Book of Common Prayer
God’s Love for Israel
105 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.
Tell the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him. Sing praises to him.
Tell about all the wonderful things he has done.
3 Be glad that you are his.
Let those who ask the Lord for help be happy.
4 Depend on the Lord and his strength.
Always go to him for help.
5 Remember the wonderful things he has done.
Remember his miracles and his decisions.
6 You are descendants of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen people.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His laws are for all the world.
8 He will keep his agreement forever.
He will keep his promises always.
9 He will keep his agreement he made with Abraham.
He will keep the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He made it a law for the people of Jacob.
He made it an agreement with Israel to last forever.
11 The Lord said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
The promised land will belong to you.”
12 Then God’s people were few in number.
They were strangers in the land.
13 They went from one nation to another.
They went from one kingdom to another.
14 But the Lord did not let anyone hurt them.
He warned kings not to harm them.
15 He said, “Don’t hurt my chosen people.
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 God ordered a time of hunger in the land.
And he destroyed all the food.
17 Then he sent a man ahead of them.
It was Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They put chains around his feet
and an iron ring around his neck.
19 Then the time he had spoken of came.
The Lord’s words proved that Joseph was right.
20 The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and freed him.
The ruler of the people set him free.
21 He made him the master of his house.
Joseph was in charge of his riches.
22 He could order the princes as he wished.
He taught the older men to be wise.
23 Then his father Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob, also called Israel, lived in Egypt.[a]
24 The Lord made his people grow in number.
He made them stronger than their enemies.
25 And he caused the Egyptians to hate his people.
They made plans against the Lord’s servants.
26 Then he sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They did many signs among the Egyptians.
They worked miracles in Egypt.
28 The Lord sent darkness and made the land dark.
But the Egyptians turned against what he said.
29 So he changed their water into blood
and made their fish die.
30 Then their country was filled with frogs.
They were even in the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 The Lord spoke, and flies came.
Gnats were everywhere in the country.
32 He made hail fall like rain.
And he sent lightning through their land.
33 He struck down their grapevines and fig trees.
He destroyed every tree in the country.
34 He spoke, and grasshoppers came.
The locusts were too many to count.
35 They ate all the plants in the land.
They ate what the earth produced.
36 The Lord also killed all the firstborn sons in the land,
the oldest son of each family.
37 Then he brought his people out,
and they carried with them silver and gold.
Not one of his people stumbled.
38 The Egyptians were glad when they left
because the Egyptians were afraid of them.
39 The Lord covered them with a cloud
and lit up the night with fire.
40 When they asked, he brought them quail.
He filled them with bread from heaven.
41 God split the rock, and water flowed out.
It ran like a river through the desert.
42 He remembered his holy promise
to his servant Abraham.
43 So God brought his people out with joy.
He brought out his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them lands that belonged to other nations.
They received what others had worked for.
45 This was so they would keep his orders
and obey his teachings.
Praise the Lord!
The Vision of the Lampstand
4 Then the angel who was talking with me came back. He woke me up as if I had been asleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a solid gold lampstand. There is a bowl at the top. And there are seven lamps. There are also seven places for wicks. 3 There are two olive trees by it. One is on the right of the bowl. And one is on the left.”
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “Sir, what are these?”
5 The angel said, “Don’t you know what they are?”
“No, sir,” I said.
6 Then he told me, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘You will not succeed by your own strength or by your own power. The power will come from my Spirit,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
7 “No mountain can stand in Zerubbabel’s way. It will be flattened. Then he will bring out the topmost stone. There will be shouts of ‘It’s beautiful! It’s beautiful!’”
8 Then the Lord spoke his word to me again. He said: 9 “Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of this Temple. He will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of heaven’s armies has sent me to you.
10 “The people should not think that small beginnings are unimportant. They will be happy when they see Zerubbabel with tools, building the Temple.
“(These seven lamps stand for the eyes of the Lord. They look back and forth across the earth.)”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?”
12 I also asked him, “What are the two branches full of olives? The olive oil flows through the two gold pipes to the lamps.”
13 He answered, “Don’t you know what they are?”
“No, sir,” I said.
14 So he said, “They stand for two men. They have been appointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
The Way You Should Live
17 In the Lord’s name, I tell you this. I warn you: Do not continue living like those who do not believe. Their thoughts are worth nothing. 18 They do not understand. They know nothing, because they refuse to listen. So they cannot have the life that God gives. 19 They have lost their feeling of shame. And they use their lives for doing evil. More and more they want to do all kinds of evil things. 20 But the things you learned in Christ were not like this. 21 I know that you heard about him, and you are in him; so you were taught the truth. Yes, the truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught to leave your old self—to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self becomes worse and worse because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do. 23 But you were taught to be made new in your hearts. 24 You were taught to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy.
25 So you must stop telling lies. Tell each other the truth because we all belong to each other in the same body.[a] 26 When you are angry, do not sin. And do not go on being angry all day. 27 Do not give the devil a way to defeat you. 28 If a person is stealing, he must stop stealing and start working. He must use his hands for doing something good. Then he will have something to share with those who are poor.
29 When you talk, do not say harmful things. But say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will help those who listen to you. 30 And do not make the Holy Spirit sad. The Spirit is God’s proof that you belong to him. God gave you the Spirit to show that God will make you free when the time comes. 31 Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. 32 Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
9 Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed. The man was lying on his mat. Jesus saw that these people had great faith, so he said to the paralyzed man, “Be happy, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law heard this. They said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God—that is blasphemy!”[a]
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up. Take your mat and go home.” 7 And the man stood up and went home. 8 The people saw this and were amazed. They praised God for giving power like this to men.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.