Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
There is only one true God[a]
115 Lord, you are the one
who deserves that people praise you.
They should praise only you, not us!
Because you love us with a faithful love,
and you always do what you have promised.
2 Why should other nations say about us,
‘Where is their God?’
3 We know that our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he wants to do.
4 Those people's idols are made from silver and gold.
Yes, human hands make them!
5 Each idol has a mouth,
but it cannot speak!
It has eyes, but it cannot see!
6 It has ears, but it cannot hear!
It has a nose, but it cannot smell!
7 It has hands, but it cannot feel anything!
It has feet, but it cannot walk!
They cannot make a sound!
8 The people that make those idols
will become useless like them.
The same is true for everyone
who trusts their idols to help them.
9 People of Israel,
trust in the Lord.
He is the one who helps you
and keeps you safe.
10 Aaron's family,
trust in the Lord.[b]
He is the one who helps you
and keeps you safe.
11 Everyone who serves the Lord,
trust in the Lord.
He is the one who helps you
and keeps you safe.
12 The Lord will remember us,
and he will bless us.
He will bless Israel's people.
He will bless Aaron's family.
13 He will bless everybody who serves him,
whether they are important people or not.
14 I pray that the Lord will give you many children,
and your children too!
15 I pray that the Lord will bless you all.
He is the one who made the whole universe.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord,
but he has given the earth to us people.
17 Dead people cannot praise the Lord.
In their graves, they are unable to speak.
18 But we will praise the Lord,
now and for ever.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
29 When Aaron goes into the Holy Place, he will wear the breastpiece. So he will carry the names of Israel's sons over his heart. And the Lord will always remember to bless the Israelites. 30 Put the Urim and Thummim in the pocket of the breastpiece. They will also be over Aaron's heart when he goes in there to serve the Lord. The Urim and Thummim will always be there to show Aaron what the Lord is saying about the Israelites. He will carry this help over his heart all the time.
Other clothes for the priests
31 Use only blue cloth to make the robe for the ephod.[a] 32 Make a hole in the top of the robe, in the middle. Make an edge around this hole, for the priest's head to go through. Make the edge so that it will not tear. 33 Use blue, purple and red material to make pictures of pomegranates. Also make gold bells. The pomegranates and the bells will go all around the bottom edge of the robe. 34 There will be a bell then a pomegranate, another bell then a pomegranate, all around the edge of the robe.
35 Aaron must wear the robe when he is serving the Lord. The bells will make a noise when he goes into the Holy Place to serve the Lord. They will also make a sound when he comes out. Then he will not die.
36 Use pure gold to make a thin plate and write on it carefully with a sharp tool. Write this sign on it: “Holy to the Lord”. 37 Fix a blue string to the plate and tie it to the front of the linen hat. 38 Aaron will always wear this sign on the front of his head. When the Israelites bring gifts to God, they may be guilty of sins. When Aaron has this sign on his head, he himself will be guilty instead of them. Then the Lord will accept the gifts that his people offer to him.
Paul thanks God for the believers at Philippi
3 Every time that I think about you, I thank my God because of you. 4 I am always praying for you. Every time that I pray for you, I feel very happy. 5 I am happy because together we tell people the good news about Christ. You have always helped me with that work, since the first day that you yourselves heard the good news. 6 I know that God has begun to do good things in you. And I am sure that he will continue to work in you. Then, on the day when Jesus Christ returns, his work in you will be finished.
7 It is right for me to feel like this about all of you, because I love you very much. God has been very kind to all of us. Because you know that, you have continued to help me. You have helped me while I have been here in this prison. You also helped me when I was free and I could teach the good news. I explained to people why the good news is God's true message. Together, we have known how kind God is. 8 God knows that I very much want to be with all of you. I love you very much, just like Christ Jesus himself loves you.
9 This is what I pray for you. I pray that you will continue to love each other more and more. I pray that you will know God better and better. I pray that you will understand all those things that are true. 10 Then you will be able to choose what is best in the way that you live. Then, on the day when Christ returns, you will be completely clean. You will not be guilty of any bad thing. 11 Because of the work that Jesus Christ has done in you, you will be right with God. And your lives will be full of good things. As a result, people will praise God and they will say that he is very great.
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