Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Cyrus, God’s Anointed
45 Thus says the Lord to Cyrus, His anointed,
whose right hand I have held—
to subdue nations before him
and to loosen the loins of kings,
to open doors before him
so that the gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you
and make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
and shatter the bars of iron.
3 And I will give you the treasures of darkness
and hidden riches of secret places
so that you may know that I, the Lord,
who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob My servant’s sake
and Israel My chosen one,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you,
though you have not known Me.
5 I am the Lord and there is no other;
there is no God besides Me.
I strengthen you,
though you have not known Me,
6 so that they may know from the rising of the sun
and from the west
that there is no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7 I form the light and create darkness;
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
Psalm 96(A)
1 O sing unto the Lord a new song;
sing unto the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing unto the Lord, bless His name;
declare His salvation from day to day.
3 Proclaim His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Give unto the Lord, O families of the people,
give unto the Lord glory and strength.
8 Give unto the Lord the glory due His name;
bring an offering, and come into His courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Indeed, the world is established; it shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously.”
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field be joyful, and all that is in it;
then all the trees of the forests shall rejoice
13 before the Lord, for He comes,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.
Salutation
1 Paul, Silas, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patient hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father.
4 For we know, beloved brothers, your election by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, just as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. 6 You became followers of us and the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit. 7 Therefore you were examples to all who believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord sounded out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we do not need to say anything. 9 For they themselves declare how we were received by you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come.
The Question of Paying Taxes(A)
15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel to entangle Him in His words. 16 They sent their disciples to Him with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God truthfully, and are swayed by no one. For You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, “Why test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.” They brought Him a denarius. 20 He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
Then He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When they heard these words, they were amazed, and left Him and went on their way.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.