Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²⁵ “I have heard what the prophets are saying. They prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! The Lord has given me a dream!’ ²⁶ How long will that continue in the hearts of these prophets who tell lies? They try to get others to believe their own mistaken ideas. ²⁷ They tell one another their dreams. They think that will make my people forget my name. In the same way, their people of long ago forgot my name when they worshiped Baal. ²⁸ Let the prophet who has a dream describe the dream. But let the one who has my message speak it faithfully. Your prophets have given you straw to eat instead of grain,” announces the Lord. ²⁹ “My message is like fire,” announces the Lord. “It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces.

³⁰ “So I am against these prophets,” announces the Lord. “I am against those who steal messages from one another. They claim that the messages come from me. ³¹ Yes,” announces the Lord. “I am against the prophets who speak their own words. But they still say, ‘Here is what the Lord says.’ ³² I am against prophets who talk about dreams that did not come from me,” announces the Lord. “They tell foolish lies. Their lies lead my people astray. But I did not send these prophets. I did not appoint them. They do not help my people in the least,” announces the Lord.

God Has Given Us New Life Through Christ

2 You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead. ² You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don’t obey God. ³ At one time we all lived among them. Our desires were controlled by sin. We tried to satisfy what they wanted us to do. We followed our desires and thoughts. God was angry with us like he was with everyone else. That’s because of the kind of people we all were. ⁴ But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. ⁵ So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you. ⁶ God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom. That’s because we belong to Christ Jesus. ⁷ He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can’t be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us. He was kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. ⁸ God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. ⁹ It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it. ¹⁰ We are God’s creation. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good works. Long ago God prepared these works for us to do.