Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month will be the beginning of months. It will be the first month of the year to you. ³ Speak to the people of Israel when they are gathered together. Tell them that on the tenth day of this month, every man must take a lamb for those of his father’s house, a lamb for each house. ⁴ If those in the house are too few to eat a lamb, let him and his nearest neighbor take the right amount for the number of people. Divide the lamb by how much each can eat. ⁵ Your lamb must be perfect, a male lamb one year old. You may take it from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then all the people of Israel are to kill it in the evening. ⁷ Then they must take some of the blood and put it on the wood pieces at the sides and top of the door of each house where they will eat it. ⁸ They must eat the meat that same night, made ready over a fire. They will eat it with bread made without yeast and with bitter plants. ⁹ Do not eat any of it if it is not cooked or if it is made ready by boiling. But cook it over a fire, its head, legs and inside parts. ¹⁰ Do not save any of it until morning. Burn with fire whatever is left of it before morning.

¹¹ “Eat it with your shoes on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. And you must eat it in a hurry. It is the time the Lord will pass over. ¹² For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night. And I will kill all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. I will punish all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³ But the blood will mark for you the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you. And no trouble will come upon you to destroy you when I punish the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day will be for you to remember. You must remember it by having a special supper in honor to the Lord. All of you must keep it as a law forever.

A Call to Praise God

149 Praise the Lord! Sing a new song to the Lord! Praise Him in the meeting of His people. ² Let Israel be glad in his Maker. Let the sons of Zion be full of joy in their King. ³ Let them praise His name with dancing. Let them sing praises to Him with timbrels and a harp. ⁴ For the Lord is happy with His people. He saves those who have no pride and makes them beautiful.

⁵ Let those who are God-like be full of joy and honor. Let them sing for joy on their beds. ⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and in their hand a sword that cuts both ways. ⁷ Let it be used to punish the nations and the people. ⁸ Let their kings be tied in chains, and their rulers with ropes of iron. ⁹ Let the punishment that is written be given to them. This is an honor for all His faithful ones. Praise the Lord!

⁸ Do not owe anyone anything, but love each other. Whoever loves his neighbor has done what the Law says to do. ⁹ The Law says, “You must not do any sex sin. You must not kill another person. You must not steal. You must not tell a lie about another person. You must not want something someone else has.” The Law also says that these and many other Laws are brought together in one Law, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Anyone who loves his neighbor will do no wrong to him. You keep the Law with love.

¹¹ There is another reason for doing what is right. You know what time it is. It is time for you to wake up from your sleep. The time when we will be taken up to be with Christ is not as far off as when we first put our trust in Him. ¹² Night is almost gone. Day is almost here. We must stop doing the sinful things that are done in the dark. We must put on all the things God gives us to fight with for the day. ¹³ We must act all the time as if it were day. Keep away from wild parties and do not be drunk. Keep yourself free from sex sins and bad actions. Do not fight or be jealous. ¹⁴ Let every part of you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not allow your weak thoughts to lead you into sinful actions.

What to Do with a Brother Who Sins Against You

¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him what he did without other people hearing it. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back again. ¹⁶ But if he will not listen to you, take one or two other people with you. Every word may be remembered by the two or three who heard. ¹⁷ If he will not listen to them, tell the trouble to the church. If he does not listen to the church, think of him as a person who is as bad as one who does not know God and a person who gathers taxes.

¹⁸ “For sure, I tell you, whatever you do not allow on earth will not have been allowed in heaven. Whatever you allow on earth will have been allowed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I tell you this: If two of you agree on earth about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am with them.”