Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
11 Soon the news reached the apostles and other brothers in Judea that Gentiles also were being converted! 2 But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers argued with him.
3 “You fellowshiped with Gentiles and even ate with them,” they accused.
4 Then Peter told them the whole story. 5 “One day in Joppa,” he said, “while I was praying, I saw a vision—a huge sheet, let down by its four corners from the sky. 6 Inside the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds which we are not to eat.[a] 7 And I heard a voice say, ‘Kill and eat whatever you wish.’
8 “‘Never, Lord,’ I replied. ‘For I have never yet eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws!’
9 “But the voice came again, ‘Don’t say it isn’t right when God declares it is!’
10 “This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained disappeared into heaven. 11 Just then three men who had come to take me with them to Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying! 12 The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry about their being Gentiles! These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon arrived at the home of the man who had sent the messengers. 13 He told us how an angel had appeared to him and told him to send messengers to Joppa to find Simon Peter! 14 ‘He will tell you how you and all your household can be saved!’ the angel had told him.
15 “Well, I began telling them the Good News, but just as I was getting started with my sermon, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning! 16 Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘Yes, John baptized with[b] water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 And since it was God who gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to argue?”
18 When the others heard this, all their objections were answered and they began praising God! “Yes,” they said, “God has given to the Gentiles, too, the privilege of turning to him and receiving eternal life!”
148 Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise him from the skies! 2 Praise him, all his angels, all the armies of heaven. 3 Praise him, sun and moon and all you twinkling stars. 4 Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds.
5 Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; 6 he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.
7 And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. 8 Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind, and weather all obey. 9 Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, 10 the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, 11 the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, 12 young men and maidens, old men and children— 13 all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. 14 He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones—the people of Israel, the people closest to him.
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!
21 Then I saw a new earth (with no oceans!) and a new sky, for the present earth and sky had disappeared. 2 And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. It was a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride at her wedding.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, “Look, the home of God is now among men, and he will live with them and they will be his people; yes, God himself will be among them.[a] 4 He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true: 6 It is finished! I am the A and the Z—the Beginning and the End. I will give to the thirsty the springs of the Water of Life—as a gift!
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “My time has come; the glory of God will soon surround me—and God shall receive great praise because of all that happens to me. 32 And God shall give me his own glory, and this so very soon. 33 Dear, dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me—just as I told the Jewish leaders.
34 “And so I am giving a new commandment to you now—love each other just as much as I love you. 35 Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.