Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
15 During this time there was a meeting of the believers (about one hundred twenty of them). Peter stood up and said, 16-17 “Brothers and sisters, in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit said through David something that must happen involving Judas. He was one of our own group and served together with us. He led those who arrested Jesus.”
21-22 “So now a man must become a witness with us of Jesus’ being raised from the dead. He must be one of the men who were part of our group during all the time the Lord Jesus was among us—from the time John was baptizing people until the day Jesus was taken up from us to heaven.”
23 They put the names of two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas, who was also called Justus. The other was Matthias. 24-25 The apostles prayed, “Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to do this work. Show us who should be an apostle in place of Judas, who turned away and went where he belongs.” 26 Then they used lots to choose between them, and the lots showed that Matthias was the one. So he became an apostle with the other eleven.
Two Ways to Live
1 Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked,
who don’t go where sinners go,
who don’t do what evil people do.
2 They love the Lord’s teachings,
and they think about those teachings day and night.
3 They are strong, like a tree planted by a river.
The tree produces fruit in season,
and its leaves don’t die.
Everything they do will succeed.
4 But wicked people are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment.
Sinners will not worship with God’s people.
6 This is because the Lord takes care of his people,
but the wicked will be destroyed.
9 We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important, and he has told us the truth about his own Son. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the truth that God told us. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar, because that person does not believe what God told us about his Son. 11 This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
We Have Eternal Life Now
13 I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God so you will know you have eternal life.
6 “I showed what you are like to those you gave me from the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your teaching. 7 Now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. 8 I gave them the teachings you gave me, and they accepted them. They knew that I truly came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for people in the world but for those you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And my glory is shown through them. 11 I am coming to you; I will not stay in the world any longer. But they are still in the world. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they will be one, just as you and I are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and only one of them, the one worthy of destruction, was lost so that the Scripture would come true.
13 “I am coming to you now. But I pray these things while I am still in the world so that these followers can have all of my joy in them. 14 I have given them your teaching. And the world has hated them, because they don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world. 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world but to keep them safe from the Evil One. 16 They don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world. 17 Make them ready for your service through your truth; your teaching is truth. 18 I have sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. 19 For their sake, I am making myself ready to serve so that they can be ready for their service of the truth.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.