Psalm 115

¹ Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

² Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?"
³ Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
⁴ But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.
⁷ They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

⁸ Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
⁹ All you Israelites, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.
¹⁰ House of Aaron, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.
¹¹ You who fear him, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.

¹² The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,
¹³ he will bless those who fear the Lord- small and great alike.

¹⁴ May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children.
¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹⁶ The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.
¹⁷ It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence;
¹⁸ it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord.

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Exodus 28:29-38

²⁹ Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. ³⁰ Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.

Other Priestly Garments
³¹ "Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, ³² with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. ³³ Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. ³⁴ The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

³⁶ "Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. ³⁷ Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ It will be on Aaron's forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron's forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.

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Philippians 1:3-11

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.

Psalm 115

¹ Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

² Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?"
³ Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
⁴ But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.
⁷ They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

⁸ Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
⁹ All you Israelites, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.
¹⁰ House of Aaron, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.
¹¹ You who fear him, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.

¹² The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,
¹³ he will bless those who fear the Lord- small and great alike.

¹⁴ May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children.
¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹⁶ The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.
¹⁷ It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence;
¹⁸ it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord.

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Numbers 8:5-22

The Setting Apart of the Levites

⁵ The Lord said to Moses: ⁶ "Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. ⁷ To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. And so they will purify themselves. ⁸ Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.

⁹ Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community. ¹⁰ You are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them. ¹¹ Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord.

¹² "Then the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, using one for a sin offering to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

¹⁵ "After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting. ¹⁶ They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman. ¹⁷ Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself. ¹⁸ And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel. ¹⁹ From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary."

²⁰ Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses. ²¹ The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement for them to purify them. ²² After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.

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Titus 1:1-9

¹ Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness-² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, ³ and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

⁴ To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Appointing Elders Who Love What Is Good
⁵ The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶ An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷ Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless-not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸ Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Psalm 115

¹ Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

² Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?"
³ Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
⁴ But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.
⁷ They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

⁸ Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
⁹ All you Israelites, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.
¹⁰ House of Aaron, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.
¹¹ You who fear him, trust in the Lord- he is their help and shield.

¹² The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,
¹³ he will bless those who fear the Lord- small and great alike.

¹⁴ May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children.
¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹⁶ The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.
¹⁷ It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence;
¹⁸ it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord.

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Ezra 9:5-15

⁵ At the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God ⁶ and prayed: "I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. ⁷ From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.

⁸ "But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. ⁹ Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ "But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands ¹¹ you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: 'The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. ¹² Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.'

¹³ "What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this. ¹⁴ Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence."

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John 16:16-24

The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy

¹⁶ Jesus went on to say, "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."

¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?"

¹⁸ They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."

¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Psalm 33:12-22

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
¹³ From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind;
¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-
¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
¹⁹ to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

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Genesis 2:4-7

Adam and Eve

⁴ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. ⁵ Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶ but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

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1 Corinthians 15:42-49

⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;

⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.⁴² If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶ The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.

⁴⁸ As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

Psalm 33:12-22

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
¹³ From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind;
¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-
¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
¹⁹ to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

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Job 37:1-13

¹ "At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place.
² Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
³ He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.
⁴ After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back.

⁵ God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.
⁶ He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'
⁷ So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor.

⁸ The animals take cover; they remain in their dens.
⁹ The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds.
¹⁰ The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.

¹¹ He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.
¹² At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them.
¹³ He brings the clouds to punish people, or to water his earth and show his love.

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1 Corinthians 15:50-57

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

⁵⁵ "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 33:12-22

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
¹³ From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind;
¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-
¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
¹⁹ to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

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Exodus 15:6-11

⁶ "Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.

⁷ In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
⁸ By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
⁹ The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.'
¹⁰ But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
¹¹ Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you-
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

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John 7:37-39

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Acts 2:1-21

¹ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" ¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

Peter Addresses the Crowd
¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ "'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹ And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

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Psalm 104:24-35

²⁴ How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number- living things both large and small.
²⁶ There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

²⁷ All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
²⁸ When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
²⁹ When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
³⁰ When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹ May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works-
³² he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

³³ I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵ But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Praise the Lord.

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Romans 8:22-27

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.

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John 15:26-27

The Work of the Holy Spirit

²⁶ "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father-the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father-he will testify about me. ²⁷ And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

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John 16:4-15

⁴ I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, ⁵ but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' ⁶ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. ⁷ But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. ¹² "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.

¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you."