Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Choose Life
15 “See, (A)I have set before you today life and [a]prosperity, and death and [b]calamity; 16 in that I am commanding you today (B)to love Yahweh your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you (C)may live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not listen, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that (D)you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter [c]and possess it. 19 (E)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, (F)the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your seed, 20 (G)by loving Yahweh your God, by listening to His voice, and (H)by holding fast to Him; (I)for [d]this is your life and the length of your days, [e]that you may live in (J)the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
BOOK 1
The Way of the Righteous and Wicked
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the (C)way of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of [a]Yahweh,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 And he will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
1 (A)Paul, (B)a prisoner of (C)Christ Jesus, and (D)Timothy [a]our brother,
To Philemon our beloved brother and (E)fellow worker, 2 and to Apphia [b](F)our sister, and to (G)Archippus our (H)fellow soldier, and to (I)the church in your house: 3 (J)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 (K)I thank my God, always making mention of you in my prayers, 5 because I (L)hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the [c]saints; 6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective [d]through the (M)full knowledge of every good thing which is in you [e]for the sake of Christ. 7 For I have come to have much (N)joy and comfort in your love, because the [f]hearts of the [g]saints have been (O)refreshed through you, brother.
8 Therefore, (P)though I have much boldness in Christ to command you to do what is (Q)proper, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather (R)plead with you—since I am such a person as Paul, [h]the (S)aged, and now also (T)a prisoner of (U)Christ Jesus—
Plea for Onesimus
10 I (V)plead with you for my (W)child [i](X)Onesimus, of whom I became a [j]father in my chains, 11 who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. 12 I have sent him back to you in person, that is, my very heart, 13 whom I intended to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my (Y)chains for the gospel, 14 but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would (Z)not be, in effect, by compulsion but voluntary. 15 For perhaps (AA)he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, 16 (AB)no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, (AC)a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both (AD)in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 If then you regard me a (AE)partner, accept him as you would accept me. 18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 (AF)I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it ((AG)not to [k]mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). 20 Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord. (AH)Refresh my heart in Christ!
21 (AI)Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now many crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 “(A)If anyone comes to Me, and does not [a]hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not (B)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Lest, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and (C)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends [b]a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who (D)does not give up all his own possessions.
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