Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
An Evening Prayer
141 I call upon You, O Lord. Hurry to me! Hear my voice when I call to You! 2 May my prayer be like special perfume before You. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening gift given on the altar in worship. 3 O Lord, put a watch over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Do not let my heart turn to any sinful thing, to do wrong with men who sin. And do not let me eat their fine food.
5 Let those who are right with God punish me and speak strong words to me in kindness. It is oil upon my head. Do not let my head turn away from it. Yet my prayer is always against the sinful works of those who sin. 6 When their rulers are thrown down from high rocks, they will hear my words, for they are true. 7 Our bones have been spread around the mouth of the grave like the broken ground behind the plow.
8 For my eyes are toward You, O God the Lord. In You I have a safe place. Do not leave me without help. 9 Keep me from the trap they have set for me. Keep me from the nets of those who do wrong. 10 Let the sinful fall into their own nets, while I pass by and am safe.
The Lord Returns to the House of God
43 Then he brought me to the east gate, 2 and I saw the shining-greatness of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth was shining because of His greatness. 3 It was like the special dream that I saw when He came to destroy the city. It was like the special dream that I saw by the Chebar River. I fell with my face to the ground. 4 As the shining-greatness of the Lord came into the house through the east gate, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner open space. And the shining-greatness of the Lord filled the house.
6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard Someone speaking to me from inside the house. 7 And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place for My throne and for the bottom of My feet, where I will live among the people of Israel forever. No longer will the people of Israel or their kings make My holy name unclean, by worshiping other gods or by the dead bodies of their kings. 8 They put their doorways by My doorways, and their door pillars beside My door pillars, with only a wall between Me and them. In doing so, they have made My holy name unclean by the hated sins they have done. So I have destroyed them in My anger. 9 Now let them put their worship of other gods and the dead bodies of their kings far from Me. And I will live among them forever.
10 “Son of man, tell the people of Israel about the house of the Lord, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them look over the plan. 11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, let them know how the house is built, the house with its doors and gateways, and its whole plan. Let them know all its laws. Write it down in front of them, so that they will see its whole plan and obey all its laws. 12 This is the law of the house: All the ground around it on top of the mountain will be most holy. This is the law of the house.
Jesus Sorrows Over Jerusalem
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the men who speak for God and throw stones at those who were sent to you. How many times I wanted to gather your children around Me, as a chicken gathers her young ones under her wings. But you would not let Me. 38 See! Your house is empty. 39 I say to you, you will not see Me again until you will say, ‘Great is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Jesus Tells of the House of God (A)
24 Jesus went out of the house of God. On the way His followers came to Him to show Him the buildings of the house of God. 2 Jesus said to them, “Do you see all these things? For sure, I tell you, all these stones will be thrown down. Not one will be left standing on another.”
Jesus Teaches on the Mount of Olives
3 Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to Him when He was alone and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What can we look for to show us of Your coming and of the end of the world?”
4 Jesus said to them, “Be careful that no one leads you the wrong way. 5 Many people will come using My name. They will say, ‘I am Christ.’ They will fool many people and will turn them to the wrong way. 6 You will hear of wars and lots of talk about wars, but do not be afraid. These things must happen, but it is not the end yet. 7 Nations will have wars with other nations. Countries will fight against countries. There will be no food for people. The earth will shake and break apart in different places. 8 These things are the beginning of sorrows and pains.
9 “Then they will hand you over to be hurt. They will kill you. You will be hated by all the world because of My name. 10 Many people will give up and turn away at this time. People will hand over each other. They will hate each other. 11 Many false religious teachers will come. They will fool many people and will turn them to the wrong way. 12 Because of people breaking the laws and sin being everywhere, the love in the hearts of many people will become cold. 13 But the one who stays true to the end will be saved.
14 “This Good News about the holy nation of God must be preached over all the earth. It must be told to all nations and then the end will come.
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