Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Jeremiah’s Sadness
18 God, you are my comfort when I am very sad.
You are my comfort when I’m afraid.
19 Listen to my people!
They are crying for help from a faraway land.
They say, “Is the Lord still in Jerusalem?
Is Jerusalem’s king still there?”
But God says, “Why did the people make me angry by worshiping idols?
They worshiped their useless foreign idols.”
20 And the people say, “Harvest time is over.
Summer has ended.
And we have not been saved.”
21 My people are crushed. So I am crushed.
I cry loudly, and I am afraid for them.
22 Surely there is a balm in the land of Gilead.
Surely there is a doctor there.
So why aren’t the hurts of my people healed?
9 I wish my head were like a spring of water.
And I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears!
Then I could cry day and night
for my people who have been killed.
The Nation Cries for Jerusalem
A song of Asaph.
79 God, nations have come against your people.
They have ruined your holy Temple.
They have turned Jerusalem into ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
as food to the wild birds.
They have given the bodies of those who worship you
to the wild animals.
3 They have spilled blood like water
all around Jerusalem.
No one was left to bury the dead.
4 We are a bad joke to the other nations.
They laugh and make fun of us.
5 Lord, how long will this last? Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like a fire?
6 Be angry with the nations that do not know you.
Be angry with the kingdoms that do not honor you.
7 They have destroyed the people of Jacob.
Those nations have destroyed the people’s land.
8 Don’t punish us for the sins of our ancestors.
Show your mercy to us soon.
We are helpless!
9 God our Savior, help us
so people will praise you.
Save us and forgive our sins
so people will honor you.
Some Rules for Men and Women
2 First, I tell you to pray for all people. Ask God for the things people need, and be thankful to him. 2 You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior. 4 God wants all people to be saved. And he wants everyone to know the truth. 5 There is only one God. And there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Jesus Christ, who is also a man. 6 Jesus gave himself to pay for the sins of all people. Jesus is proof that God wants all people to be saved. And that proof came at the right time. 7 That is why I was chosen to tell the Good News and was chosen to be an apostle. (I am telling the truth. I am not lying.) I was chosen to teach the non-Jewish people to believe and to know the truth.
True Wealth
16 Jesus also said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man. He had a manager to take care of his business. Later, the rich man learned that his manager was cheating him. 2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘I have heard bad things about you. Give me a report of what you have done with my money. You can’t be my manager any longer!’ 3 Later, the manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do? My master is taking my job away from me! I am not strong enough to dig ditches. I am too proud to beg. 4 I know! I’ll do something so that when I lose my job, people will welcome me into their homes.’
5 “So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He said to the first man, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man answered, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill; sit down quickly and make the bill less. Write 400 gallons.’ 7 Then the manager said to another man, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The man answered, ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill; you can make it less. Write 800 bushels.’ 8 Later, the master praised the dishonest manager for being smart. Yes, worldly people are smarter with their own kind than spiritual people are.
9 “I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches. Then, when those things are gone, you will be welcomed in that home that continues forever. 10 Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with large things. Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in large things too. 11 If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then you will not be trusted with the true riches. 12 And if you cannot be trusted with the things that belong to someone else, then you will not be given things of your own.
13 “No servant can serve two masters. He will hate one master and love the other. Or he will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.