Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
146 Praise the Lord!
My soul, praise the Lord!
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praises to him as long as I live.
3 Don’t depend on your leaders for help.
Don’t depend on people, because they cannot save you.
4 People die and are buried.
Then all their plans to help are gone.
5 It is a great blessing for people to have the God of Jacob to help them.
They depend on the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth.
He made the sea and everything in it.
He can be trusted to do what he says.
7 He does what is right for those who have been hurt.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord frees people locked up in prison.
8 The Lord makes the blind see again.
The Lord helps those who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects strangers in our country.
He cares for widows and orphans,
but he destroys the wicked.
10 The Lord will rule forever!
Zion, your God will rule forever and ever!
Praise the Lord!
17 “You must make sure that foreigners and orphans are treated fairly. And you must never take clothes from a widow as security. 18 Remember, you were poor slaves in Egypt. And the Lord your God took you from that place and set you free. That is why I tell you to do these things for the poor.
19 “You might be gathering your harvest in the field, and you might forget and leave some grain there. You must not go back to get it. It will be for the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows. If you leave some grain for them, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you must not go back to check the branches. The olives you leave will be for the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows. 21 When you gather the grapes from your vineyard, you must not go back to gather the grapes you left. They will be for the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows. 22 Remember you were poor slaves in Egypt. That is why I tell you to do these things for the poor.
Jesus Says a Fig Tree Will Die(A)
12 The next day, Jesus was leaving Bethany. He was hungry. 13 He saw a fig tree with leaves. So he went to the tree to see if it had any figs growing on it. But he found no figs on the tree. There were only leaves, because it was not the right time for figs to grow. 14 So Jesus said to the tree, “People will never eat fruit from you again.” His followers heard him say this.
Jesus Shows the Power of Faith(A)
20 The next morning Jesus was walking with his followers. They saw the fig tree that he spoke to the day before. The tree was dry and dead, even the roots. 21 Peter remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “Teacher, look! Yesterday, you told that fig tree to die. Now it is dry and dead!”
22 Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. 23 The truth is, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, then God will do it for you. 24 So I tell you to ask for what you want in prayer. And if you believe that you have received those things, then they will be yours.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International