Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Calls Abram
12 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation,
and I will bless you.
I will make you famous.
And you will be a blessing to others.
3 I will bless those who bless you.
I will place a curse on those who harm you.
And all the people on earth
will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram left Haran as the Lord had told him. And Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old.
The Lord Guards His People
A song for going up to worship.
121 I look up to the hills.
But where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord.
He made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you be defeated.
He who guards you never sleeps.
4 He who guards Israel
never rests or sleeps.
5 The Lord guards you.
The Lord protects you as the shade protects you from the sun.
6 The sun cannot hurt you during the day.
And the moon cannot hurt you at night.
7 The Lord will guard you from all dangers.
He will guard your life.
8 The Lord will guard you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
The Example of Abraham
4 So what can we say about Abraham,[a] the father of our people? What did he learn about faith? 2 If Abraham was made right by the things he did, then he had a reason to brag. But he could not brag before God. 3 The Scripture says, “Abraham believed God. And that faith made him right with God.”[b]
4 When a person works, his pay is not given to him as a gift. He earns the pay he gets. 5 But a person cannot do any work that will make him right with God. So he must trust in God. Then God accepts his faith, and that makes him right with God. God is the One who can make even those who are evil right in his sight.
God Keeps His Promise
13 Abraham[a] and his descendants received the promise that they would get the whole world. But Abraham did not receive that promise through the law. He received it because he was right with God through his faith. 14 If people could receive what God promised by following the law, then faith is worthless. And God’s promise to Abraham is worthless, 15 because the law can only bring God’s anger. But if there is no law, then there is nothing to disobey.
16 So people receive God’s promise by having faith. This happens so that the promise can be a free gift. And if the promise is a free gift, then all of Abraham’s children can have that promise. The promise is not only for those people that live under the law of Moses. It is for anyone who lives with faith like Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written in the Scriptures: “I am making you a father of many nations.”[b] This is true before God. Abraham believed in God—the God who gives life to the dead and decides that things will happen that have not yet happened.
Jesus and Nicodemus
3 There was a man named Nicodemus who was one of the Pharisees. He was an important Jewish leader. 2 One night Nicodemus came to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher sent from God. No one can do the miracles you do, unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
4 Nicodemus said, “But if a man is already old, how can he be born again? He cannot enter his mother’s body again. So how can he be born a second time?”
5 But Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Unless you are born from water and the Spirit, you cannot enter God’s kingdom. 6 A person’s body is born from his human parents. But a person’s spiritual life is born from the Spirit. 7 Don’t be surprised when I tell you, ‘You must all be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wants to go. You hear the wind blow. But you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same with every person who is born from the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus asked, “How can all this be possible?”
10 Jesus said, “You are an important teacher in Israel. But you still don’t understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth. We talk about what we know. We tell about what we have seen. But you don’t accept what we tell you. 12 I have told you about things here on earth, but you do not believe me. So surely you will not believe me if I tell you about the things of heaven! 13 The only one who has ever gone up to heaven is the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man.[a]
14 “Moses lifted up the snake in the desert.[b] It is the same with the Son of Man. The Son of Man must be lifted up too. 15 Then everyone who believes in him can have eternal life.
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. God gave his Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.
Jesus with Moses and Elijah
17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. 2 While they watched, Jesus was changed. His face became bright like the sun. And his clothes became white as light. 3 Then two men were there, talking with him. The men were Moses and Elijah.[a]
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While Peter was talking, a bright cloud covered them. A voice came from the cloud. The voice said, “This is my Son and I love him. I am very pleased with him. Obey him!”
6 The followers with Jesus heard the voice. They were so frightened that they fell to the ground. 7 But Jesus went to them and touched them. He said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” 8 When the followers looked up, they saw Jesus was now alone.
9 When Jesus and the followers were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone about the things you saw on the mountain. Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from death. Then you may tell.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.