Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Calls and Jonah Obeys
3 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah again and said, 2 “Go to that big city Nineveh, and say what I tell you.”
3 So Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. It was a very large city. A person had to walk for three days to travel through it.
4 Jonah went to the center of the city and began speaking to the people. He said, “After 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed!”
5 The people of Nineveh believed God. They decided to stop eating for a time to think about their sins. They put on special clothes to show they were sorry. All the people in the city did this, from the most important to the least important.
10 God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil. So God changed his mind and did not do what he planned. He did not punish the people.
5 I must calm down and turn to God;
he is my only hope.
6 He is my Rock, the only one who can save me.
He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me.
7 My victory and honor come from God.
He is the mighty Rock, where I am safe.
8 People, always put your trust in God!
Tell him all your problems.
God is our place of safety. Selah
9 People cannot really help.
You cannot depend on them.
Compared to God, they are nothing—
no more than a gentle puff of air!
10 Don’t trust in your power to take things by force.
Don’t think you will gain anything by stealing.
And if you become wealthy,
don’t put your trust in riches.
11 God says there is one thing you can really depend on, and I believe it:
“Strength comes from God!”
12 My Lord, your love is real.
You reward all people for what they do.
29 Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: We don’t have much time left. So starting now, those who have wives should be the same as those who don’t. 30 It should not be important whether you are sad or whether you are happy. If you buy something, it should not matter to you that you own it. 31 You should use the things of the world without letting them become important to you. This is how you should live, because this world, the way it is now, will soon be gone.
Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee(A)
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee and told people the Good News from God. 15 He said, “The right time is now here. God’s kingdom is very near.[a] Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News!”
Jesus Chooses Some Followers(B)
16 Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee. He saw Simon[b] and his brother Andrew. These two men were fishermen, and they were throwing a net into the lake to catch fish. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you a different kind of fishermen. You will bring in people, not fish.” 18 So they immediately left their nets and followed Jesus.
19 Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat, preparing their nets to catch fish. 20 Their father Zebedee and the men who worked for him were in the boat with the brothers. When Jesus saw the brothers, he told them to come. They left their father and followed Jesus.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International