Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Sign of the Covenant(A)
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord (B)appeared to Abram and said to him, (C)“I am [a]Almighty God; (D)walk before Me and be (E)blameless. 2 And I will make My (F)covenant between Me and you, and (G)will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be (H)a father of [b]many nations. 5 No longer shall (I)your name be called [c]Abram, but your name shall be [d]Abraham; (J)for I have made you a father of [e]many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make (K)nations of you, and (L)kings shall come from you. 7 And I will (M)establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, (N)to be God to you and (O)your descendants after you.
23 (A)You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you [a]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But (B)when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 (C)My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
(D)I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the [b]nations
Shall worship before [c]You.
28 (E)For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29 (F)All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
(G)All those who go down to [d]the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.
The Promise Granted Through Faith
13 For the promise that he would be the (A)heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For (B)if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because (C)the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be (D)according to grace, (E)so that the promise might be [a]sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, (F)who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, (G)“I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, (H)who gives life to the dead and calls those (I)things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, (J)“So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, (K)he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), (L)and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised (M)He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore (N)“it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
23 Now (O)it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe (P)in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 (Q)who was delivered up because of our offenses, and (R)was raised because of our justification.
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection(A)
31 And (B)He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be (C)rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be (D)killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He (E)rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not [a]mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him(F)
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, (G)“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For (H)whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 (I)For whoever (J)is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Jesus Transfigured on the Mount
2 (A)Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly (B)white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— 6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
7 And a (C)cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is (D)My beloved Son. (E)Hear Him!” 8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
9 (F)Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.