Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
2 At the beginning when Yahweh spoke[a] through Hosea,
Yahweh said to Hosea,
“Go, take for yourself a wife and children of whoredom,
because the land commits great whoredom
forsaking Yahweh.”[b]
3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim,
and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 And Yahweh said to him,
“Name him[c] Jezreel;[d]
because in a little while I will punish[e] the house of Jehu[f]
for the blood[g] of Jezreel,[h]
and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.[i]
5 On that day[j]
I will break the bow of Israel
in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and he[k] said to him,
“Name her[l] Lo-ruhamah,[m]
for I will no longer have pity
on the house of Israel
or forgive them.[n]
7 But I will have pity on the house of Judah
and I will save them by Yahweh their God,
and will not deliver them
by bow, sword, war,
horses, or horsemen.
8 And when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah,[o] she conceived and bore a son.
9 And he[p] said, “Name him[q] Lo-ammi,[r]
for you are not my people
and I am not your God.[s]
10 [t] The number of the children of Israel
will be like the sand of the sea
that cannot be measured or counted;
and in the place where it is said to them,
“You are not my people,”
it will be said to them,
“Children of the living God.”
Hope in God’s Future Help
For the music director. Of the sons of Korah. A psalm.[a]
85 O Yahweh, you favored your land.
You restored the fortunes[b] of Jacob.
2 You took away the guilt[c] of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your burning anger.
4 Restore us, O God of our salvation,
and annul your vexation with us.
5 Will you be angry against us forever?
Will you prolong your anger generation after generation?
6 Will you not again revive us,
that your people might rejoice in you?
7 Show us, O Yahweh, your loyal love,
and grant us your salvation.
8 I will hear what God, Yahweh, will speak,
because he will speak peace
to his people, even his faithful ones,[d]
but let them not return to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near for those who fear him,
that glory may abide in our land.
10 Loyal love and faithfulness[e] will meet one another;
righteousness and peace will kiss.
11 Faithfulness[f] will sprout from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from heaven.
12 Yes, Yahweh will give what is good,
and our land will give its produce.
13 Righteousness will go before him,
and it will make his steps a pathway.
Made Alive in Christ
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, live in him, 7 firmly rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding with thankfulness. 8 Beware lest anyone take you captive[a] through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition[b], according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ, 9 because in him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you are filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority, 11 in whom also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made by hands, by the removal of the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And although you were dead[c][d] in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 having destroyed the certificate of indebtedness in ordinances against us, which was hostile to us, and removed it out of the way by[e] nailing it to the cross. 15 When he[f] had disarmed the rulers and the authorities, he made a display of them in public, triumphing over them by it.[g]
Do Not Be Judged by Human Religious Rules
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with reference to eating or[a] drinking or participation in a feast or a new moon or a Sabbath, 17 which are a shadow of what is to come, but the reality is Christ. 18 Let no one condemn you, taking pleasure in humility and the worship of angels, going into detail about the things which he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by the ligaments and sinews, grows with the growth of God.
How to Pray
11 And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say,
“Father,
may your name be treated as holy.
May your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation.”
Ask, Seek, Knock
5 And he said to them, “Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.’ 7 And that one will answer from inside and[a] say, ‘Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you anything.’[b] 8 I tell you, even if he does not give him anything[c] after he[d] gets up because he is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence[e] he will get up and[f] give him whatever he needs.
9 And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 But what father from among you, if his[g] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? 12 Or also, if he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 Therefore if you, although you[h] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
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