Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Servant of the Lord

42 “See! My servant, My chosen one! My much Loved, in Whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit on Him. He will say to the nations what is right from wrong. ² He will not cry out or speak with a loud voice. His voice will not be heard in the streets. ³ He will not break a broken branch or put out a little fire. He will be faithful to make everything fair. ⁴ He will not lose hope or be crushed, until He has made things right on the earth. And the islands will wait with hope in His Law.”

⁵ This is what God the Lord Who made the heavens and spread them out and Who spread out the earth and what comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it, says, ⁶ “I am the Lord. I have called you to be right and good. I will hold you by the hand and watch over you. And I will give you as an agreement to the people, as a light to the nations. ⁷ You will open blind eyes. You will bring people out of prison, out of the prison where they live in darkness. ⁸ I am the Lord. That is My name. I will not give My shining-greatness to another, or My praise to false gods. ⁹ See, the things told about in the past have happened. Now I speak about new things. Before they happen I will tell you about them.”

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm

29 Give to the Lord, O sons of the powerful. Give to the Lord shining-greatness and strength. ² Give to the Lord the honor that belongs to Him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holy living.

³ The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of shining-greatness thunders. The Lord is over many waters. ⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is great. ⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the tall cedars of Lebanon. ⁶ He makes Lebanon jump like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild bull. ⁷ The voice of the Lord sends out lightning. ⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. The Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh. ⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, and tears away the leaves of the trees. And in His holy house everything says, “Honor to God!”

¹⁰ The Lord sat as King over the flood. The Lord sits as King forever. ¹¹ The Lord will give strength to His people. The Lord will give His people peace.

Peter Preaches in Cornelius’ House

³⁴ Then Peter said, “I can see, for sure, that God does not respect one person more than another. ³⁵ He is pleased with any man in any nation who honors Him and does what is right. ³⁶ He has sent His Word to the Jews. He told them the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord of All. ³⁷ You know the story yourselves. It was told in all the country of Judea. It began in the country of Galilee after the preaching of John the Baptist. ³⁸ God gave Jesus of Nazareth the Holy Spirit and power. He went around doing good and healing all who were troubled by the devil because God was with Him. ³⁹ We have seen and heard everything He did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And yet they killed Him by nailing Him to a cross. ⁴⁰ God raised Him to life on the third day and made Him to be seen. ⁴¹ Not all the people saw Him but those who were chosen to see Him. We saw Him. We ate and drank with Him after He was raised from the dead. ⁴² He told us to preach to the people and tell them that God gave Christ the right to be the One Who says who is guilty of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the early preachers spoke of this. Everyone who puts his trust in Christ will have his sins forgiven through His name.”

The Baptism of Jesus ^(A)

¹³ Jesus came from Galilee. He went to John at the Jordan River to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John tried to stop Him. He said, “I need to be baptized by You. Do You come to me?” ¹⁵ Jesus said to him, “Let it be done now. We should do what is right.” John agreed and baptized Jesus. ¹⁶ When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened. He saw the Spirit of God coming down and resting on Jesus like a dove. ¹⁷ A voice was heard from heaven. It said, “This is My much-loved Son. I am very happy with Him.”