Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord is king.
Let the nations shake with fear.
He sits between the gold creatures with wings.
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in Jerusalem is great.
He is supreme over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your name.
It is great, holy and to be feared.
4 The King is powerful and loves justice.
Lord, you made things fair.
You have done what is fair and right
for the people of Jacob.
5 Praise the Lord our God.
Worship at the Temple, his footstool.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests.
And Samuel was among his worshipers.
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They kept the rules and laws he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God.
But you punished them for their wrongs.
9 Praise the Lord our God.
Worship at his holy mountain.
The Lord our God is holy.
Aaron and His Sons Offer Sacrifices
9 On the eighth day after the time of appointing, Moses called for Aaron and his sons. He also called for the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf and a male sheep. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. The calf will be a sin offering. And the male sheep will be a whole burnt offering. Offer these animals to the Lord. 3 Tell the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering. And take a calf and a lamb for a whole burnt offering. The calf and the lamb must each be one year old. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. 4 Take a bull and a male sheep for fellowship offerings. Take with these animals a grain offering mixed with oil. Offer these things to the Lord. This is because the Lord will appear to you today.’”
5 So all the people came to the front of the Meeting Tent. They brought the things Moses had commanded them to bring. And they stood before the Lord. 6 Moses said, “You have done what the Lord commanded. So you will see the Lord’s glory.”
7 Then Moses told Aaron, “Go to the altar. There offer sin offerings and whole burnt offerings. Do this to remove your sins and the people’s sins so you will belong to God. Offer the sacrifices for the people. And perform the acts to remove their sins for them so they will belong to the Lord. Do this as the Lord has commanded.”
8 So Aaron went to the altar. He killed the bull calf as a sin offering for himself. 9 Then his sons brought the blood to him. Aaron dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the corners of the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. 10 Aaron took the fat, the kidneys and the best part of the liver from the sin offering. He burned these things on the altar. He did this the way the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 Aaron burned the meat and skin outside the camp.
22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them. Aaron had finished offering the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering. Then he stepped down from the altar.
23 Moses and Aaron went into the Meeting Tent. Then they came out and blessed the people. Then the Lord’s glory came to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the Lord. It burned up the burnt offering and fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy. They bowed facedown on the ground.
Changed Lives
4 Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in his body is finished with sin. 2 Strengthen yourselves so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not doing the evil things that people want. 3 In the past you wasted too much time doing what the non-believers like to do. You lived for the body and evil desires. You were getting drunk, you had wild and drunken parties, and you did wrong by worshiping idols. 4 Non-believers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things that they do. And so they insult you. 5 But they will have to explain about what they have done. They must explain to God who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 The Good News was preached to those who are now dead. By their dying, they were judged like all men. But the Good News was preached to them so that they could live in the spirit as God lives.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.