Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David when he was in the Desert of Judah.
63 God, you are my God.
I seek you with all my heart.
With all my strength I thirst for you
in this dry desert
where there isn’t any water.
2 I have seen you in the sacred tent.
There I have seen your power and your glory.
3 Your love is better than life.
So I will bring glory to you with my lips.
4 I will praise you as long as I live.
I will call on your name when I lift up my hands in prayer.
5 I will be as satisfied as if I had eaten the best food there is.
I will sing praise to you with my mouth.
6 As I lie on my bed I remember you.
I think of you all night long.
7 Because you have helped me,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I hold on to you tightly.
Your powerful right hand takes good care of me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed.
They will go down into the grave.
10 They will be killed by swords.
They will become food for wild dogs.
11 But the king will be filled with joy because of what God has done.
All those who make promises in God’s name will be able to brag.
But the mouths of liars will be shut.
A psalm.
98 Sing a new song to the Lord.
He has done wonderful things.
By the power of his right hand and his holy arm
he has saved his people.
2 The Lord has made known his power to save.
He has shown the nations that he does what is right.
3 He has shown his faithful love
to the people of Israel.
People from one end of the earth to the other
have seen that our God has saved us.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth.
Burst into joyful songs and make music.
5 Make music to the Lord with the harp.
Sing and make music with the harp.
6 Blow the trumpets. Give a blast on the ram’s horn.
Shout for joy to the Lord. He is the King.
7 Let the ocean and everything in it roar.
Let the world and all who live in it shout.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands.
Let the mountains sing together with joy.
9 Let them sing to the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the nations of the world
in keeping with what is right and fair.
A psalm of David.
103 I will praise the Lord.
Deep down inside me, I will praise him.
I will praise him, because his name is holy.
2 I will praise the Lord.
I won’t forget anything he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins.
He heals all my sicknesses.
4 He saves my life from going down into the grave.
His faithful and tender love makes me feel like a king.
5 He satisfies me with the good things I desire.
Then I feel young and strong again, just like an eagle.
6 The Lord does what is right and fair
for all who are treated badly.
7 He told Moses all about his plans.
He let the people of Israel see his mighty acts.
8 The Lord is tender and kind. He is gracious.
He is slow to get angry. He is full of love.
9 He won’t keep bringing charges against us.
He won’t stay angry with us forever.
10 He doesn’t punish us for our sins as much as we should be punished.
He doesn’t pay us back in keeping with the evil things we’ve done.
11 He loves those who have respect for him.
His love is as high as the heavens are above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins from us.
He has removed them as far as the east is from the west.
13 A father is tender and kind to his children.
In the same way, the Lord is tender and kind
to those who have respect for him.
14 He knows what we are made of.
He remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of human beings is like grass.
People grow like the flowers in the field.
16 When the wind blows on them, they are gone.
No one can tell that they had ever been there.
17 But the Lord’s love
for those who have respect for him
lasts for ever and ever.
Their children’s children will know
that he always does what is right.
18 He always loves those who keep his covenant.
He always does what is right for those who remember to obey his commands.
19 The Lord has set up his throne in heaven.
His kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his.
Praise him, you mighty ones
who carry out his orders and obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all you angels in heaven.
Praise him, all you who serve him and do what he wants.
22 Let everything the Lord has made praise him
everywhere in his kingdom.
I will praise the Lord.
Haggai Tells His People to Rebuild the Lord’s Temple
1 A message from the Lord came to Haggai the prophet. Haggai gave it to Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zerubbabel was governor of Judah and the son of Shealtiel. Joshua was high priest and the son of Jozadak. The message came on the first day of the sixth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia. Here is what Haggai said.
2 Here is what the Lord who rules over all says. “The people of Judah say, ‘It’s not yet time to rebuild the Lord’s temple.’ ”
3 So the message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 4 “My temple is still destroyed. But you are living in your houses that have beautiful wooden walls.”
5 The Lord who rules over all says, “Think carefully about how you are living. 6 You have planted many seeds. But the crops you have gathered are small. So you eat. But you never have enough. You drink. But you are never full. You put on your clothes. But you are not warm. You earn your pay. But it will not buy everything you need.”
7 He continues, “Think carefully about how you are living. 8 Go up into the mountains. Bring logs down. Use them to rebuild the temple, my house. Then I will enjoy it. And you will honor me,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected a lot. But you can see what a small amount it turned out to be. I blew away what you brought home. I’ll tell you why,” announces the Lord who rules over all. “Because my temple is still destroyed. In spite of that, each one of you is busy with your own house. 10 So because of what you have done, the heavens have held back the dew. And the earth has not produced its crops. 11 I ordered the rain not to fall on the fields and mountains. Then the ground did not produce any grain. There were not enough grapes to make fresh wine. The trees did not bear enough olives to make oil. People and cattle suffered. All your hard work failed.”
12 Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. Joshua the high priest was the son of Jozadak. They obeyed the Lord their God. So did all the Lord’s people who were still left alive. The Lord had given his message to them through me. He had sent me to speak to them. And the people had respect for him.
13 Haggai was the Lord’s messenger. So Haggai gave the Lord’s message to the people. He told them, “The Lord announces, ‘I am with you.’ ” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirits of Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua the high priest. The Lord also stirred up the rest of the people to help them. Then everyone began to work on the temple of the Lord who rules over all. He is their God. 15 It was the 24th day of the sixth month.
The New Temple Will Be Beautiful
In the second year of King Darius, 2 1 a second message came from the Lord. It came to Haggai the prophet. The message came on the 21st day of the seventh month. The Lord said, 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah and the son of Shealtiel. Also speak to Joshua the high priest, the son of Jozadak. And speak to all my people who are still left alive. Ask them, 3 ‘Did any of you who are here see how beautiful this temple used to be? How does it look to you now? It doesn’t look so good, does it? 4 But be strong, Zerubbabel,’ announces the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua. Be strong, all of you people in the land,’ announces the Lord. ‘Start rebuilding. I am with you,’ announces the Lord who rules over all. 5 ‘That is what I promised you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit continues to be with you. So do not be afraid.’ ”
6 The Lord says, “In a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth once more. I will also shake the ocean and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations. Then what is desired by all nations will come to my temple. And I will fill the temple with glory,” says the Lord who rules over all. 8 “The silver belongs to me. So does the gold,” announces the Lord who rules over all. 9 “The new temple will be more beautiful than the first one was,” says the Lord. “And in this place I will bring peace,” announces the Lord who rules over all.
24 At that time a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was an educated man from Alexandria. He knew the Scriptures very well. 25 Apollos had been taught the way of the Lord. He spoke with great power. He taught the truth about Jesus. But he only knew about John’s baptism. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Priscilla and Aquila heard him. So they invited him to their home. There they gave him a better understanding of the way of God.
27 Apollos wanted to go to Achaia. The brothers and sisters agreed with him. They wrote to the believers there. They asked them to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who had become believers by God’s grace. 28 In public meetings, he argued strongly against Jews who disagreed with him. He proved from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
Paul Goes to Ephesus
19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road to Ephesus. When he arrived, he found some believers there. 2 He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
“No,” they answered. “We haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John’s baptism,” they replied.
4 Paul said, “John baptized people, calling them to turn away from their sins. He told them to believe in the one who was coming after him. Jesus is that one.” 5 After hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Paul placed his hands on them. Then the Holy Spirit came on them. They spoke in languages they had not known before. They also prophesied. 7 There were about 12 men in all.
The Story of the Good Samaritan
25 One day an authority on the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?”
27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” (Leviticus 19:18)
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”
29 But the man wanted to make himself look good. So he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too. 33 But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. 34 He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey. He brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the owner of the inn. ‘Take care of him,’ he said. ‘When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”
37 The authority on the law replied, “The one who felt sorry for him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do as he did.”
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