Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will praise you with all my heart.
In front of those who think they are gods
I will sing praise to you.
2 I will bow down facing your holy temple.
I will praise your name,
because you are always loving and faithful.
You have honored your holy word
even more than your own fame.
3 When I called out to you, you answered me.
You made me strong and brave.
4 Lord, may all the kings on earth praise you
when they hear about what you have decided.
5 Lord, may they sing about what you have done,
because your glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is high above all, he cares for the lowly.
Though he is in heaven above, he sees them on earth below.
7 Trouble is all around me,
but you keep me alive.
You reach out your hand to put a stop to the anger of my enemies.
With your powerful right hand you save me.
8 Lord, you will show that I was right to trust you.
Lord, your faithful love continues forever.
You have done so much for us, so don’t stop now.
Joshua Becomes Israel’s New Leader
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range. See the land I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you too will join the members of your family who have already died. You will die, just as your brother Aaron did. 14 The community refused to obey me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. At that time, you and Aaron did not obey my command. You did not honor me in front of them as the holy God.”
15 Moses spoke to the Lord. He said, 16 “Lord, you are the God who gives life and breath to all living things. Please put someone in charge of this community. 17 Have that person lead them and take care of them. Then your people won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Joshua, the son of Nun, has the ability to be a wise leader. Get him and place your hand on him. 19 Have him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Put him in charge while everyone is watching. 20 Give him some of your authority. Then the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21 Joshua will stand in front of Eleazar the priest. Eleazar will help him make decisions. Eleazar will get help from me by using the Urim. Joshua and the whole community of Israel must not make any move at all unless I command them to.”
22 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. He got Joshua and had him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the whole community. 23 Then Moses placed his hands on Joshua. And he put him in charge of the people. He did just as the Lord had directed through Moses.
26 When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the believers. But they were all afraid of him. They didn’t believe he was really one of Jesus’ followers. 27 But Barnabas took him to the apostles. He told them about Saul’s journey. He said that Saul had seen the Lord. He told how the Lord had spoken to Saul. Barnabas also said that Saul had preached without fear in Jesus’ name in Damascus. 28 So Saul stayed with the believers. He moved about freely in Jerusalem. He spoke boldly in the Lord’s name. 29 He talked and argued with the Greek Jews. But they tried to kill him. 30 The other believers heard about this. They took Saul down to Caesarea. From there they sent him off to Tarsus.
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. The church was strengthened and grew larger. That’s because they worshiped the Lord and the Holy Spirit helped them.
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