Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
9 Lord, I am very upset,
so please be kind to me.
My eyes are tired because I weep so much.
My whole body has become very weak.
10 I am near to death, because I am so sad.
I am crying with pain as my life comes to an end.
I have so much trouble
that I have no strength at all.
Even my bones have become weak.
11 All my enemies hate me.
My friends insult me.
Everyone who knows me is afraid of me.
They run away when they see me in the street.
12 Everybody has forgotten about me.
I might as well be dead!
They think that I am useless,
like a broken plate.
13 I hear what many people are saying against me.
News from everywhere makes me afraid.
They are deciding together
how to kill me.
14 But I continue to trust you, Lord.
I say, ‘You are my God!’[a]
15 You are the one who decides
what will happen to me in my whole life.
Save me from the power of my enemies
and from the people who want to catch me.
16 Turn towards me, your servant,
and be kind to me!
Keep me safe,
because of your faithful love.
11 Samuel asked Jesse, ‘Are those all of your sons?’
Jesse answered, ‘I have one more son. He is the youngest. He is taking care of my sheep.’
Samuel said, ‘Send someone to bring him here. We cannot continue to offer the sacrifice until he arrives.’
12 So Jesse told his men to bring his youngest son for Samuel to see. This young man was handsome and strong and he had beautiful eyes.
The Lord said to Samuel, ‘I have chosen this man. Now anoint him as king.’
13 Samuel took the horn that was full of olive oil. He poured the oil over David's head to anoint him. Samuel did this in front of David's brothers. From that moment, the Spirit of the Lord came on David with great power.
Then Samuel returned to his home in Ramah.
Paul and Timothy say ‘Hello’
1 Paul and Timothy write this letter to you. We are servants of Christ Jesus.
We are writing to you, God's own people who live in Philippi. You belong to God because you are united with Christ Jesus. We are writing to all of you. This includes the leaders and the deacons in the church there.[a]
2 We pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to help you. We pray that they will give you peace in your minds.
Paul thanks God for the believers at Philippi
3 Every time that I think about you, I thank my God because of you. 4 I am always praying for you. Every time that I pray for you, I feel very happy. 5 I am happy because together we tell people the good news about Christ. You have always helped me with that work, since the first day that you yourselves heard the good news. 6 I know that God has begun to do good things in you. And I am sure that he will continue to work in you. Then, on the day when Jesus Christ returns, his work in you will be finished.
7 It is right for me to feel like this about all of you, because I love you very much. God has been very kind to all of us. Because you know that, you have continued to help me. You have helped me while I have been here in this prison. You also helped me when I was free and I could teach the good news. I explained to people why the good news is God's true message. Together, we have known how kind God is. 8 God knows that I very much want to be with all of you. I love you very much, just like Christ Jesus himself loves you.
9 This is what I pray for you. I pray that you will continue to love each other more and more. I pray that you will know God better and better. I pray that you will understand all those things that are true. 10 Then you will be able to choose what is best in the way that you live. Then, on the day when Christ returns, you will be completely clean. You will not be guilty of any bad thing. 11 Because of the work that Jesus Christ has done in you, you will be right with God. And your lives will be full of good things. As a result, people will praise God and they will say that he is very great.
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