Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁷ The Lord said to Moses:

Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. ⁸ They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. ⁹ Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, ¹⁰ and I'm angry enough to destroy them, so don't try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation.

^11 (A) Moses tried to get the Lord God to change his mind:

Our Lord, you used your mighty power to bring these people out of Egypt. Now don't become angry and destroy them. ¹² If you do, the Egyptians will say that you brought your people out here into the mountains just to get rid of them. Please don't be angry with your people. Don't destroy them!

^13 (B) Remember the solemn promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and that you would give them land.

¹⁴ So even though the Lord had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live.

(For the music leader. A psalm by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David had been with Bathsheba.)

A Prayer for Forgiveness

Being Thankful for God's Kindness

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me the strength for my work because he knew he could trust me. ^13 (A) I used to say terrible and insulting things about him, and I was cruel. But Christ had mercy on me because I didn't know what I was doing, and I had not yet put my faith in him. ¹⁴ Christ Jesus our Lord treated me with undeserved grace and has greatly blessed my life with faith and love just like his own.

¹⁵ “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all! ¹⁶ But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life. ¹⁷ I pray that honor and glory will always be given to the only God, who lives forever and is the invisible and eternal King! Amen.

One Sheep

(Matthew 18.12-14)

15 ^(A) Tax collectors^[a] and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. ² So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, “This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this story:

⁴ If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won't you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? ⁵ And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder ⁶ and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, “Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep.”

⁷ Jesus said, “In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over 99 good people who don't need to.”

One Coin

⁸ Jesus told the people another story:

What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won't she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? ⁹ Then she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, “Let's celebrate! I've found the coin I lost.”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “In the same way God's angels are happy when even one person turns to him.”