Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord Is Good to His People
99 The Lord rules! Let the people shake in fear! He sits on His throne above the angels. Let the earth shake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion. And He is honored above all people. 3 Let them praise Your great name. It is to be honored with fear. He is holy!
4 The strength of the King loves what is right. You have set up what is fair. You do what is right and fair in Jacob. 5 Honor the Lord our God. Worship at His feet. For He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among His religious leaders. And Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called upon the Lord, and He answered them. 7 He spoke to them from the cloud. They kept His Word and the Law that He gave them. 8 O Lord our God, You answered them. You were a forgiving God to them. But You punished them for their wrong-doing. 9 Honor the Lord our God. And worship at His holy mountain. For the Lord our God is holy!
The Religious Leaders Begin Their Work
9 On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for a sin gift and a ram for a burnt gift, both of them perfect. And give them to the Lord. 3 Then say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin gift, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and perfect, for a burnt gift, 4 and a bull and a ram for peace gifts. Give them to the Lord with a grain gift mixed with oil. For today the Lord will show Himself to you.’” 5 So they brought to the front of the meeting tent what Moses had told them. All the people came near and stood before the Lord. 6 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has told you to do. And the shining-greatness of the Lord will be shown to you.” 7 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and give your sin gift and burnt gift to pay for the sins of yourself and for the people. Then give the gift for the people, to pay for their sins, just as the Lord has said.”
8 So Aaron came to the altar and killed the calf of the sin gift, which was for himself. 9 The sons of Aaron gave the blood to him. He put his finger in the blood and put some on the horns of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 10 But he burned on the altar the fat and the kidneys and the part that is on the liver from the sin gift, just as the Lord had told Moses. 11 He burned the flesh and the skin away from the tents.
22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and prayed that good would come to them. After giving the sin gift, the burnt gift and the peace gifts, he came down. 23 Moses and Aaron went into the meeting tent. When they came out and prayed that good would come to the people, the shining-greatness of the Lord was shown to all the people. 24 Then fire came from the Lord and burned up the burnt gift and the fat parts on the altar. When the people saw it, they cried out and bowed down with their faces to the ground.
Following Christ Will Mean Suffering
4 Since Christ has suffered in His body, we must be ready to suffer also. Suffering puts an end to sin. 2 You should no longer spend the rest of your life giving in to the sinful desires of the flesh. But do what God wants as long as you live in this world. 3 In the past you gave enough of your life over to living like the people who do not know God. You gave your life to sex sins and to sinful desires. You got drunk and went to wild parties and to drinking parties and you worshiped false gods. 4 Those who do not know God are surprised you do not join them in the sinful things they do. They laugh at you and say bad things against you. 5 Remember, they will give an answer to Him Who judges all who are living or dead. 6 For this reason, the Good News was preached to the dead. They stood in the flesh before the One Who judges so they might live in the Spirit as God wants.
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