Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 63
My Soul Thirsts for You
Heading
A psalm by David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.[a]
Thirsting for God
1 God, you are my God. Eagerly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you,
in a dry and dreary land without water.
2 Yes, in the sanctuary I have watched you
to see your power and your glory.
Joy Even in Adversity
3 Because your mercy is better than life,
my lips will worship you.
4 Yes, I will bless you as long as I live.
In your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied with rich food.[b]
My mouth will praise you with lips filled with songs.
6 Whenever I remember you on my bed,
throughout the watches of the night I meditate on you.
7 Because you are a help for me,
I sing for joy under the shade of your wings.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand upholds me.
Destruction for the Defiant
9 But those who seek my life will go to destruction.
They will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the power of the sword.
They will become food for foxes.[c]
11 But the king will rejoice in God.
All who swear by him will praise him,
but the mouths of those speaking lies will be shut.
Psalm 98
Sing to the Lord a New Song
Heading
A psalm.
Invitation
1 Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
Let His People Sing
2 The Lord has made his salvation known.
He has revealed his righteousness to the eyes of the nations.
3 He has remembered his mercy and his faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Let All People Sing
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Break out in joyful song! Make music!
5 Make music to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of music.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn
shout for joy before the King, the Lord.
Let the Whole Earth Sing
7 Let the sea roar, and everything that fills it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands.
Let the mountains sing for joy together before the Lord,
9 for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with fairness.[a]
Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, Who Forgives All Your Sins
Heading
By David.
Invitation to Praise
1 Bless the Lord,[a] O my soul.
All that is within me, bless his holy name.
Praise for Personal Blessings
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3 who pardons all your guilt,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life[b] with goodness,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
Praise for Blessings Through Moses
6 The Lord performs righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.
God’s Great Mercy
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always accuse.
He will not keep his anger forever.
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve.
He does not repay us according to our guilty deeds.
God’s Mercy Illustrated
11 Yes, as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so powerful is his mercy toward those who fear him.
12 As distant as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were formed.
He remembers that we are dust.
Man’s Short Life
15 As for man, his days are like grass.
Like a wildflower he blossoms.
16 Then the wind blows over it, and it is gone,
and its place recognizes it no more.
The Covenant With Moses Proclaims God’s Eternal Mercy
17 But the Lord’s mercy is from eternity to eternity
over those who fear him,
and his righteousness is with their children’s children,
18 with those who keep his covenant,
with those who remember his precepts in order to obey them.
Closing Praise
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his royal power rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you his angels,
you strong warriors who obey his word
by listening to what he says.
21 Bless the Lord, all his armies,
you who minister to him,
you who do whatever pleases him.
22 Bless the Lord, everything he has made
in all places where he rules.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The First Set of Messages:
Build the Lord’s House
1 In the second year of King Darius,[a] on the first day of the sixth month,[b] the word of the Lord came through[c] Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
2 This is what the Lord of Armies[d] says. This people has said, “It is not the right time for the House of the Lord to be built.”
3 So the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet.
4 Is it time for you to live in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now this is what the Lord of Armies says. Consider your ways carefully. 6 You sow much seed but you harvest little. You eat but you are never satisfied. You drink but you never become drunk. You get dressed, but no one is warm. The one who makes money puts that money into a bag with a hole in it.
7 This is what the Lord of Armies says. Consider your ways carefully. 8 Go up to the mountains, bring lumber down, and build the House. I will be pleased with it, and I will be glorified, says the Lord.
9 You expected much, but look, there was little. When you brought it home, I blew it away.
Why did I do that? This is a declaration of the Lord of Armies. It is because my house lies in ruins while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 So it is because of you that the heavens have withheld the dew and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the olive oil, on everything which the soil produces, on people, on livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the surviving remnant[e] of the people, listened to the voice of the Lord their God and to the words of Haggai the prophet, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord.
13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s message to the people: “I am with you, declares the Lord.”
14 The Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the surviving remnant of the people, and they came and worked on the house for the Lord of Armies, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
The Second Message:
The Glory of This House
2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month,[f] the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet.
2 Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the surviving remnant of the people.
3 Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look now? Doesn’t it seem like nothing in your eyes?
4 But now, be strong, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest! Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Get to work, and I will be with you, declares the Lord of Armies. 5 This is the promise I made[g] to you when you left Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Do not be afraid!
6 Listen, this is what the Lord of Armies says. Once again, in a little while, I myself will shake the heavens and the earth, the seas and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations, and the desired of all the nations will come,[h] and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Armies. 8 The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of Armies. 9 The glory of this second house will be greater than that of the first one,[i] says the Lord of Armies. For in this place I will provide peace, declares the Lord of Armies.
Apollos
24 A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man and well versed in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He spoke with burning zeal and taught the facts about Jesus[a] accurately, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he provided much help to those who had become believers by grace, 28 because he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Paul Goes to Ephesus
19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior districts and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
“No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that the Holy Spirit was given.”
3 Paul asked, “What were you baptized into then?”
They replied, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.[b] 5 When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.”[c]
6 When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in other languages and to prophesy. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
The Good Samaritan
25 Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?”
27 He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;[a] and, love your neighbor as yourself.”[b]
28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 33 A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii,[c] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?”
37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.