Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.”
2 And Abram said, “Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, one born in my house is mine heir.”
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, “This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own loins shall be thine heir.”
5 And He brought him forth outdoors and said, “Look now toward heaven and count the stars, if thou be able to number them.” And He said unto him, “So shall thy seed be.”
6 And he believed in the Lord; and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord looketh down from heaven; He beholdeth all of the sons of men.
14 From the place of His habitation He looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashioneth the hearts of all; He considereth all their works.
16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 A horse is a vain thing for safety; neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy,
19 to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should later receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore there sprang even from one, and him as good as dead, as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded by them and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they are seeking a fatherland.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a City.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
33 Sell what ye have, and give alms. Provide yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
35 “Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning;
36 and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch and find them so, blessed are those servants.
39 And this know, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken into.
40 Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.