Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Joshua Adds an Agreement to the Book of God’s Teachings
24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called together Israel’s leaders, chiefs, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves to God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Long ago your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and served other gods. 3 But I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River. I led him through all of Canaan and gave him many descendants. I also gave him Isaac.
14 “Fear the Lord, and serve him with integrity and faithfulness. Get rid of the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord. 15 But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live, my family and I will still serve the Lord.”
16 The people responded, “It would be unthinkable for us to abandon the Lord to serve other gods. 17 The Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of slavery in Egypt. He did these spectacular signs right before our eyes. He guarded us wherever we went, especially as we passed through other nations. 18 The Lord forced out all the people ahead of us, including the Amorites who lived in this land. We, too, will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19 But Joshua answered the people, “Since the Lord is a holy God, you can’t possibly serve him. He is a God who does not tolerate rivals. He will not forgive your rebellious acts and sins. 20 If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you. He will destroy you, although he has been so good to you.”
21 The people answered Joshua, “No! We will ⌞only⌟ serve the Lord!”
22 Joshua said to the people, “You have testified that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
They answered, “Yes, we have!”
23 “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Turn yourselves entirely over to the Lord God of Israel.”
24 The people replied to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”
25 That day Joshua made an agreement for the people and set up laws and rules for them at Shechem.
A maskil by Asaph.
78 Open your ears to my teachings, my people.
Turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth to illustrate points.
I will explain what has been hidden long ago,
3 things that we have heard and known about,
things that our parents have told us.
4 We will not hide them from our children.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s power and great deeds
and the miraculous things he has done.
5 He established written instructions for Jacob’s people.
He gave his teachings to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors to make them known to their children
6 so that the next generation would know them.
Children yet to be born ⌞would learn them⌟.
They will grow up and tell their children
7 to trust God, to remember what he has done,
and to obey his commands.
Comfort about Christians Who Have Died
13 Brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be ignorant about those who have died. We don’t want you to grieve like other people who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and came back to life. We also believe that, through Jesus, God will bring back those who have died. They will come back with Jesus. 15 We are telling you what the Lord taught. We who are still alive when the Lord comes will not go ⌞into his kingdom⌟ ahead of those who have already died. 16 The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet ⌞call⌟ of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way we will always be with the Lord. 18 So then, comfort each other with these words!
A Story about Ten Bridesmaids
25 “When the end comes, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids. They took their oil lamps and went to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they didn’t take any extra oil. 4 The wise bridesmaids, however, took along extra oil for their lamps. 5 Since the groom was late, all the bridesmaids became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight someone shouted, ‘The groom is here! Come to meet him!’ 7 Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready.
8 “The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’
9 “But the wise bridesmaids replied, ‘We can’t do that. There won’t be enough for both of us. Go! Find someone to sell you some oil.’
10 “While they were buying oil, the groom arrived. The bridesmaids who were ready went with him into the wedding hall, and the door was shut.
11 “Later the other bridesmaids arrived and said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door for us!’
12 “But he answered them, ‘I don’t even know who you are!’
13 “So stay awake, because you don’t know the day or the hour.
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