Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Promise of an Heir

15 After these events the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. He said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

² Abram said, “Lord God^[a] what can you give me, since I remain childless, and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Abram also said, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a servant born in my house will be my heir.”

⁴ Just then, the word of the Lord came to him. God said, “This man will not be your heir, but instead one who will come out of your own body will be your heir.” ⁵ The Lord then brought him outside and said, “Now look toward the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “This is what your descendants will be like.” ⁶ Abram believed in^[b] the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness. ⁷ He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.”

⁸ He said, “Lord God, how will I know that I will possess it?”

⁹ The Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Abram gathered all of these, divided them in half, and laid the two halves across from each other, but he did not divide the birds in two. ¹¹ Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

¹² When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Then terrifying, deep darkness fell on him.

¹⁷ Then when the sun had gone down and it was dark, suddenly a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made^[a] a covenant with Abram. He said, “To your descendants I have given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.

Psalm 27

The Stronghold of My Life

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By David.

Safe in God’s Stronghold

Happy in God’s Temple

Confident in Prayer

Walking in God’s Path

At Home in God’s Land

¹⁷ Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸ To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite,^[a] and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body.

4 So then, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way keep standing firm in the Lord, my dear friends.

Jesus Warns Jerusalem

³¹ In that very hour, some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”

³² He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. ³³ Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it cannot be that a prophet would be killed outside Jerusalem!’

³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵ Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you will say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”^[a]

The Transfiguration

²⁸ About eight days after he said these words, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰ Just then, two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him! ³¹ They appeared in glory and were talking about his departure,^[a] which he was going to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.

³² Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep, but when they were completely awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not realize what he was saying.

³⁴ While he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they went into the cloud. ³⁵ Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love.^[b] Listen to him!” ³⁶ After the voice had spoken, they found Jesus alone. They kept this secret and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy With a Demon

³⁷ The next day, after they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ Just then a man from the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, because he is my only child. ³⁹ See, a spirit takes hold of him, and suddenly he screams. Then it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him and constantly tortures him. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹ Jesus answered, “O unbelieving and perverse generation,^[a] how long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴² As the boy was approaching, the demon threw him down and shook him with convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ They were all astonished at the majesty of God.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

While everyone was amazed at all the things Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples,