Book of Common Prayer
God Loves Jerusalem
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
87 The Lord built Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
2 He loves its gates more than any other place in Israel.
3 City of God,
wonderful things are said about you. Selah
4 God says, “I will put Egypt and Babylonia
on the list of nations that know me.
People from Philistia, Tyre, and Cush
will be born there.”
5 They will say about Jerusalem,
“This one and that one were born there.
God Most High will strengthen her.”
6 The Lord will keep a list of the nations.
He will note, “This person was born there.” Selah
7 They will dance and sing,
“All good things come from Jerusalem.”
God Is Eternal, and We Are Not
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, you have been our home
since the beginning.
2 Before the mountains were born
and before you created the earth and the world,
you are God.
You have always been, and you will always be.
3 You turn people back into dust.
You say, “Go back into dust, human beings.”
4 To you, a thousand years
is like the passing of a day,
or like a few hours in the night.
5 While people sleep, you take their lives.
They are like grass that grows up in the morning.
6 In the morning they are fresh and new,
but by evening they dry up and die.
7 We are destroyed by your anger;
we are terrified by your hot anger.
8 You have put the evil we have done right in front of you;
you clearly see our secret sins.
9 All our days pass while you are angry.
Our years end with a moan.
10 Our lifetime is seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
But the years are full of hard work and pain.
They pass quickly, and then we are gone.
11 Who knows the full power of your anger?
Your anger is as great as our fear of you should be.
12 Teach us how short our lives really are
so that we may be wise.
13 Lord, how long before you return
and show kindness to your servants?
14 Fill us with your love every morning.
Then we will sing and rejoice all our lives.
15 We have seen years of trouble.
Now give us as much joy as you gave us sorrow.
16 Show your servants the wonderful things you do;
show your greatness to their children.
17 Lord our God, treat us well.
Give us success in what we do;
yes, give us success in what we do.
God’s Love Continues Forever
136 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His love continues forever.
4 Only he can do great miracles.
His love continues forever.
5 With his wisdom he made the skies.
His love continues forever.
6 He spread out the earth on the seas.
His love continues forever.
7 He made the sun and the moon.
His love continues forever.
8 He made the sun to rule the day.
His love continues forever.
9 He made the moon and stars to rule the night.
His love continues forever.
10 He killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.
His love continues forever.
11 He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.
His love continues forever.
12 He did it with his great power and strength.
His love continues forever.
13 He parted the water of the Red Sea.
His love continues forever.
14 He brought the Israelites through the middle of it.
His love continues forever.
15 But the king of Egypt and his army drowned in the Red Sea.
His love continues forever.
16 He led his people through the desert.
His love continues forever.
17 He defeated great kings.
His love continues forever.
18 He killed powerful kings.
His love continues forever.
19 He defeated Sihon king of the Amorites.
His love continues forever.
20 He defeated Og king of Bashan.
His love continues forever.
21 He gave their land as a gift.
His love continues forever.
22 It was a gift to his servants, the Israelites.
His love continues forever.
23 He remembered us when we were in trouble.
His love continues forever.
24 He freed us from our enemies.
His love continues forever.
25 He gives food to every living creature.
His love continues forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love continues forever.
Abimelech Fights Against Shechem
22 Abimelech ruled Israel for three years. 23 Then God sent an evil spirit to make trouble between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem so that the leaders of Shechem turned against him. 24 Abimelech had killed Gideon’s[a] seventy sons, his own brothers, and the leaders of Shechem had helped him. So God sent the evil spirit to punish them. 25 The leaders of Shechem were against Abimelech then. They put men on the hilltops in ambush who robbed everyone going by. And Abimelech was told.
Abimelech’s Death
50 Then Abimelech went to the city of Thebez. He surrounded the city, attacked it, and captured it. 51 But inside the city was a strong tower, so all the men, women, and leaders of that city ran to the tower. When they got inside, they locked the door behind them. Then they climbed up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech came to the tower to attack it. He approached the door of the tower to set it on fire, 53 but as he came near, a woman dropped a grinding stone on his head, crushing his skull.
54 He quickly called to the officer who carried his armor and said, “Take out your sword and kill me. I don’t want people to say, ‘A woman killed Abimelech.’” So the officer stabbed Abimelech, and he died. 55 When the people of Israel saw Abimelech was dead, they all returned home.
56 In that way God punished Abimelech for all the evil he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also punished the men of Shechem for the evil they had done. So the curse spoken by Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon,[a] came true.
The Believers Share
32 The group of believers were united in their hearts and spirit. All those in the group acted as though their private property belonged to everyone in the group. In fact, they shared everything. 33 With great power the apostles were telling people that the Lord Jesus was truly raised from the dead. And God blessed all the believers very much. 34 There were no needy people among them. From time to time those who owned fields or houses sold them, brought the money, 35 and gave it to the apostles. Then the money was given to anyone who needed it.
36 One of the believers was named Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas (which means “one who encourages”). 37 Joseph owned a field, sold it, brought the money, and gave it to the apostles.
Ananias and Sapphira Die
5 But a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some land. 2 He kept back part of the money for himself; his wife knew about this and agreed to it. But he brought the rest of the money and gave it to the apostles. 3 Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan rule your thoughts to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep for yourself part of the money you received for the land? 4 Before you sold the land, it belonged to you. And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. Why did you think of doing this? You lied to God, not to us!” 5-6 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried it out, and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, was the money you got for your field this much?”
Sapphira answered, “Yes, that was the price.”
9 Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 The whole church and all the others who heard about these things were filled with fear.
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast, Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves. He saw others sitting at tables, exchanging different kinds of money. 15 Jesus made a whip out of cords and forced all of them, both the sheep and cattle, to leave the Temple. He turned over the tables and scattered the money of those who were exchanging it. 16 Then he said to those who were selling pigeons, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place for buying and selling!”
17 When this happened, the followers remembered what was written in the Scriptures: “My strong love for your Temple completely controls me.”[a]
18 Some of his people said to Jesus, “Show us a miracle to prove you have the right to do these things.”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will build it again in three days.”
20 They answered, “It took forty-six years to build this Temple! Do you really believe you can build it again in three days?”
21 (But the temple Jesus meant was his own body. 22 After Jesus was raised from the dead, his followers remembered that Jesus had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had said.)
23 When Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, many people believed in him because they saw the miracles he did. 24 But Jesus did not believe in them because he knew them all. 25 He did not need anyone to tell him about people, because he knew what was in people’s minds.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.