Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
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.
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap happily.
But the ostrich’s wings are not as beautiful as the feathers of the stork.
14 The ostrich lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand.
15 She does not stop to think that a foot might step on them and crush them.
She does not care that some animal might walk on them.
16 The ostrich is cruel to her young, as if they were not even hers.
She does not care that her work is for nothing.
17 This is because God did not give the ostrich wisdom.
God did not give her a share of good sense.
18 But when the ostrich gets up to run, she is so fast
that she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Job, are you the one who gives the horse his strength?
Or do you put a flowing mane on his neck?
20 Do you make the horse jump like a locust?
He scares people with his proud snorting.
21 He paws wildly, enjoying his strength.
And he charges into the battle.
22 He laughs at fear and is afraid of nothing.
He will not run away from the sword.
23 The bag of arrows rattles against the horse’s side.
It is there with the flashing spears.
24 With great excitement, the horse races over the ground.
He cannot stand still when he hears the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet blows, the horse snorts, ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from far away.
He hears the thunder of commanders and the shouts of battle.
4 There are different kinds of gifts; but they are all from the same Spirit. 5 There are different ways to serve; but all these ways are from the same Lord. 6 And there are different ways that God works in people; but all these ways are from the same God. God works in us all in everything we do. 7 Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, to help everyone. 8 The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. And the same Spirit gives another the ability to speak with knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives faith to one person. And that one Spirit gives another gifts of healing. 10 The Spirit gives to another person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy. And he gives to another the ability to know the difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages and to another the ability to interpret those languages. 11 One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things. The Spirit decides what to give each person.
The Body of Christ
12 A person’s body is one thing, but it has many parts. Yes, there are many parts to a body, but all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that too. 13 Some of us are Jews, and some of us are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some of us are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.