Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
(A psalm by Asaph.)
What Pleases God
1 From east to west,
the powerful Lord God
has been calling together
everyone on earth.
2 God shines brightly from Zion,
the most beautiful city.
3 Our God approaches,
but not silently;
a flaming fire comes first,
and a storm surrounds him.
4 God comes to judge his people.
He shouts to the heavens
and to the earth,
5 “Call my followers together!
They offered me a sacrifice,
and we made an agreement.”
6 The heavens announce,
“God is the judge,
and he is always honest.”
7 My people, I am God!
Israel, I am your God.
Listen to my charges
against you.
8 Although you offer sacrifices
and always bring gifts,
22 You have ignored me!
So pay close attention
or I will tear you apart,
and no one can help you.
23 The sacrifice that honors me
is a thankful heart.
Obey me,[a] and I, your God,
will show my power to save.
18 Evil had spread like a raging forest fire sending thornbushes up in smoke. 19 The Lord All-Powerful was angry and used the people as fuel for a fire that scorched the land. They turned against each other 20 like wild animals attacking and eating everyone around them, even their own relatives.[a] But still they were not satisfied. 21 The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh turned against each other, then joined forces to attack Judah. But the Lord was still angry and ready to punish the nation even more.
10 You people are in for trouble! You have made cruel and unfair laws 2 that let you cheat the poor and needy and rob widows and orphans. 3 But what will you do when you are fiercely attacked and punished by foreigners? Where will you run for help? Where will you hide your valuables? 4 How will you escape being captured[b] or killed? The Lord is still angry, and he isn't through with you yet![c]
Stephen's Speech
7 The high priest asked Stephen, “Are they telling the truth about you?”
2 (A) Stephen answered:
Friends, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he had moved to Haran. 3 God told him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to a land that I will show you.” 4 (B) Then Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.
After his father died, Abraham came and settled in this land where you now live. 5 (C) God didn't give him any part of it, not even a square meter. But God did promise to give it to him and his family forever, even though Abraham didn't have any children. 6 (D) God said Abraham's descendants would live for a while in a foreign land. There they would be slaves and would be mistreated 400 years. 7 (E) But he also said, “I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. Then later they will come and worship me in this place.”
8 (F) God said to Abraham, “Every son in each family must be circumcised to show you have kept your agreement with me.” So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons.
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