Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer Not to Sin
A psalm of David.
141 Lord, I call to you. Come quickly.
Listen to me when I call to you.
2 Let my prayer be like incense placed before you,
and my praise like the evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, help me control my tongue;
help me be careful about what I say.
4 Take away my desire to do evil
or to join others in doing wrong.
Don’t let me eat tasty food
with those who do evil.
5 If a good person punished me, that would be kind.
If he corrected me, that would be like perfumed oil on my head.
I shouldn’t refuse it.
But I pray against those who do evil.
6 Let their leaders be thrown down the cliffs.
Then people will know that I have spoken correctly:
7 “The ground is plowed and broken up.
In the same way, our bones have been scattered at the grave.”
8 God, I look to you for help.
I trust in you, Lord. Don’t let me die.
9 Protect me from the traps they set for me
and from the net that evil people have spread.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
but let me pass by safely.
21 “I will show my glory among the nations. All the nations will see my power when I punish them. 22 From that time onward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 The nations will know Israel was taken away captive because they turned against me. So I turned away from them and handed them over to their enemies until all of them died in war. 24 Because of their uncleanness and their sins, I punished them and turned away from them.
25 “So this is what the Lord God says: Now I will bring the people of Jacob back from captivity, and I will have mercy on the whole nation of Israel. I will not let them dishonor me. 26 The people will forget their shame and how they rejected me when they live again in safety on their own land with no one to make them afraid. 27 I will bring the people back from other lands and gather them from the lands of their enemies. So I will use my people to show many nations that I am holy. 28 Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into captivity among the nations, but then I brought them back to their own land, leaving no one behind. 29 I will not turn away from them anymore, because I will put my Spirit into the people of Israel, says the Lord God.”
The New Temple
40 It was the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month. It was in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem was captured. On that same day I felt the power of the Lord, and he brought me to Jerusalem. 2 In the visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel and put me down on a very high mountain. On the south of the mountain there were some buildings that looked like a city. 3 He took me closer to the buildings, and I saw a man who looked as if he were made of bronze, standing in the gateway. He had a cord made of linen and a stick in his hand, both for measuring. 4 The man said to me, “Human, look with your eyes and hear with your ears. Pay attention to all that I will show you, because that’s why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel all that you see.”
How to Use Christian Freedom
23 “We are allowed to do all things,” but not all things are good for us to do. “We are allowed to do all things,” but not all things help others grow stronger. 24 Do not look out only for yourselves. Look out for the good of others also.
25 Eat any meat that is sold in the meat market. Do not ask questions about it. 26 You may eat it, “because the earth belongs to the Lord, and everything in it.”[a]
27 Those who are not believers may invite you to eat with them. If you want to go, eat anything that is put before you. Do not ask questions about it. 28 But if anyone says to you, “That food was offered to idols,” do not eat it. Do not eat it because of that person who told you and because eating it might be thought to be wrong. 29 I don’t mean you think it is wrong, but the other person might. But why, you ask, should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I eat the meal with thankfulness, why am I criticized because of something for which I thank God?
31 The answer is, if you eat or drink, or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Never do anything that might hurt others—Jews, Greeks, or God’s church— 33 just as I, also, try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me but what is good for most people so they can be saved.
11 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.