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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.
Duration: 1245 days
New Century Version (NCV)
Version
Isaiah 1:1

This is the vision Isaiah son of Amoz saw about what would happen to Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah saw these things while Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.

Isaiah 1:10-20

10 Jerusalem, your rulers are like those of Sodom,
    and your people are like those of Gomorrah.
Hear the word of the Lord;
    listen to the teaching of our God!
11 The Lord says,
    “I do not want all these sacrifices.
I have had enough of your burnt sacrifices
    of male sheep and fat from fine animals.
I am not pleased
    by the blood of bulls, lambs, and goats.
12 You come to meet with me,
    but who asked you to do
    all this running in and out of my Temple’s rooms?
13 Don’t continue bringing me worthless sacrifices!
    I hate the incense you burn.
I can’t stand your New Moons, Sabbaths, and other feast days;
    I can’t stand the evil you do in your holy meetings.
14 I hate your New Moon feasts
    and your other yearly feasts.
They have become a heavy weight on me,
    and I am tired of carrying it.
15 When you raise your arms to me in prayer,
    I will refuse to look at you.
Even if you say many prayers,
    I will not listen to you,
because your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean.
    Stop doing the evil things I see you do.
Stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
    Punish those who hurt others.
Help the orphans.
    Stand up for the rights of widows.”

18 The Lord says,
    “Come, let us talk about these things.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they can be as white as snow.
Though your sins are deep red,
    they can be white like wool.
19 If you become willing and obey me,
    you will eat good crops from the land.
20 But if you refuse to obey and if you turn against me,
    you will be destroyed by your enemies’ swords.”
The Lord himself said these things.

Psalm 50:1-8

God Wants True Worship

A psalm of Asaph.

50 The God of gods, the Lord, speaks.
    He calls the earth from the rising to the setting sun.
God shines from Jerusalem,
    whose beauty is perfect.
Our God comes, and he will not be silent.
    A fire burns in front of him,
    and a powerful storm surrounds him.
He calls to the sky above and to the earth
    that he might judge his people.
He says, “Gather around, you who worship me,
    who have made an agreement with me, using a sacrifice.”
God is the judge,
    and even the skies say he is right. Selah

God says, “My people, listen to me;
    Israel, I will testify against you.
    I am God, your God.
I do not scold you for your sacrifices.
    You always bring me your burnt offerings.

Psalm 50:22-23

22 “Think about this, you who forget God.
    Otherwise, I will tear you apart,
    and no one will save you.
23 Those people honor me
    who bring me offerings to show thanks.
And I, God, will save those who do that.”

Hebrews 11:1-3

What Is Faith?

11 Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. Faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past.

It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God’s command so what we see was made by something that cannot be seen.

Hebrews 11:8-16

It was by faith Abraham obeyed God’s call to go to another place God promised to give him. He left his own country, not knowing where he was to go. It was by faith that he lived like a foreigner in the country God promised to give him. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who had received that same promise from God. 10 Abraham was waiting for the city[a] that has real foundations—the city planned and built by God.

11 He was too old to have children, and Sarah could not have children. It was by faith that Abraham was made able to become a father, because he trusted God to do what he had promised.[b] 12 This man was so old he was almost dead, but from him came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. Like the sand on the seashore, they could not be counted.

13 All these great people died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people, but they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth. 14 When people say such things, they show they are looking for a country that will be their own. 15 If they had been thinking about the country they had left, they could have gone back. 16 But they were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

Luke 12:32-40

Don’t Trust in Money

32 “Don’t fear, little flock, because your Father wants to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Get for yourselves purses that will not wear out, the treasure in heaven that never runs out, where thieves can’t steal and moths can’t destroy. 34 Your heart will be where your treasure is.

Always Be Ready

35 “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. 36 Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. 37 They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. 38 Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.

39 “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. 40 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

New Century Version (NCV)

The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.