Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
64 Tear open the skies and come down to earth.
The mountains would tremble before you.
2 Be like a fire that burns twigs.
Be like a fire that makes water boil.
Do this so that your enemies will know who you are.
Then all nations will shake with fear when they see you.
3 You have done amazing things that we did not expect.
You came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 From long ago no one has ever heard of a God like you.
No one has ever seen a God besides you.
You help the people who trust you.
5 You help those who enjoy doing good.
You help those who remember how you want them to live.
But you were angry because we sinned.
For a long time we disobeyed.
How will we be saved?
6 All of us are dirty with sin.
All the right things we have done are like filthy pieces of cloth.
All of us are like dead leaves.
Like the wind our sins have carried us away.
7 No one worships you.
No one even asks you to help us.
So you have turned away from us.
And we are destroyed because of our sins.
8 But Lord, you are our father.
We are like clay, and you are the potter.
Your hands made us all.
9 Lord, don’t continue to be angry with us.
Don’t remember our sins forever.
Please, look at us
because we are your people.
A Prayer to Bring Israel Back
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies of the Agreement.” A song of Asaph.
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us.
You lead the people of Joseph like a flock.
You sit on your throne between the gold creatures with wings.
Show your greatness 2 to the people of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Use your strength.
Come and save us.
3 God, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
4 Lord God of heaven’s armies,
how long will you be angry
at the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed your people tears.
You have made them drink many tears.
6 You made those around us fight over us.
Our enemies make fun of us.
7 God of heaven’s armies, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
17 Help the man you have chosen.
Make this human being strong for your service.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Give us life again, and we will call to you for help.
19 Lord God of heaven’s armies, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace that God has given you in Christ Jesus. 5 In Jesus you have been blessed in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge. 6 The truth about Christ has been proved in you. 7 So you have every gift from God while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. 8 Jesus will keep you strong until the end. He will keep you strong, so that there will be no wrong in you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 9 God is faithful. He is the One who has called you to share life with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
24 “During the days after this trouble comes,
‘The sun will grow dark.
And the moon will not give its light.
25 The stars will fall from the sky.
And everything in the sky will be changed.’ Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
26 “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 The Son of Man will send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth.
28 “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. 29 So also when you see all these things happening, then you will know that the time is near, ready to come. 30 I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living. 31 The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.
32 “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows. 33 Be careful! Always be ready![a] You don’t know when that time will be. 34 It is like a man who goes on a trip. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it. He gives each servant a special job to do. One servant has the work of guarding the door. The man tells this servant always to be watchful. This is what I am now telling you. 35 You must always be ready. You don’t know when the owner of the house will come back. He might come in the evening, or at midnight, or in the early morning, or when the sun rises. 36 He might come back quickly. If you are always ready, then he will not find you sleeping. 37 I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ready!’”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.