Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Promise to Be with His People
12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Lead this people!’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You said, ‘I have known you by name. You have found favor in My eyes.’ 13 So I pray to You, if I have found favor in Your eyes, let me know Your ways. Then I may know You and find favor in Your eyes. And keep in mind that this nation is Your people.” 14 The Lord said, “I Myself will go with you. I will give you rest.” 15 Then Moses said to Him, “If You Yourself do not go with us, do not have us leave this place. 16 For how will it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your eyes, unless You go with us? Then I and Your people will be different from all the other people on the earth.”
17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you have said. For you have found favor in My eyes, and I have known you by name.” 18 Moses said, “I pray to You, show me Your shining-greatness!” 19 And God said, “I will have My goodness pass in front of you. I will make the name of the Lord known in front of you. I will have loving-kindness and loving-pity for anyone I want to.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face. For no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then the Lord said, “See, there is a place beside Me. You stand there on the rock. 22 While My shining-greatness is passing by, I will put you in the large crack of the rock. And I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back. But My face will not be seen.”
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!
Paul Gives Thanks for Their Faith
1 This letter is from Paul and Silas and Timothy. It is to you, the church, in the city of Thessalonica. You belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May you have His loving-favor and His peace.
2 We thank God for you all the time and pray for you. 3 While praying to God our Father, we always remember your work of faith and your acts of love and your hope that never gives up in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 Christian brothers, we know God loves you and that He has chosen you. 5 The Good News did not come to you by word only, but with power and through the Holy Spirit. You knew it was true. You also knew how we lived among you. It was for your good. 6 You followed our way of life and the life of the Lord. You suffered from others because of listening to us. But you had the joy that came from the Holy Spirit. 7 Because of your good lives, you are showing all the Christians in the countries of Macedonia and Greece how to live. 8 The Word of the Lord has been spoken by you in the countries of Macedonia and Greece. People everywhere know of your faith in God without our telling them. 9 The people themselves tell us how you received us when we came to you. They talk of how you turned to God from worshiping false gods. Now you worship the true and living God. 10 They tell us how you are waiting for His Son Jesus to come down from heaven. God raised Him from the dead. It is Jesus Who will save us from the anger of God that is coming.
The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Try to Trap Jesus (A)
15 Then the proud religious law-keepers got together to think how they could trap Jesus in His talk. 16 They sent their followers to Jesus with some of King Herod’s men. They asked, “Teacher, we know that You are true. We know that You are teaching the truth about God. We know You are not afraid of what men think or say about You. 17 Tell us what You think of this. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 Jesus knew their sinful thoughts and said, “You pretend to be someone you are not! Why do you try to trap Me? 19 Show Me a piece of money.” They brought Him a piece. 20 Jesus said to them, “Whose picture is this? Whose name is on it?” 21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. Pay to God the things that belong to God.” 22 When they heard this, they were surprised and wondered about it. Then they went away from Him.
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