Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Agreement with Abram
15 After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a special dream, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your safe place. Your reward will be very great.” 2 Then Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me? For I have no child. And the one who is to receive what belongs to me is Eliezer of Damascus.” 3 Abram said, “Because You have not given me a child, one born in my house will be given all I have.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be given what is yours. But he who will come from your own body will be given what is yours.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Now look up into the heavens and add up the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then He said to him, “Your children and your children’s children will be as many as the stars.” 6 Then Abram believed in the Lord, and that made him right with God.
7 God said to him, “I am the Lord Who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land for your own.” 8 And Abram said, “O Lord God, how may I know that it will be mine?” 9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.” 10 Then Abram brought all these to Him, and cut them in two. And he laid each half beside the other. But he did not cut the birds. 11 When the meat-eating birds came down upon the dead animals, Abram made them go away.
12 When the sun was going down, Abram went into a sleep as if he were dead. And much fear and darkness came upon him.
17 When the sun had gone down and it was very dark, a fire pot of smoke and a burning fire passed between these parts of animals. 18 The Lord made an agreement with Abram on that day. He said, “I have given this land to your children and to their children’s children, from the river of Egypt as far as the big Euphrates River,
Prayer of Trust in God
27 The Lord is my light and the One Who saves me. Whom should I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom should I be afraid? 2 When sinful men, and all who hated me, came against me to destroy my flesh, they tripped and fell. 3 Even if an army gathers against me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if war rises against me, I will be sure of You.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I will look for: that I may live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to look upon the beauty of the Lord, and to worship in His holy house. 5 For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His holy tent. In the secret place of His tent He will hide me. He will set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be lifted up above all those around me who hate me. I will give gifts in His holy tent with a loud voice of joy. I will sing. Yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 O Lord, listen to my cry. Show loving-kindness to me and answer me. 8 You have said, “Look for My face.” My heart said to You, “O Lord, Your face will I look for.” 9 Do not hide Your face from me. Do not turn Your servant away in anger. You have been my Helper. Do not turn away from me or leave me alone, O God Who saves me! 10 For my father and my mother have left me. But the Lord will take care of me.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord. Lead me in a straight path, because of those who fight against me. 12 Do not give me over to the desire of those who hate me. For people who tell lies about me rise against me, and breathe a desire to hurt me. 13 I would have been without hope if I had not believed that I would see the loving-kindness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart be strong. Yes, wait for the Lord.
17 Christian brothers, live your lives as I have lived mine. Watch those who live as I have taught you to live. 18 There are many whose lives show they hate the cross of Christ. I have told you this before. Now I tell you again with tears in my eyes. 19 Their god is their stomach. They take pride in things they should be ashamed of. All they think about are the things of this world. In the end they will be destroyed. 20 But we are citizens of heaven. Christ, the One Who saves from the punishment of sin, will be coming down from heaven again. We are waiting for Him to return. 21 He will change these bodies of ours of the earth and make them new. He will make them like His body of shining-greatness. He has the power to do this because He can make all things obey Him.
4 So, my dear Christian brothers, you are my joy and crown. I want to see you. Keep on staying true to the Lord, my dear friends.
31 That same day some of the proud religious law-keepers came to Jesus. They said, “Go away from here! Herod wants to kill You.” 32 Jesus said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘See. I put out demons and heal the sick. I will do these things today and tomorrow. And the third day My work will be finished.’ 33 But I must go on My way today and tomorrow and the day after. One who speaks for God cannot die except at Jerusalem.
Jesus Sorrows Over Jerusalem
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the early preachers and throw stones on those sent to you. How many times I wanted to gather your children around me, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you would not let Me. 35 See! Your house is empty. And I tell you, you will not see Me again until the time comes when you will say, ‘Great and honored is the One Who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
A Look at What Jesus Will Be Like (A)
28 About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took Peter and James and John with Him. They went up on a mountain to pray. 29 As Jesus prayed, He was changed in looks before them. His clothes became white and shining bright. 30 Two men talked with Jesus. They were Moses and Elijah. 31 They looked like the shining-greatness of heaven as they talked about His death in Jerusalem which was soon to happen.
32 But Peter and those with him had gone to sleep. When they woke up, they saw His shining-greatness and the two men who stood with Him. 33 As the two men went from Jesus, Peter said to Him, “Teacher, it is good for us to be here. Let us build three tents to worship in. One will be for You. One will be for Moses. One will be for Elijah.” He did not know what he was saying. 34 While he was talking, a cloud came over them. They were afraid as the cloud came in around them.
35 A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, the One I have chosen. Listen to Him!” 36 When the voice was gone, Jesus was standing there alone. From that time on, they kept these things to themselves. They told no one what they had seen.
A Boy with a Demon Is Healed (A)
37 The next day they came down from the mountain and many people met Jesus. 38 A man from among the people cried out, “Teacher, I beg of You to look at my son. He is my only child. 39 See, a demon takes him and makes him cry out. It takes hold of him and makes him shake. Spit runs from his mouth. He has marks on his body from being hurt. The demon does not want to go from him. 40 I begged Your followers to put the demon out, but they could not.”
41 Then Jesus said, “You people of this day do not have faith. You turn from what is right! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring your son to Me.” 42 While the boy was coming, the demon threw him down and made him lose the use of his mind for awhile. Jesus spoke sharp words to the demon. He healed the child and gave him back to his father.
Jesus Tells of His Death the Second Time (B)
43 They were all surprised at the great power of God. They all were thinking about the special things Jesus had done. And Jesus said to His followers,
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