Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer Not to Sin
A song of David.
141 Lord, I call to you. Come quickly.
Listen to me when I call to you.
2 Let my prayer be like incense placed before you.
Let my praise be like the evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, help me control my tongue.
Help me be careful about what I say.
4 Don’t let me want to do evil
or join others in doing wrong.
Don’t let me eat
with those who do evil.
5 If a good man punished me, that would be kind.
If he corrected me,
that would be like having perfumed oil on my head.
I shouldn’t refuse it.
But I pray against those who do evil.
6 Let their leaders be thrown down the cliffs.
Then people will know that I have spoken the truth:
7 “The ground is plowed and broken up.
In the same way, our bones have been scattered at the grave.”
8 Lord God, I look to you for help.
I trust in you. Don’t let me die.
9 Protect me from the traps they set for me
and from the net evil people have spread.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own pits.
And let me pass by safely.
21 “And I will show my greatness among the nations. All the nations will feel my power when I punish them. 22 From that day on the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know Israel was taken away captive because they turned against me. So I turned away from them. And I let their enemies defeat them. All of them died in war. 24 I punished them for their uncleanness and their sins. I turned away from them.
25 “So this is what the Lord God says: Now I will bring the people of Jacob back from captivity. I will have mercy on the whole nation of Israel. I will not let them dishonor me. 26 The people will forget their shame. And they will forget how they rejected me. They will live in safety on their own land. No one will make them afraid. 27 I will bring the people back from other lands. I will gather them from the lands of their enemies. That is how I will show that I am holy through my people. And many nations will see that I am holy. 28 Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God. This is because I sent them into captivity among the nations. But then I brought them back to their own land. And I didn’t leave any behind. 29 I will not turn away from them anymore. I will put my Spirit into the people of Israel, says the Lord God.”
The New Temple
40 It was the twenty-fifth year of our captivity. It was at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month. It was in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem was defeated. On that same day I felt the power of the Lord. He brought me to Jerusalem. 2 In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel. He put me on a very high mountain. On the south of the mountain there were some buildings that looked like a city. 3 The Lord took me closer to the buildings. I saw a man who looked as if he were made of bronze. He was standing in the gateway. He had a cord made of linen and a stick in his hand, both for measuring. 4 The man said to me, “Human being, look with your eyes and hear with your ears. And pay attention to all that I will show you. That’s why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel all that you see.”
How to Use Christian Freedom
23 “We are allowed to do all things.” Yes. But not all things are good for us to do. “We are allowed to do all things.” Yes. But not all things help others grow stronger. 24 No one should try to do what will help only himself. He should try to do what is good for others.
25 Eat any meat that is sold in the meat market. Do not ask questions about the meat to see if it is something you think is wrong to eat. 26 You can eat it, “because the earth and everything on it belong to the Lord.”[a]
27 Someone who is not a believer may invite you to eat with him. If you want to go, eat anything that is put before you. Do not ask questions about it. 28 But if anyone says to you, “That food was offered to idols,” then do not eat it. Do not eat it because of that person who told you and because eating it would be something that might be thought wrong. 29 I don’t mean that you think it is wrong. But the other person might think it is wrong. My own freedom should not be judged by what someone else thinks. 30 I eat the meal with thankfulness. And I do not want to be criticized because of something I thank God for.
31 So if you eat, or if you drink, or if you do anything, do everything for the glory of God. 32 Never do anything that might make others do wrong—Jews, Greeks, or God’s church. 33 I do the same thing. I try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me. I try to do what is good for the most people. I do this so that they can be saved.
11 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.