Book of Common Prayer
(By David.)
The Lord's Wonderful Love
1 With all my heart
I praise the Lord,
and with all that I am
I praise his holy name!
2 With all my heart
I praise the Lord!
I will never forget
how kind he has been.
3 The Lord forgives our sins,
heals us when we are sick,
4 and protects us from death.
His kindness and love
are a crown on our heads.
5 Each day that we live,[a]
he provides for our needs
and gives us the strength
of a young eagle.
6 For all who are mistreated,
the Lord brings justice.
7 He taught his Law to Moses
and showed all Israel
what he could do.
8 (A) The Lord is merciful!
He is kind and patient,
and his love never fails.
9 The Lord won't always be angry
and point out our sins;
10 he doesn't punish us
as our sins deserve.
11 How great is God's love for all
who worship him?
Greater than the distance
between heaven and earth!
12 How far has the Lord taken
our sins from us?
Farther than the distance
from east to west!
13 Just as parents are kind
to their children,
the Lord is kind
to all who worship him,
14 because he knows
we are made of dust.
15 We humans are like grass
or wild flowers
that quickly bloom.
16 But a scorching wind blows,
and they quickly wither
to be forever forgotten.
17 The Lord is always kind
to those who worship him,
and he keeps his promises
to their descendants
18 who faithfully obey him.
19 God has set up his kingdom
in heaven, and he rules
the whole creation.
20 All of you mighty angels,
who obey God's commands,
come and praise your Lord!
21 All of you thousands
who serve and obey God,
come and praise your Lord!
22 All of God's creation
and all that he rules,
come and praise your Lord!
With all my heart
I praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord for All He Has Done
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
With all my heart
I will thank the Lord
when his people meet.
2 The Lord has done
many wonderful things!
Everyone who is pleased
with God's marvelous deeds
will keep them in mind.
3 Everything the Lord does
is glorious and majestic,
and his power to bring justice
will never end.
4 The Lord God is famous
for his wonderful deeds,
and he is kind and merciful.
5 He gives food to his worshipers
and always keeps his agreement
with them.
6 He has shown his mighty power
to his people
and has given them the lands
of other nations.
7 God is always honest and fair,
and his laws can be trusted.
8 They are true and right
and will stand forever.
9 God rescued his people,
and he will never break
his agreement with them.
He is fearsome and holy.
The Lord Works Wonders
1 (A) God brought his people
out of Egypt, that land
with a strange language.
2 He made Judah his holy place
and ruled over Israel.
3 (B) When the sea looked at God,
it ran away,
and the Jordan River
flowed upstream.
4 The mountains and the hills
skipped around like goats.
5 Ask the sea why it ran away
or ask the Jordan
why it flowed upstream.
6 Ask the mountains and the hills
why they skipped like goats!
7 Earth, you will tremble,
when the Lord God of Jacob
comes near,
8 (C) because he turns solid rock
into flowing streams
and pools of water.
28 Then they left and did what Moses and Aaron had told them to do.
Death for the First-Born Sons
29 (A) At midnight the Lord killed the first-born son of every Egyptian family, from the son of the king[a] to the son of every prisoner in jail. He also killed the first-born male of every animal that belonged to the Egyptians.
30 That night the king, his officials, and everyone else in Egypt got up and started crying bitterly. In every Egyptian home, someone was dead.
The People of Israel Escape from Egypt
31 During the night the king[b] sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “Get your people out of my country and leave us alone! Go and worship the Lord, as you have asked. 32 Take your sheep, goats, and cattle, and get out. But ask your God to be kind to me.”
33 The Egyptians did everything they could to get the Israelites to leave their country as quickly as possible. They said, “Please hurry and leave. If you don't, we will all be dead.” 34 So the Israelites quickly made some bread dough and put it in pans. But they did not mix any yeast in the dough to make it rise. They wrapped cloth around the pans and carried them on their shoulders.
35 (B) The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them to do. They had gone to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for gold and silver and for clothes. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians friendly toward the people of Israel, and they gave them whatever they asked for. In this way they carried away the wealth of the Egyptians when they left Egypt.
37 The Israelites walked from the city of Rameses to the city of Succoth. There were about 600,000 of them, not counting women and children. 38 Many other people went with them as well, and there were also a lot of sheep, goats, and cattle. 39 They left Egypt in such a hurry that they did not have time to prepare any food except the bread dough made without yeast. So they baked it and made thin bread.
God's People Will Be Raised to Life
12 If we preach that Christ was raised from death, how can some of you say the dead will not be raised to life? 13 If they won't be raised to life, Christ himself wasn't raised to life. 14 And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. 15 If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying he raised Christ to life, when he really did not.
16 So if the dead won't be raised to life, Christ wasn't raised to life. 17 Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. 18 And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. 19 If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.
20 But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. 21 Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. 22 Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. 23 But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns. 24 Then after Christ has destroyed all powers and forces, the end will come, and he will give the kingdom to God the Father.
25 (A) Christ will rule until he puts all his enemies under his power, 26 and the last enemy he destroys will be death. 27 (B) When the Scriptures say he will put everything under his power, they don't include God. It was God who put everything under the power of Christ. 28 After everything is under the power of God's Son, he will put himself under the power of God, who put everything under his Son's power. Then God will mean everything to everyone.
ONE OLD ENDING TO MARK'S GOSPEL[a]
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
(Matthew 28.9,10; John 20.11-18)
9 Very early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen to life, he appeared to Mary Magdalene. Earlier he had forced seven demons out of her. 10 She left and told his friends, who were crying and mourning. 11 Even though they heard that Jesus was alive and that Mary had seen him, they still would not believe it.
Jesus Appears to Two Disciples
(Luke 24.13-35)
12 Later, Jesus appeared in another form to two disciples, as they were on their way out of the city. 13 But when these disciples told what had happened, the others would not believe either.
What Jesus' Followers Must Do
(Matthew 28.16-20; Luke 24.36-49; John 20.19-23; Acts 1.6-8)
14 Afterwards, Jesus appeared to his eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them because they were too stubborn to believe the ones who had seen him after he had been raised to life. 15 (A) Then he told them:
Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world. 16 Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned. 17 Everyone who believes me will be able to do wonderful things. By using my name they will force out demons, and they will speak new languages. 18 They will handle snakes and will drink poison and not be hurt. They will also heal sick people by placing their hands on them.
Jesus Returns to Heaven
(Luke 24.50-53; Acts 1.9-11)
19 (B) After the Lord Jesus had said these things to the disciples, he was taken back up to heaven where he sat down at the right side[b] of God. 20 Then the disciples left and preached everywhere. The Lord was with them, and the miracles they worked proved that their message was true.
ANOTHER OLD ENDING TO MARK'S GOSPEL[c]
9-10 The women quickly told Peter and his friends what had happened. Later, Jesus sent the disciples to the east and to the west with his sacred and everlasting message of how people can be saved forever.
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