Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words:
12 Honor your father and your mother(A) so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 Do not murder.(B)
14 Do not commit adultery.(C)
15 Do not steal.(D)
16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.(E)
17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.(F)
The People’s Reaction
18 All the people witnessed[a] the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it[b] they trembled and stood at a distance.(G) 19 “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”(H)
20 Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not[c] sin.”(I)
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the expanse(A) proclaims the work of his hands.(B)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[a]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[b] has gone out to the whole earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(C)
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.(D)
5 It is like a bridegroom coming from his home;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles to their other end;(E)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(F)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(G)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(H)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(I)
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(J)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(K)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(L)
and sweeter than honey
dripping from a honeycomb.(M)
11 In addition, your servant is warned by them,
and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.(N)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(O)
13 Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;(P)
do not let them rule me.(Q)
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(R)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,(S)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(T)
4 although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day;(A) of the nation of Israel,(B) of the tribe of Benjamin,(C) a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law,(D) a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal,(E) persecuting(F) the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law,(G) blameless.(H)
7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value(I) of knowing Christ(J) Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ(K) 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law,(L) but one that is through faith in Christ[a]—the righteousness from God based on faith.(M) 10 My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings,(N) being conformed to his death,(O) 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.
Reaching Forward to God’s Goal
12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold(P) of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not[b] consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind(Q) and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly[c] call in Christ Jesus.(R)
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner
33 “Listen(A) to another parable:(B) There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower.(C) He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.(D) 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(E) 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’(F) 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”(G)
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[a]
This is what the Lord has done
and it is wonderful in our eyes?[b](H)
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; (I) but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”[c]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,(J) they knew he was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.(K)
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