Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 (A) Don't try to seem important
in the court of a ruler.
7 It's better for the ruler
to give you a high position
than for you to be embarrassed
in front of royal officials.
Be sure you are right
God Blesses His Worshipers
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
The Lord blesses everyone
who worships him and gladly
obeys his teachings.
2 Their descendants will have
great power in the land,
because the Lord blesses
all who do right.
3 They will get rich and prosper
and will always be remembered
for their fairness.
4 They will be so kind
and merciful and good,
that they will be a light
in the dark for others
who do the right thing.
5 Life will go well for those
who freely lend
and are honest in business.
6 They won't ever be troubled,
and the kind things they do
will never be forgotten.
7 Bad news won't bother them;
they have decided
to trust the Lord.
8 They are dependable
and not afraid,
and they will live to see
their enemies defeated.
9 (A) They will always be remembered
and greatly praised,
because they were kind
and freely gave to the poor.
10 When evil people see this,
they angrily bite their tongues
and disappear.
They will never get
what they really want.
Service That Pleases God
13 Keep being concerned about each other as the Lord's followers should.
2 (A) Be sure to welcome strangers into your home. By doing this, some people have welcomed angels as guests, without even knowing it.
3 Remember the Lord's people who are in jail and be concerned for them. Don't forget those who are suffering, but imagine you are there with them.
4 (B) Have respect for marriage. Always be faithful to your partner, because God will punish anyone who is immoral or unfaithful in marriage.
5 (C) Don't fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us. 6 (D) This should make you feel like saying,
“The Lord helps me!
Why should I be afraid
of what people
can do to me?”
7 Don't forget about your leaders who taught you God's message. Remember what kind of lives they lived and try to have faith like theirs.
8 Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
15 Our sacrifice is to keep offering praise to God in the name of Jesus. 16 But don't forget to help others and to share your possessions with them. This too is like offering a sacrifice that pleases God.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man
14 One Sabbath, Jesus was having dinner in the home of an important Pharisee, and everyone was carefully watching Jesus.
How To Be a Guest
7 Jesus saw how the guests had tried to take the best seats. So he told them:
8 (A) When you are invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the best place. Someone more important may have been invited. 9 Then the one who invited you will come and say, “Give your place to this other guest!” You will be embarrassed and will have to sit in the worst place.
10 When you are invited to be a guest, go and sit in the worst place. Then the one who invited you may come and say, “My friend, take a better seat!” You will then be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 (B) If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.
12 Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him:
When you give a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends and family and relatives and rich neighbors. If you do, they will invite you in return, and you will be paid back. 13 When you give a feast, invite the poor, the paralyzed, the lame, and the blind. 14 They cannot pay you back. But God will bless you and reward you when his people rise from death.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.