Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Isaiah Called to Be a Man Who Speaks for God

6 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and honored. His long clothing spread out and filled the house of God. ² Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ One called out to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of All. The whole earth is full of His shining-greatness.” ⁴ And the base of the doorways shook at the voice of him who called out, while the house of God was filled with smoke. ⁵ Then I said, “It is bad for me, for I am destroyed! Because I am a man whose lips are unclean. And I live among a people whose lips are unclean. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of All.”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal which he had taken from the altar using a special tool. ⁷ He touched my mouth with it, and said, “See, this has touched your lips, and your guilt is taken away. Your sin is forgiven.” ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom should I send? Who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm

29 Give to the Lord, O sons of the powerful. Give to the Lord shining-greatness and strength. ² Give to the Lord the honor that belongs to Him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holy living.

³ The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of shining-greatness thunders. The Lord is over many waters. ⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is great. ⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the tall cedars of Lebanon. ⁶ He makes Lebanon jump like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild bull. ⁷ The voice of the Lord sends out lightning. ⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. The Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh. ⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, and tears away the leaves of the trees. And in His holy house everything says, “Honor to God!”

¹⁰ The Lord sat as King over the flood. The Lord sits as King forever. ¹¹ The Lord will give strength to His people. The Lord will give His people peace.

¹² So then, Christian brothers, we are not to do what our sinful old selves want us to do. ¹³ If you do what your sinful old selves want you to do, you will die in sin. But if, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you destroy those actions to which the body can be led, you will have life. ¹⁴ All those who are led by the Holy Spirit are sons of God. ¹⁵ You should not act like people who are owned by someone. They are always afraid. Instead, the Holy Spirit makes us His sons, and we can call to Him, “My Father.” ¹⁶ For the Holy Spirit speaks to us and tells our spirit that we are children of God. ¹⁷ If we are children of God, we will receive everything He has promised us. We will share with Christ all the things God has given to Him. But we must share His suffering if we are to share His shining-greatness.

Nicodemus Asks Jesus about Life

3 There was a man named Nicodemus. He was a proud religious law-keeper and a leader of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Teacher, we know You have come from God to teach us. No one can do these powerful works You do unless God is with Him.”

Jesus Tells of the New Kind of Birth

³ Jesus said to him, “For sure, I tell you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the holy nation of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? How can he get into his mother’s body and be born the second time?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “For sure, I tell you, unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit of God, he cannot get into the holy nation of God. ⁶ Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷ “Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wants to and you hear its sound. You do not know where it comes from or where it goes. It is the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit of God.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can this be?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Are you a teacher among the Jews and do not know these things? ¹¹ For sure, I tell you, We are talking about things We know. We tell of what We have seen. Yet you do not take Our words to be true. ¹² I tell you about things of the earth and you do not believe them. How will you believe if I tell you things about heaven?

¹³ “No one has gone up into heaven except the One Who came down from heaven. That One is the Son of Man *Who is in heaven. ¹⁴ As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. ¹⁵ Then whoever puts his trust in Him will have life that lasts forever. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to say it is guilty. He sent His Son so the world might be saved from the punishment of sin by Him.