Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
99 The Lord rules.
Let the nations tremble.
He sits on his throne between the cherubim.
Let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion.
He is honored over all the nations.
3 Let them praise his great and wonderful name.
He is holy.
4 The King is mighty and loves justice.
He has set up the rules for fairness.
He has done what is right and fair
for the people of Jacob.
5 Honor the Lord our God.
Worship at his feet.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were two of his priests.
Samuel was one of those who worshiped him.
They called out to the Lord.
And he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They obeyed his laws and the orders he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed Israel that you are a God who forgives.
But when they did wrong, you punished them.
9 Honor the Lord our God.
Worship at his holy mountain.
The Lord our God is holy.
The Priests Offer Sacrifices
9 On the eighth day Moses sent for Aaron, his sons and the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Bring a bull calf for your sin offering. Bring a ram for your burnt offering. They must not have any flaws. Offer them to the Lord. 3 Then speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Bring a male goat for a sin offering. Bring a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering. Both of them must be a year old. They must not have any flaws. 4 Bring an ox and a ram for a friendship offering. Sacrifice all of them to the Lord. Also bring a grain offering. Mix it with olive oil. Today the Lord will appear to you.’ ”
5 The people got the things Moses commanded them to get. They took them to the front of the tent of meeting. The whole community came up close to the tent. They stood there in front of the Lord. 6 Then Moses said, “You have done what the Lord has commanded. So the glory of the Lord will appear to you.”
7 Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar. Sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering. Pay for your sin and the sin of the people. Sacrifice the people’s offering. Pay for their sin. Do just as the Lord has commanded.”
8 So Aaron came to the altar. He killed the calf as a sin offering for himself. 9 His sons brought its blood to him. He dipped his finger into the blood. He put some on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. 10 He burned the fat and the kidneys on the altar. He also burned the long part of the liver. All these parts were from the sin offering. Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 He burned up the meat and the hide outside the camp.
22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people. He gave them a blessing. He had already sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the friendship offering. So he stepped down from the altar.
23 Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they gave the people a blessing. The glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 The Lord sent fire on the altar. The fire burned up the burnt offering along with the fat parts. All the people saw it. Then they shouted for joy. They fell with their faces to the ground.
Living for God
4 Christ suffered in his body. So prepare yourselves to think in the same way Christ did. Do this because whoever suffers in their body is finished with sin. 2 As a result, they don’t live the rest of their earthly life for evil human desires. Instead, they live to do what God wants. 3 You have spent enough time in the past doing what ungodly people choose to do. You lived a wild life. You longed for evil things. You got drunk. You went to wild parties. You worshiped statues of gods, which the Lord hates. 4 Ungodly people are surprised that you no longer join them in what they do. They want you to join them in their wild and wasteful living. So they say bad things about you. 5 But they will have to explain their actions to God. He is ready to judge those who are alive and those who are dead. 6 That’s why the good news was preached even to people who are now dead. It was preached to them for two reasons. It was preached so that their bodies might be judged. This judgment is made by human standards. But the good news was also preached so that their spirits might live. This life comes by means of God’s power.
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