Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God is good, so thank him[a]
118 Thank the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love will always be with us.
2 Israel's people must now say,
‘His faithful love will always be with us.’
14 The Lord makes me strong
and he takes care of me.
He is the one who keeps me safe.
15 Listen to the happy shouts of God's people in their tents!
They have won against their enemies,
because the Lord has power to do great things.
16 Yes, the Lord has lifted up his strong right hand.
He has the strength to win the battle!
17 I will not die. Instead, I will live.
I will tell everyone what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me very much,
but he has not let me die.
19 Open the gates of the temple!
I will go in there,
and I will thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord's gate.
Righteous people can go in through it.
21 I will thank you, Lord,
because you answered my prayer.
You have rescued me.
22 The builders threw away a certain stone.
But now that stone has become the most important stone
at the corner of the building.
23 The Lord has done this.
And we can see that it is wonderful![a]
24 This is the day that the Lord has done a great thing.
We will be very happy today!
20 God said, ‘The waters will become full with many living things. Birds will appear and fly above the earth, all across the sky.’
21 God made big animals to live in the sea. He made every different kind of living thing that filled the sea. He made every different kind of bird to fly in the sky.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
22 God blessed the animals and the birds. He said to them, ‘Give birth to many young ones, so that you grow in number. Fill all the water in the seas. The birds also should become very many, all across the earth.’[a]
23 Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the fifth day.
24 God said, ‘Different kinds of animals will now appear on the land. There will be farm animals and wild animals. There will also be other small animals that move along the ground. There will be many kinds of animals and each kind will be different.’[b]
And what God said happened.
25 God made the different kinds of wild animals and the different kinds of farm animals. He made all the different kinds of animals that move along the ground.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, ‘We will make humans so that they are very much like us.[c] They will rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky. They will rule over the farm animals. They will rule over the whole earth and all the animals that move along the ground.’
27 God made humans.
He made them to be like himself.
He made some of them males and some of them females.
28 God blessed them. He said to them, ‘Give birth to children. Grow in number. Fill the earth and rule over it. Rule over the fish in the sea. Rule over the birds in the sky. Rule over every different kind of living animal that moves along the ground.’[d]
29 Then God said, ‘Listen! I now give to you every plant on the earth as your food. I give you every plant that has seeds in it. I give you every tree that has fruit with a seed in it. I give them to you for your food.
30 I give to the animals green plants for their food. It will be food for all the animals on the earth, all the birds in the sky and all the animals that move along the ground. Everything that has life may eat every kind of green plant.’
And what God said happened.
31 God looked at everything that he had made. He saw that it was very good.
Evening passed. And then it was morning.
That was the sixth day.
2 In that way God finished making the heavens and the earth, and everything that was in them.
2 The seventh day came. Then God stopped the work that he had been doing. He had finished his work and he rested on the seventh day.
3 God blessed the seventh day. He made it a special day, because he had finished making everything. He did not work on that day.
God makes a man and a woman
4 This is what happened when God made the heavens and the earth.
When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth,
50 I tell you this, my Christian friends. Our weak human bodies cannot go to heaven, to join God in his kingdom there. Our human bodies will die. They cannot share in something that will continue for ever.
51 Listen to me. I will explain a great secret to you. Not all of us will die, but God will change all of us. 52 It will happen in a short moment, when the last trumpet makes a sound. When that trumpet makes its sound, God will raise up the believers who have died. He will give them bodies that can never die. In that way, he will change all of us.
53 That has to happen. Our bodies that are becoming spoiled must change. They must change into bodies that never become spoiled. Our bodies that are dying must change into bodies that will never die. 54 God will give us new bodies like that. When that happens, what is written in the Bible will become true. It says:
‘God has won against death. He has destroyed it completely!’[a]
55 ‘Death, you can no longer win!
Death, you no longer have any power to hurt us!’[b]
56 Death only has power to hurt us because of our sins. And it is the authority of God's Law that gives power to sins. 57 But now we thank God! Because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we win against death and its power.
58 So you must continue to be strong in your spirits, my Christian friends that I love. Do not let anything move you away from your faith. Continue to work hard as you serve the Lord. You know that whatever you do for him will not be useless.
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