Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
1 When God began creating[a] the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was[b] a shapeless, chaotic mass, with the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light.” And light appeared. 4-5 And God was pleased with it and divided the light from the darkness. He called the light “daytime,” and the darkness “nighttime.” Together they formed the first day.[c]
29 Praise the Lord, you angels of his; praise his glory and his strength. 2 Praise him for his majestic glory, the glory of his name. Come before him clothed in sacred garments.
3 The voice of the Lord echoes from the clouds. The God of glory thunders through the skies. 4 So powerful is his voice; so full of majesty. 5-6 It breaks down the cedars. It splits the giant trees of Lebanon. It shakes Mount Lebanon and Mount Sirion. They leap and skip before him like young calves! 7 The voice of the Lord thunders through the lightning. 8 It resounds through the deserts and shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord spins and topples the mighty oaks.[a] It strips the forests bare. They whirl and sway beneath the blast. But in his Temple all are praising, “Glory, glory to the Lord.”
10 At the Flood the Lord showed his control of all creation. Now he continues to unveil his power. 11 He will give his people strength. He will bless them with peace.
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through Turkey and arrived in Ephesus, where he found several disciples. 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.
“No,” they replied, “we don’t know what you mean. What is the Holy Spirit?”
3 “Then what beliefs did you acknowledge at your baptism?” he asked.
And they replied, “What John the Baptist taught.”
4 Then Paul pointed out to them that John’s baptism was to demonstrate a desire to turn from sin to God and that those receiving his baptism must then go on to believe in Jesus, the one John said would come later.
5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in[a] the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then, when Paul laid his hands upon their heads, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other languages and prophesied. 7 The men involved were about twelve in number.
4 This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptized as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them.[a] 5 People from Jerusalem and from all over Judea traveled out into the Judean wastelands to see and hear John, and when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 His clothes were woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt; locusts and wild honey were his food. 7 Here is a sample of his preaching:
“Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.[b] 8 I baptize you with water[c] but he will baptize you with God’s Holy Spirit!”
9 Then one day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John there in the Jordan River. 10 The moment Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending on him, 11 and a voice from heaven said, “You are my beloved Son; you are my Delight.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.