Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, and death and disaster. 16 What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, so that you may live and multiply. Then the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away, so that you do not obey, but are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 then I declare to you today that you will surely perish and that you will not prolong your days in the land which you are crossing the Jordan to go in and possess.
19 I call heaven and earth to witnesses against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.
BOOK ONE
Psalms 1–41
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth its fruit in its season;
its leaf will not wither,
and whatever he does will prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
but are like the chaff
which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the ungodly will perish.
Salutation
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon, our beloved fellow laborer, 2 and to beloved Apphia, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 I thank my God, always mentioning you in my prayers, 5 whenever I hear of your love and faith, which you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may be most effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you from Christ Jesus. 7 For we have great joy and encouragement on account of your love, because the hearts of the saints are refreshed through you, brother.
Paul Pleads for Onesimus
8 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you to do that which is proper, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— 10 I appeal to you on behalf of my son Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment, 11 who in the past was unprofitable to you, but now he is profitable to you and to me.
12 I have sent him back. Therefore receive him as my own heart. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that in your place he might serve me during my imprisonment for the gospel. 14 But without your consent I would do nothing, so that your goodness would not be forced, but given willingly. 15 Perhaps this was why he departed for a while, that you might receive him forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 If then you consider me a partner, receive him as you would me. 18 If he wronged you or owes you anything, charge this to my account. 19 I, Paul, have written this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, help me rejoice in the Lord, refresh my heart in the Lord. 21 Being convinced of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will also do more than I say.
The Cost of Discipleship(A)
25 Large crowds went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
28 “For who among you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost to see whether he has resources to complete it? 29 Otherwise, perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to complete it, all who see it will begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to complete it.’
31 “Or what king, going to wage war against another king, does not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Otherwise, while the other is yet at a distance, he sends a delegation and requests conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, any of you who does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.