M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Voluntary Sacrifices and Offerings
1 [a] So the Lord called out to Moses from inside the Meeting Tent and said, 2 “Tell the Israelites: When you bring an offering to the Lord, the offering must be one of your tame animals—it can be a sheep, a goat, or one of your cattle.
3 “If you offer one of your cattle as a burnt offering, it must be a bull that has nothing wrong with it. You must take the animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent where the Lord will accept the offering. 4 You must put your hand on the animal’s head while it is being killed. So the Lord will accept it as your burnt offering to make you pure.
5 “You[b] must kill the young bull in front of the Lord. Then Aaron’s sons, the priests, will bring the blood to the altar that is near the entrance of the Meeting Tent. He will splash the blood on all four sides of the altar. 6 You must remove the skin from that animal and then cut the animal into pieces. 7 Aaron’s sons, the priests, will put the fire on the altar and arrange the wood on the fire. 8 They will lay the pieces of the animal, including the head and fat, on top of the burning wood. 9 You must wash the legs and inner parts of the animal with water. Then the priest will bring all these parts to the altar to be offered as a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.
10 “If you offer a sheep or a goat as a burnt offering, it must be a male that has nothing wrong with it. 11 You must kill the animal on the north side of the altar in front of the Lord. Then Aaron’s sons, the priests, will splash the animal’s blood on all four sides of the altar. 12 You must cut the animal into pieces and remove the head and the fat. The priest will then lay them on the wood that is on the fire of the altar. 13 You must wash the legs and inner parts of the animal with water. Then the priest will bring all these parts to the altar to be offered as a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.
14 “If you offer a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, that bird must be a dove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest will bring the offering to the altar. There the priest will remove the bird’s head, drain out the blood on the side of the altar, and burn the bird on the altar. 16 He will remove the bird’s tail and inner parts[c] and throw them onto the pile of ashes east of the altar. 17 Then the priest will tear the bird open by its wings, but he must not divide it completely into two parts. So he will bring the bird to the altar to be offered as a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.
News That Jesus Has Risen From Death(A)
20 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She saw that the large stone was moved away from the entrance. 2 So she ran to Simon Peter and the other follower (the one Jesus loved very much). She said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”
3 So Peter and the other follower started going to the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other follower ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down and looked in. He saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter finally reached the tomb and went in. He saw the pieces of linen lying there. 7 He also saw the cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. It was folded up and laid in a different place from the pieces of linen. 8 Then the other follower went in—the one who had reached the tomb first. He saw what had happened and believed. 9 (These followers did not yet understand from the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from death.)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene(B)
10 Then the followers went back home. 11 But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. While she was crying, she bent down and looked inside the tomb. 12 She saw two angels dressed in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been. One was sitting where the head had been; the other was sitting where the feet had been.
13 The angels asked Mary, “Woman, why are you crying?”
Mary answered, “They took away the body of my Lord, and I don’t know where they put him.” 14 When Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the man in charge of the garden. So she said to him, “Did you take him away, sir? Tell me where you put him. I will go and get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and said in Aramaic, “Rabboni,” which means “Teacher.”
17 Jesus said to her, “You don’t need to hold on to me! I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my followers[a] and tell them this: ‘I am going back to my Father and your Father. I am going back to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the followers and told them, “I saw the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.
Jesus Appears to His Followers(C)
19 The day was Sunday, and that same evening the followers were together. They had the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them. He said, “Peace be with you!” 20 As soon as he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the followers saw the Lord, they were very happy.
21 Then Jesus said again, “Peace be with you. It was the Father who sent me, and I am now sending you in the same way.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven. If there is anyone whose sins you don’t forgive, their sins are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Thomas (called Didymus) was one of the twelve, but he was not with the other followers when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We saw the Lord.” Thomas said, “That’s hard to believe. I will have to see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side. Only then will I believe it.”
26 A week later the followers were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand here in my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “You believe because you see me. Great blessings belong to the people who believe without seeing me!”
Why John Wrote This Book
30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs that his followers saw, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you can believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Then, by believing, you can have life through his name.
17 It is better to have nothing but a dry piece of bread to eat in peace than a whole house full of food with everyone arguing.
2 A smart servant will gain control over his master’s foolish son. He will be treated like a son and get a share of the inheritance.
3 Fire is used to make gold and silver pure, but a person’s heart is made pure by the Lord.
4 People who do evil listen to evil ideas. Liars listen to liars.
5 Whoever makes fun of beggars insults their Maker. Whoever laughs at someone else’s trouble will be punished.
6 Grandchildren are the pride and joy of old age, and children take great pride in their parents.
7 You wouldn’t expect to hear a fine speech from a fool, and you shouldn’t expect lies from a ruler.
8 Some people think a bribe is like a lucky charm—it seems to work wherever they go.
9 Forgive someone, and you will strengthen your friendship. Keep reminding them, and you will destroy it.
10 Smart people learn more from a single correction than fools learn from a hundred beatings.
11 Those who are evil only want to cause trouble. In the end, punishment without mercy will be sent to them.
12 It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool who is busy doing foolish things.
13 If you do wrong to those who were good to you, you will have trouble the rest of your life.
14 The start of an argument is like a small leak in a dam. Stop it before a big fight breaks out.
15 The Lord hates these two things: punishing the innocent and letting the guilty go free.
16 Money is wasted on fools. They cannot buy wisdom when they have no sense.
17 A friend loves you all the time, but a brother was born to help in times of trouble.
18 Only a fool would promise to pay for someone else’s debts.
19 A troublemaker loves to start arguments. Anyone who likes to brag is asking for trouble.
20 Crooks will not profit from their crimes, and those who plan to cause trouble will be trapped when it comes.
21 A man who has a fool for a son will be disappointed. A fool brings no joy to his father.
22 Happiness is good medicine, but sorrow is a disease.
23 A wicked judge will accept a bribe, and that keeps justice from being done.
24 Intelligent people think about what needs to be done here and now. Fools are always dreaming about faraway places.
25 Foolish children upset their parents and make them sad.
26 It is wrong to punish an innocent person or attack leaders for doing what is right.
27 Intelligent people choose their words carefully. Those who know what they are doing remain calm.[a]
28 Silent fools seem wise. They say nothing and appear to be smart.
Some Things to Do
4 My dear brothers and sisters, I love you and want to see you. You bring me joy and make me proud of you. Continue following the Lord as I have told you.
2 Euodia and Syntyche, you both belong to the Lord, so please agree with each other. 3 For this I make a special request to my friend who has served with me so faithfully: Help these women. They worked hard with me in telling people the Good News, together with Clement and others who worked with me. Their names are written in the book of life.[a]
4 Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy.
5 Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.[b]
8 Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise. Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. 9 And do what you learned and received from me—what I told you and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you.
Paul Thanks the Philippian Believers
10 I am so happy, and I thank the Lord that you have again shown your care for me. You continued to care about me, but there was no way for you to show it. 11 I am telling you this, but not because I need something. I have learned to be satisfied with what I have and with whatever happens. 12 I know how to live when I am poor and when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of how to live through any kind of situation—when I have enough to eat or when I am hungry, when I have everything I need or when I have nothing. 13 Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.
14 But it was good that you helped me when I needed help. 15 You people in Philippi remember when I first told the Good News there. When I left Macedonia, you were the only church that gave me help. 16 Several times you sent me things I needed when I was in Thessalonica. 17 Really, it is not that I want to get gifts from you. But I want you to have the benefit that comes from giving. 18 I have everything I need. I have even more than I need. I have all I need because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice and it pleases him. 19 My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus. 20 Glory to our God and Father forever and ever. Amen.
21 Give our greetings to God’s people there—to each one who belongs to Christ Jesus. Those in God’s family who are with me send you their greetings. 22 And greetings to you from all of God’s people here, especially those who work in the service of the emperor.
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International