Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He promises peace to his faithful people.
But they must not turn to foolish ways.
9 I know he’s ready to save those who have respect for him.
Then his glory can be seen in our land.
10 God’s truth and faithful love join together.
His peace and holiness kiss each other.
11 His truth springs up from the earth.
His holiness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will certainly give what is good.
Our land will produce its crops.
13 God’s holiness leads the way in front of him.
It prepares the way for his coming.
17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you? You are always stirring up trouble in Israel.”
18 “I haven’t made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have turned away from the Lord’s commands. You have followed gods that are named Baal. 19 Now send for people from all over Israel. Tell them to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of the god named Baal. Also bring the 400 prophets of the female god named Asherah. All of them eat at Jezebel’s table.”
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” So they went to him. He rebuilt the altar of the Lord. It had been torn down. 31 Elijah got 12 stones. There was one for each tribe in the family line of Jacob. The Lord’s message had come to Jacob. It had said, “Your name will be Israel.” 32 Elijah used the stones to build an altar to honor the Lord. He dug a ditch around it. The ditch was large enough to hold 24 pounds of seeds. 33 He arranged the wood for the fire. He cut the bull into pieces. He placed the pieces on the wood. Then he said to some of the people, “Fill four large jars with water. Pour it on the offering and the wood.” So they did.
34 “Do it again,” he said. So they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered. And they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar. It even filled the ditch.
36 When it was time to offer the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward. He prayed, “Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Today let everyone know that you are God in Israel. Let them know I’m your servant. Let them know I’ve done all these things because you commanded me to. 37 Answer me. Lord, answer me. Then these people will know that you are the one and only God. They’ll know that you are turning their hearts back to you again.”
38 The fire of the Lord came down. It burned up the sacrifice. It burned up the wood and the stones and the soil. It even dried up the water in the ditch.
39 All the people saw it. Then they fell down flat with their faces toward the ground. They cried out, “The Lord is the one and only God! The Lord is the one and only God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Grab the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one of them get away!” So they grabbed them. Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley. There he had them put to death.
24 At that time a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was an educated man from Alexandria. He knew the Scriptures very well. 25 Apollos had been taught the way of the Lord. He spoke with great power. He taught the truth about Jesus. But he only knew about John’s baptism. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Priscilla and Aquila heard him. So they invited him to their home. There they gave him a better understanding of the way of God.
27 Apollos wanted to go to Achaia. The brothers and sisters agreed with him. They wrote to the believers there. They asked them to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who had become believers by God’s grace. 28 In public meetings, he argued strongly against Jews who disagreed with him. He proved from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
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