and all your people. Not one stone of your buildings will be left on another. All this will happen because you did not know the time when God came to save you.”

Jesus Goes to the Temple

45 Jesus went into the Temple. He began to throw out the people who were selling things there. 46 He said, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be a house where people will pray.’[a] But you have changed it into a ‘hideout for robbers’!”[b]

47 Jesus taught in the Temple every day. The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and some of the leaders of the people wanted to kill Jesus. 48 But all the people were listening closely to him and were interested in all the things he said. So the leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the leaders did not know how they could kill him.

International Children’s Bible (ICB)

The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.