Book of Common Prayer
105 Give thanks to the Lord and call out to him!
Tell the nations what he has done!
2 Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about the amazing things he has done.
3 Be proud of his holy name.
You followers of the Lord, be happy!
4 Depend on the Lord for strength.
Always go to him for help.
5 Remember the amazing things he has done.
Remember his miracles and his fair decisions.
6 You belong to the family of his servant Abraham.
You are descendants of Jacob, the people God chose.
7 The Lord is our God.
He rules the whole world.
8 He will remember his agreement forever.
He will always keep the promises he made to his people.
9 He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham
and the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He gave it as a law to Jacob.
He gave it to Israel as an agreement that will last forever!
11 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It will be your very own.”
12 At the time God said this, there were only a few of his people,
and they were strangers there.
13 They traveled around from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 But the Lord did not let anyone mistreat them.
He warned kings not to harm them.
15 He said, “Don’t hurt my chosen people.
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 He caused a famine in that country,
and people did not have enough food.
17 But he sent a man named Joseph to go ahead of them.
Joseph was sold like a slave.
18 They tied a rope around his feet
and put an iron ring around his neck.
19 Joseph was a slave until what he said had really happened.
The Lord’s message proved that Joseph was right.
20 So the king of Egypt set him free.
That nation’s leader let him out of jail.
21 He put Joseph in charge of his house.
Joseph took care of everything the king owned.
22 Joseph gave instructions to the other leaders.
He taught the older men.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob lived there in Ham’s country.[a]
24 Jacob’s family became very large
and more powerful than their enemies.
25 So the Egyptians began to hate his people.
They made plans against his servants.
26 So the Lord sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, his chosen priest.
27 He used Moses and Aaron
to do many miracles in Ham’s country.
28 He sent darkness to cover their land,
but the Egyptians did not listen to him.
29 So he changed the water into blood,
and all their fish died.
30 Their country was filled with frogs,
even in the king’s bedroom.
31 The Lord gave the command,
and the flies and gnats came.
They were everywhere!
32 He made the rain become hail.
Lightning struck throughout their land.
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees.
He destroyed every tree in their country.
34 He gave the command, and the locusts and grasshoppers came.
There were too many to count!
35 They ate all the plants in the country,
including all the crops in their fields.
36 Then the Lord killed every firstborn in their country.
He killed their oldest sons.
37 He led his people out of Egypt.
They were carrying gold and silver,
and none of them stumbled or fell behind.
38 Egypt was happy to see his people go,
because they were afraid of them.
39 The Lord spread out his cloud like a blanket.
He used his column of fire to give his people light at night.
40 They asked for food, and he sent them quail.
He also gave them plenty of bread from heaven.
41 He split the rock, and water came bubbling out.
A river began flowing in the desert!
42 The Lord remembered his holy promise
that he had made to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought his people out of Egypt.
They came out rejoicing and singing their happy songs!
44 Then he gave his people the lands of other nations.
His people got what others had worked for.
45 He did this so that his people would obey his laws
and follow his teachings.
Praise the Lord!
Daniel and the Lions
6 Darius thought it would be a good idea to choose 120 satraps to rule throughout his kingdom. 2 He chose three men to rule over the 120 satraps. Daniel was one of the three supervisors. The king put these men in this position to keep anyone from cheating him. 3 Daniel proved himself to be a better supervisor than any of the others. He did this by his good character and great ability. The king was so impressed with Daniel that he planned to make him ruler over the whole kingdom. 4 But when the other supervisors and the satraps heard about this, they were very jealous. They tried to find reasons to accuse Daniel. So they watched what Daniel did as he went about doing the business of the government. But they could not find anything wrong with him, so they could not accuse him of doing anything wrong. Daniel was a man people could trust. He did not cheat the king, and he worked very hard.
5 Finally, they said, “We will never find any reason to accuse Daniel of doing something wrong. So we must find something to complain about that is connected to the law of his God.”
6 So the two supervisors and the satraps went as a group to the king. They said, “King Darius, live forever! 7 The supervisors, prefects, satraps, advisors, and governors have all agreed on something. We think that the king should make this law and that everyone must obey it: For the next 30 days, whoever prays to any god or man except you, King, will be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, King, make the law and sign the paper it is written on so that it cannot be changed, because the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled or changed.” 9 So King Darius made the law and signed it.
10 Daniel always prayed to God three times every day. Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and praise God. Even though Daniel heard about the new law, he still went to his house to pray. He went up to the upper room of his house and opened the windows that faced toward Jerusalem. Then Daniel bowed down on his knees and prayed just as he always had done.
11 Then the supervisors and satraps went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and talked to him about the law he had made. They said, “King Darius, you signed a law that says, for the next 30 days anyone who prays to any god or man except you, the king, would be thrown into the lions’ den. You did sign that law, didn’t you?”
The king answered, “Yes, I signed that law, and the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled or changed.”
13 Then they said to the king, “That man Daniel is not paying any attention to you. He is one of the captives[a] from Judah, and he is not paying attention to the law you signed. Daniel still prays to his God three times every day.”
14 The king became very sad and upset when he heard this. He decided to save Daniel. He worked until sunset trying to think of a way to save him. 15 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, “Remember, King, that the law of the Medes and Persians says that no law or command signed by the king can ever be canceled or changed.”
1 Greetings from the Elder.[a]
To the lady[b] chosen by God and to her children.
I truly love all of you. And I am not the only one. All those who know the truth[c] love you in the same way. 2 We love you because of the truth—the truth that lives in us. That truth will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ, as we live in truth and love.
4 I was very happy to learn about some of your children. I am happy that they are following the way of truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I tell you: We should all love each other. This is not a new command. It is the same command we had from the beginning. 6 And loving means living the way he commanded us to live. And God’s command is this: that you live a life of love. You heard this command from the beginning.
7 Many false teachers are in the world now. They refuse to say that Jesus Christ came to earth and became a man. Anyone who refuses to accept this fact is a false teacher and the enemy of Christ. 8 Be careful! Don’t lose the reward we[d] have worked for. Be careful so that you will receive all of that reward.
9 Everyone must continue to follow only the teaching about Christ. Whoever changes that teaching does not have God. But whoever continues to follow the teaching about Christ has both the Father and his Son. 10 Don’t accept those who come to you but do not bring this teaching. Don’t invite them into your house. Don’t welcome them in any way. 11 If you do, you are helping them with their evil work.
12 I have much to say to you. But I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come visit you. Then we can be together and talk. That will make us very happy. 13 The children of your sister[e] who was chosen by God send you their love.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man(A)
12 One time Jesus was in a town where a very sick man lived. This man was covered with leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed before Jesus and begged him, “Lord, you have the power to heal me if you want.”
13 Jesus said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” Then he touched the man, and immediately the leprosy disappeared. 14 Then Jesus said, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. But go and let the priest look at you.[a] And offer a gift to God for your healing as Moses commanded. This will show people that you are healed.”
15 But the news about Jesus spread more and more. Many people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 Jesus often went away to other places to be alone so that he could pray.
Jesus Heals a Crippled Man(B)
17 One day Jesus was teaching the people. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there too. They had come from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The Lord was giving Jesus the power to heal people. 18 There was a man who was paralyzed, and some other men were carrying him on a mat. They tried to bring him and put him down before Jesus. 19 But there were so many people that they could not find a way to Jesus. So they went up on the roof and lowered the crippled man down through a hole in the ceiling. They lowered the mat into the room so that the crippled man was lying before Jesus. 20 Jesus saw how much faith they had and said to the sick man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Jewish teachers of the law and the Pharisees thought to themselves, “Who is this man who dares to say such things? What an insult to God! No one but God can forgive sins.”
22 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you have these questions in your minds? 23-24 The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There’s no proof that it really happened. But what if I say to the man, ‘Stand up and walk’? Then you will be able to see that I really have this power.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, stand up! Take your mat and go home!”
25 The man immediately stood up in front of everyone. He picked up his mat and walked home, praising God. 26 Everyone was completely amazed and began to praise God. They were filled with great respect for God’s power. They said, “Today we saw amazing things!”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International