); Wisdom 4:7-15 (The righteous are rewarded); Acts 7:59—8:8 (Stephen is stoned to death) (Christian Standard Bible)
Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 148
Creation’s Praise of the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.(A)
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly armies.(B)
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.(C)
4 Praise him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.(D)
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded, and they were created.(E)
6 He set them in position forever and ever;
he gave an order that will never pass away.(F)
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
all sea monsters and ocean depths,(G)
8 lightning[a] and hail, snow and cloud,
stormy wind that executes his command,(H)
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,(I)
10 wild animals and all cattle,
creatures that crawl and flying birds,(J)
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth,(K)
12 young men as well as young women,
old and young together.(L)
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted.
His majesty covers heaven and earth.(M)
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
resulting in praise to all his faithful ones,
to the Israelites, the people close to him.(N)
Hallelujah!
59 While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” (A) 60 He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice,(B) “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep.(C)
Saul the Persecutor
8 Saul agreed with putting him to death.
On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.(D) 2 Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 3 Saul,(E) however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.(F)
Philip in Samaria
4 So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to a[a] city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.(G) 6 The crowds were all paying attention to what Philip said, as they listened and saw the signs he was performing. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.(H) 8 So there was great joy in that city.
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