Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Help in Time of Trouble
6 O Lord, do not speak sharp words to me in Your anger, or punish me when You are angry. 2 Be kind to me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me for my bones are shaken. 3 My soul is in great suffering. But You, O Lord, how long? 4 Return, O Lord. Set my soul free. Save me because of Your loving-kindness. 5 No one remembers You when he is dead. Who gives You praise from the grave? 6 I am tired of crying inside myself. All night long my pillow is wet with tears. I flood my bed with them. 7 My eye has grown weak with sorrow. It has grown old because of all who hate me. 8 Go away from me, all you who sin. For the Lord has heard the sound of my crying. 9 The Lord has heard my cry for help. The Lord receives my prayer. 10 All those who hate me will be ashamed and worried. They will turn away. They will be put to shame right away.
The Syrians Leave
3 Now there were four men at the city gate with a bad skin disease. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? 4 If we go into the city, there is no food there and we will die. And if we sit here, we will die also. So now come, let us go over to the tents of the Syrians. If they do not kill us, we will live. And if they kill us, we will die there.” 5 So they got up in the evening to go to the Syrians. When they came to the tents of the Syrians, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had made the Syrian army hear a sound of war-wagons and horses and an army of many soldiers. So they said to one another, “The king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to fight against us.” 7 And they ran away in the evening. They left their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left everything just as it was, and ran for their lives. 8 Then the men with a bad skin disease came to the tents. They went into one tent and ate and drank. They carried away silver and gold and clothing, and hid them. Then they returned and went into another tent and carried things away from it, and hid them.
9 They said to one another, “We are not doing right. This is a day of good news, but we are keeping quiet. We will be punished if we wait until morning. So now let us go and tell those of the king’s house.” 10 And they came and called the men who watched the city gate. They said to them, “We went to the tents of the Syrians. But there was no one to be seen or heard there. Only the horses and donkeys were tied there. The tents were left just as they were.”
Teaching About the Lord’s Supper
14 My dear friends, keep away from the worship of false gods. 15 I am speaking to you who are able to understand. See if what I am saying is true. 16 When we give thanks for the fruit of the vine at the Lord’s supper, are we not sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread we eat at the Lord’s supper, are we not sharing in the body of Christ? 17 There is one bread, and many of us Christians make up the body of Christ. All of us eat from that bread.
18 Look at the Jews. They ate the animals that were brought to God as gifts in worship and put on the altar. Did this not show they were sharing with God? 19 What do I mean? Am I saying that a false god or the food brought to it in worship is worth anything? 20 No, not at all! I am saying that the people who do not know God bring gifts of animals in worship. But they have given them to demons, not to God. You do not want to have any share with demons. 21 You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons. You cannot eat at the Lord’s table and at the demon’s table. 22 Are we trying to make the Lord jealous? Do we think we are stronger than the Lord?
23 We are allowed to do anything, but not everything is good for us to do. We are allowed to do anything, but not all things help us grow strong as Christians. 24 Do not work only for your own good. Think of what you can do for others. 25 Eat any meat that is sold in the stores. Ask no questions about it. Then your heart will not say it is wrong. 26 The Holy Writings say, “The earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord.” (A) 27 If a person who is not a Christian wants you to eat with him, and you want to go, eat anything that is on the table. Ask no questions about the food. Then your heart will not say it is wrong. 28 But if someone says, “This meat has been given as a gift to false gods in worship,” do not eat it. In that way, it will not hurt the faith of the one who told you and his heart will have peace. 29 How the other person feels is important. We are not free to do things that will hurt another person. 30 If I can give thanks to God for my food, why should anyone say that I am wrong about eating food I can give thanks for? 31 So if you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything to honor God. 32 Do nothing that would make trouble for a Greek or for a Jew or for the church of God. 33 I want to please everyone in all that I do. I am not thinking of myself. I want to do what is best for them so they may be saved from the punishment of sin.
11 Follow my way of thinking as I follow Christ.
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