Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Cyrus to Lead

45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, whom He has chosen, whose right hand He has held, “I send him to put nations under his power, and to take away the power of kings. And I will open doors in front of him so that gates will not be shut. ² I will go before you and make the hard places smooth. I will break the brass doors to pieces, and cut through their iron gates. ³ I will give you riches hidden in the darkness and things of great worth that are hidden in secret places. Then you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name. ⁴ For the good of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I called you by your name. I gave you a name of honor, when you had not known Me. ⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other. There is no God besides Me. I will give you strength, even though you have not known Me. ⁶ Then men may know from sunrise to sunset that there is no God besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. ⁷ I make light and I make darkness. I bring good and I make trouble. I am the Lord Who does all these things.

A Call to Worship the Lord

96 Sing to the Lord a new song. Let all the earth sing to the Lord. ² Sing to the Lord. Honor His name. Make His saving power known from day to day. ³ Tell of His shining-greatness among the nations. Tell of His wonderful works among all the people. ⁴ For the Lord is great and should be given much praise. He is to be honored with fear above all gods. ⁵ For all the gods of the nations are false gods. But the Lord made the heavens. ⁶ Honor and great power are with Him. Strength and beauty are in His holy place.

⁷ Give to the Lord, O families of the nations, give to the Lord the honor and strength that He should have. ⁸ Give to the Lord the honor of His name. Bring a gift and come into His holy place. ⁹ Worship the Lord in holy clothing. May all the earth shake in fear before Him.

¹⁰ Say among the nations that the Lord rules. The world is built to last. It will not be moved. He will be right when He says who is guilty or not.

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad. And let the earth be full of joy. Let the sea and all that is in it make a loud noise. ¹² Let the fields and all that is in them be full of joy. Then all the trees of the land will sing for joy ¹³ before the Lord. For He is coming. He is coming to say who is guilty or not on the earth. He will be right in what He decides about the world. And He will be faithful to the people.

Paul Gives Thanks for Their Faith

1 This letter is from Paul and Silas and Timothy. It is to you, the church, in the city of Thessalonica. You belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May you have His loving-favor and His peace.

² We thank God for you all the time and pray for you. ³ While praying to God our Father, we always remember your work of faith and your acts of love and your hope that never gives up in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ Christian brothers, we know God loves you and that He has chosen you. ⁵ The Good News did not come to you by word only, but with power and through the Holy Spirit. You knew it was true. You also knew how we lived among you. It was for your good. ⁶ You followed our way of life and the life of the Lord. You suffered from others because of listening to us. But you had the joy that came from the Holy Spirit. ⁷ Because of your good lives, you are showing all the Christians in the countries of Macedonia and Greece how to live. ⁸ The Word of the Lord has been spoken by you in the countries of Macedonia and Greece. People everywhere know of your faith in God without our telling them. ⁹ The people themselves tell us how you received us when we came to you. They talk of how you turned to God from worshiping false gods. Now you worship the true and living God. ¹⁰ They tell us how you are waiting for His Son Jesus to come down from heaven. God raised Him from the dead. It is Jesus Who will save us from the anger of God that is coming.

The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Try to Trap Jesus ^(A)

¹⁵ Then the proud religious law-keepers got together to think how they could trap Jesus in His talk. ¹⁶ They sent their followers to Jesus with some of King Herod’s men. They asked, “Teacher, we know that You are true. We know that You are teaching the truth about God. We know You are not afraid of what men think or say about You. ¹⁷ Tell us what You think of this. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ Jesus knew their sinful thoughts and said, “You pretend to be someone you are not! Why do you try to trap Me? ¹⁹ Show Me a piece of money.” They brought Him a piece. ²⁰ Jesus said to them, “Whose picture is this? Whose name is on it?” ²¹ They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. Pay to God the things that belong to God.” ²² When they heard this, they were surprised and wondered about it. Then they went away from Him.