Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Coming Day of Judgment
2 Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem;
shout a warning on my holy mountain.
Let all the people who live in the land shake with fear,
because the Lord’s day of judging is coming;
it is near.
2 It will be a dark, gloomy day,
cloudy and black.
Like the light at sunrise,
a great and powerful army will spread over the mountains.
There has never been anything like it before,
and there will never be anything like it again.
Change Your Hearts
12 The Lord says, “Even now, come back to me with all your heart.
Fast, cry, and be sad.”
13 Tearing your clothes is not enough to show you are sad;
let your heart be broken.
Come back to the Lord your God,
because he is kind and shows mercy.
He doesn’t become angry quickly,
and he has great love.
He can change his mind about doing harm.
14 Who knows? Maybe he will turn back to you
and leave behind a blessing for you.
Grain and drink offerings belong to the Lord your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem;
call for a day when everyone fasts.
Tell everyone to stop work.
16 Bring the people together
and make the meeting holy for the Lord.
Bring together the elders,
as well as the children,
and even babies that still feed at their mothers’ breasts.
The bridegroom should come from his room,
the bride from her bedroom.
17 The priests, the Lord’s servants, should cry
between the altar and the entrance to the Temple.
They should say, “Lord, have mercy on your people.
Don’t let them be put to shame;
don’t let other nations make fun of them.
Don’t let people in other nations ask,
‘Where is their God?’”
How to Honor God
58 The Lord says, “Shout out loud. Don’t hold back.
Shout out loud like a trumpet.
Tell my people what they have done against their God;
tell the family of Jacob about their sins.
2 They still come every day looking for me
and want to learn my ways.
They act just like a nation that does what is right,
that obeys the commands of its God.
They ask me to judge them fairly.
They want God to be near them.
3 They say, ‘To honor you we had special days when we fasted,
but you didn’t see.
We humbled ourselves to honor you,
but you didn’t notice.’”
But the Lord says, “You do what pleases yourselves on these special days,
and you are unfair to your workers.
4 On these special days when you fast, you argue and fight
and hit each other with your fists.
You cannot do these things as you do now
and believe your prayers are heard in heaven.
5 This kind of special day is not what I want.
This is not the way I want people to be sorry for what they have done.
I don’t want people just to bow their heads like a plant
and wear rough cloth and lie in ashes to show their sadness.
This is what you do on your special days when you fast,
but do you think this is what the Lord wants?
6 “I will tell you the kind of fast I want:
Free the people you have put in prison unfairly
and undo their chains.
Free those to whom you are unfair
and stop their hard labor.
7 Share your food with the hungry
and bring poor, homeless people into your own homes.
When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours,
and don’t refuse to help your own relatives.
8 Then your light will shine like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your God will walk before you,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will answer.
You will cry out, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you stop making trouble for others,
if you stop using cruel words and pointing your finger at others,
10 if you feed those who are hungry
and take care of the needs of those who are troubled,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
and you will be bright like sunshine at noon.
11 The Lord will always lead you.
He will satisfy your needs in dry lands
and give strength to your bones.
You will be like a garden that has much water,
like a spring that never runs dry.
12 Your people will rebuild the old cities that are now in ruins;
you will rebuild their foundations.
You will be known for repairing the broken places
and for rebuilding the roads and houses.
A Prayer for Forgiveness
For the director of music. A psalm of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after David’s sin with Bathsheba.
51 God, be merciful to me
because you are loving.
Because you are always ready to be merciful,
wipe out all my wrongs.
2 Wash away all my guilt
and make me clean again.
3 I know about my wrongs,
and I can’t forget my sin.
4 You are the only one I have sinned against;
I have done what you say is wrong.
You are right when you speak
and fair when you judge.
5 I was brought into this world in sin.
In sin my mother gave birth to me.
6 You want me to be completely truthful,
so teach me wisdom.
7 Take away my sin, and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness;
let the bones you crushed be happy again.
9 Turn your face from my sins
and wipe out all my guilt.
10 Create in me a pure heart, God,
and make my spirit right again.
11 Do not send me away from you
or take your Holy Spirit away from me.
12 Give me back the joy of your salvation.
Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach your ways to those who do wrong,
and sinners will turn back to you.
14 God, save me from the guilt of murder,
God of my salvation,
and I will sing about your goodness.
15 Lord, let me speak
so I may praise you.
16 You are not pleased by sacrifices, or I would give them.
You don’t want burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifice God wants is a broken spirit.
God, you will not reject a heart that is broken and sorry for sin.
20 So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. 21 Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could become right with God.
6 We are workers together with God, so we beg you: Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing. 2 God says,
“At the right time I heard your prayers.
On the day of salvation I helped you.” Isaiah 49:8
I tell you that the “right time” is now, and the “day of salvation” is now.
3 We do not want anyone to find fault with our work, so nothing we do will be a problem for anyone. 4 But in every way we show we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems. 5 We are beaten and thrown into prison. We meet those who become upset with us and start riots. We work hard, and sometimes we get no sleep or food. 6 We show we are servants of God by our pure lives, our understanding, patience, and kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by true love, 7 by speaking the truth, and by God’s power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything. 8 Some people honor us, but others blame us. Some people say evil things about us, but others say good things. Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth. 9 We are not known, but we are well known. We seem to be dying, but we continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed. 10 We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything.
Jesus Teaches About Giving
6 “Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them in front of people to be seen by them. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets in the synagogues and on the streets so that people will see them and honor them. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward. 3 So when you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know what you are doing. 4 Your giving should be done in secret. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. 6 When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Worship
16 “When you fast,[a] don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They make their faces look sad to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward. 17 So when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then people will not know that you are fasting, but your Father, whom you cannot see, will see you. Your Father sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
God Is More Important than Money
19 “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. 20 But store your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.