Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Forgiveness
For the director of music. A song of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after David’s sin with Bathsheba.
51 God, be merciful to me
because you are loving.
Because you are always ready to be merciful,
wipe out all my wrongs.
2 Wash away all my guilt
and make me clean again.
3 I know about my wrongs.
I can’t forget my sin.
4 You are the one I have sinned against.
I have done what you say is wrong.
So you are right when you speak.
You are fair when you judge me.
5 I was brought into this world in sin.
In sin my mother gave birth to me.
6 You want me to be completely truthful.
So teach me wisdom.
7 Take away my sin, and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness.
Let the bones you crushed be happy again.
9 Turn your face from my sins.
Wipe out all my guilt.
10 Create in me a pure heart, God.
Make my spirit right again.
11 Do not send me away from you.
Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
12 Give me back the joy that comes when you save me.
Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach your ways to those who do wrong.
And sinners will turn back to you.
14 God, save me from the guilt of murder.
God, you are the one who saves me.
I will sing about your goodness.
15 Lord, let me speak
so I may praise you.
16 You are not pleased by sacrifices.
Otherwise, I would give them.
You don’t want burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifice God wants is a willing spirit.
God, you will not reject
a heart that is broken and sorry for its sin.
18 Do whatever good you wish for Jerusalem.
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices and whole burnt offerings.
And bulls will be offered on your altar.
How to Honor God
58 The Lord says, “Shout out loud. Don’t hold back.
Shout out loud like a trumpet.
Tell the people about the things they have done against God.
Tell the family of Jacob about their sins.
2 Then they will come every day looking for me.
And they will want to learn my ways.
They will become a nation that does what is right.
They will obey the commands of their God.
They will ask me to judge them fairly.
They will want God to be near them.
3 They say, ‘To honor you we had special days when we gave up eating.
But you didn’t see.
We humbled ourselves to honor you.
But you didn’t notice.’”
But the Lord says, “You do what pleases yourselves on these special days.
And you are unfair to your workers.
4 On these special days when you do not eat, you argue and fight.
You hit each other with your fists.
You cannot do these things as you do now
and believe I will listen to your prayers.
5 This kind of special day is not what I want.
This is not the way I want people to be sorry for what they have done.
I don’t want people just to bow their heads like a plant.
I don’t want them to wear rough cloth and lie in ashes to show their sadness.
This is what you do on your special days when you do not eat.
But do you think this is what the Lord wants?
6 “I will tell you the kind of special day I want.
I want you to free the people you have put in prison unfairly.
Undo their chains.
Free those to whom you are unfair.
Free them from their hard labor.
7 I want you to share your food with hungry people.
I want you to bring poor, homeless people into your own homes.
When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours.
Don’t refuse to help your own relatives.
8 If you do these things, your light will shine like the dawn.
Then your wounds will quickly heal.
Your God will walk before you,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then you will call to the Lord, and the Lord will answer you.
You will cry out to the Lord, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
“You should stop making trouble for others.
You should stop using cruel words and pointing your finger at others.
10 You should feed those who are hungry.
You should take care of the needs of those who are troubled.
Then your light will shine in the darkness.
And you will be bright like sunshine at noon.
11 The Lord will always lead you.
He will satisfy your needs in dry lands.
He will give strength to your bones.
You will be like a garden that has much water.
You will be like a spring that never runs dry.
12 Your people will rebuild the old cities that are now in ruins.
You will rebuild the foundations of these ancient cities.
You will be known for repairing the broken places.
You will be known for rebuilding the roads and houses.
Who Is the Greatest?
18 At that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to him. He stood the child before the followers. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth. You must change and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.
5 “Whoever accepts a little child in my name accepts me. 6 If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, then it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for him to have a large stone tied around his neck and be drowned in the sea. 7 How terrible for the people of the world because of the things that cause them to sin. Such things will happen. But how terrible for the one who causes them to happen.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.