Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer of Trust in God
31 O Lord, in You I have found a safe place. Let me never be ashamed. Set me free, because You do what is right and good. 2 Turn Your ear to me, and be quick to save me. Be my rock of strength, a strong place to keep me safe. 3 For You are my rock and my safe place. For the honor of Your name, lead me and show me the way. 4 You will free me from the net that they have hidden for me. For You are my strength. 5 I give my spirit into Your hands. You have made me free, O Lord, God of truth.
15 My times are in Your hands. Free me from the hands of those who hate me, and from those who try to hurt me. 16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant. Save me in Your loving-kindness.
Moses and the Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was taking care of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the religious leader of Midian. He led the flock to the west side of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the Angel of the Lord showed Himself to Moses in a burning fire from inside a bush. Moses looked and saw that the bush was burning with fire, but it was not being burned up. 3 So Moses said, “I must step aside and see this great thing, why the bush is not being burned up.”
4 The Lord saw him step aside to look. And God called to him from inside the bush, saying, “Moses, Moses!” Moses answered, “Here I am.” 5 God said, “Do not come near. Take your shoes off your feet. For the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face. For he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, “I have seen the suffering of My people in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of the men who make them work. I know how they suffer. 8 So I have come down to save them from the power of the Egyptians. I will bring them out of that land to a good big land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 Now the cry of the people of Israel has come to Me. I have seen what power the Egyptians use to make it hard for them. 10 Now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 God said, “But I will be with you. And this will be something special for you to see to know that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this mountain.”
Stephen Speaks about the God of Abraham
7 The head religious leader asked Stephen, “Are these things true?” 2 Stephen said, “My brothers and fathers, listen to me. The great God showed Himself to our early father Abraham while he lived in the country of Mesopotamia. This was before he moved to the country of Haran. 3 God said to him, ‘Leave your family and this land where you were born. Go to a land that I will show you.’ 4 He went from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. After his father died, he came to this country where you now live. 5 God did not give him any land to own, not even enough to put his feet on. But He promised that the land would be his and his children’s after him. At that time he had no children. 6 This is what God said, ‘Your children’s children will be living in a strange land. They will live there 400 years. They will be made to work without pay and will suffer many hard things. 7 I will say to that nation that it is guilty for holding them and making them work without pay. After that they will go free. They will leave that country and worship Me in this place.’
8 “He made a promise with Abraham. It was kept by a religious act of becoming a Jew. Abraham had a son, Isaac. On the eighth day Abraham took Isaac and had this religious act done to him. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of our twelve early fathers.
9 “The sons of Jacob sold Joseph to people from the country of Egypt because they were jealous of him. But God was with Joseph. 10 He helped him in all his troubles. He gave him wisdom and favor with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. This king made Joseph leader over Egypt and over all the king’s house.
11 “The time came when there was no food to eat in all the land of Egypt and Canaan. The people suffered much. Our early fathers were not able to get food. 12 Then Jacob heard there was food in Egypt. He sent our early fathers there the first time.
13 “The second time they went to the country of Egypt, Joseph made himself known to his brothers. The family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. 14 Joseph asked his father Jacob and all his family to come. There were seventy-five people in the family. 15 Jacob moved down to Egypt and died there. Our early fathers died there also. 16 They were brought back to the city of Shechem where they were buried. Abraham paid money for the grave from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
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