Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God in the Thunderstorm
A song of David.
29 Praise the Lord, you angels.
Praise the Lord’s glory and power.
2 Praise the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord because he is holy.
3 The Lord’s voice is heard over the sea.
The glorious God thunders.
The Lord thunders over the great ocean.
4 The Lord’s voice is powerful.
The Lord’s voice is majestic.
5 The Lord’s voice breaks the trees.
The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes the land of Lebanon dance like a calf.
He makes Mount Hermon jump like a baby bull.
7 The Lord’s voice makes the lightning flash.
8 The Lord’s voice shakes the desert.
The Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The Lord’s voice shakes the oaks.
The leaves fall off the trees.
In his Temple everyone says, “Glory to God!”
10 The Lord controls the flood.
The Lord will be King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people.
The Lord blesses his people with peace.
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up. And I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me. A voice said, “Praise God in heaven.” 13 I heard the wings of the living creatures touching each other. And I heard the sound of the wheels by them. It was a loud rumbling sound. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I was unhappy and angry. I felt the great power of the Lord. 15 I came to the captives from Judah. They lived by the Kebar River at Tel Abib. I sat there seven days where these people lived. I was shocked.
Israel’s Warning
16 After seven days the Lord spoke his word to me again. He said, 17 “Human being, I have made you a watchman for Israel. Any time you hear a word from my mouth, warn them for me. 18 When I say to an evil person, ‘You will surely die,’ you must warn him. If you don’t speak out to warn the evil person to leave his evil way, he will die in his sin. But I will hold you responsible for his death. 19 You must warn the evil person. Then if he does not turn from his wickedness or his evil ways, he will die because of his sin. But you will have saved yourself.
20 “Again, a person who does right may turn away from his goodness. He may do evil. If I caused him to sin, he will die. Because you have not warned him, he will die because of his sin. And the good he did will not be remembered. But I will hold you responsible for his death. 21 But if you do warn that good person not to sin, he may not sin. Then he will surely live. This is because he was warned. And you will save yourself.”
Jesus Is the Christ
18 One time when Jesus was praying alone, his followers came together there. Jesus asked them, “Who do the people say I am?”
19 They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah.[a] And others say you are one of the prophets from long ago who has come back to life.”
20 Then Jesus asked, “And who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Christ from God.”
21 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone. Then he said, 22 “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law. The Son of Man will be killed. But after three days he will be raised from death.”
23 Jesus went on to say to all of them, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must say ‘no’ to the things he wants. Every day he must be willing even to die on a cross, and he must follow me. 24 Whoever wants to save his life will lose it. And whoever gives his life for me will save it. 25 It is worth nothing for a man to have the whole world, if he himself is destroyed or lost. 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my teaching, then I[b] will be ashamed of him. I will be ashamed of him at the time I come with my glory and with the glory of the Father and the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth. Some of you people standing here will see the kingdom of God before you die.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.