A Thought from the Word

A brief thought based on 1 John 3:18 - Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.

Bible Readings for February 28, 2019

Today our passages are Leviticus 22:17–23:44; Mark 9:30–10:12; Psalm 44:1-8; and Proverbs 10:19. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Leviticus 22:17-23:44 (Contemporary English Version)

Acceptable Sacrifices

 ¹⁷The LORD told Moses ¹⁸to tell Aaron and his sons and everyone else the rules for offering sacrifices. He said:    The animals that are to be completely burned on the altar ^19-20must have nothing wrong with them, or else I won't accept them. Bulls or rams or goats ^[a] are the animals to be used for these sacrifices. ²¹When you offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, ^[b] there must be nothing wrong with the animal. This is true, whether the sacrifice is part of a promise or something you do voluntarily. ²²Don't offer an animal that is blind or injured or that has an infection or a skin disease. ²³If one of your cattle or lambs has a leg that is longer or shorter than the others, you may offer it voluntarily, but not as part of a promise. ²⁴As long as you live in this land, don't offer an animal with injured testicles. ²⁵And don't bring me animals you bought from a foreigner. I won't accept them, because they are no better than one that has something wrong with it. ²⁶The LORD told Moses to say:
    ²⁷Newborn cattle, sheep, or goats must remain with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day, you may send them up in smoke to me, and I will accept the offering. ²⁸Don't sacrifice a newborn animal and its mother on the same day.
    ²⁹When you offer a sacrifice to give thanks ^[c] to me, you must do it in a way that is acceptable. ³⁰Eat all of the meat that same day and don't save any for the next day. I am the LORD your God! ³¹Obey my laws and teachings--I am the LORD. ^32-33I demand respect from the people of Israel, so don't disgrace my holy name. Remember--I am the one who chose you to be priests and rescued all of you from Egypt, so that I would be your LORD.
    

Leviticus 23

Religious Festivals

 ¹The LORD told Moses ²to say to the community of Israel:    I have chosen certain times for you to come together and worship me.
    ³You have six days when you can do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me. No matter where you live, you must rest on the Sabbath and come together for worship. This law will never change.
   The LORD said: 
    

Passover and the Festival of Thin Bread

(Numbers 28.16-25)

 ^4-5Passover is another time when you must come together to worship me, and it must be celebrated on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month ^[d] of each year. ⁶The Festival of Thin Bread begins on the fifteenth day of that same month; it lasts seven days, and during this time you must honor me by eating bread made without yeast. ⁷On the first day of this festival you must rest from your work and come together for worship. ⁸Each day of this festival you must offer sacrifices. Then on the final day you must once again rest from your work and come together for worship.     

Offering the First Part of the Harvest

 ⁹The LORD told Moses ¹⁰to say to the community of Israel:    After you enter the land I am giving you, the first bundle of wheat from each crop must be given to me. So bring it to a priest ¹¹on the day after the Sabbath. He will lift it up ^[e] in dedication to me, and I will accept you. ¹²You must also offer a sacrifice to please me. ^[f] So bring the priest a one-year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it ¹³and four pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil. Then he will place these on the bronze altar and send them up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. Together with these, you must bring a quart of wine as a drink offering. ¹⁴I am your God, and I forbid you to eat any new grain or anything made from it until you have brought these offerings. This law will never change. The LORD said: 
    

The Harvest Festival

(Numbers 28.26-31)

 ¹⁵Seven weeks after you offer this bundle of grain, each family must bring another offering of new grain. ¹⁶Do this exactly fifty days later, which is the day following the seventh Sabbath. ¹⁷Bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up ^[g] in dedication to me. Each loaf is to be made with yeast and with four pounds of the finest flour from the first part of your harvest. ¹⁸At this same time, the entire community of Israel must bring seven lambs that are a year old, a young bull, and two rams. These animals must have nothing wrong with them, and they must be offered as a sacrifice to please me. ^[h] You must also offer the proper grain and wine sacrifices with each animal. ^[i] ¹⁹Offer a goat ^[j] as a sacrifice for sin, and two rams a year old as a sacrifice to ask my blessing. ^[k] ²⁰The priest will lift up ^[l] the rams together with the bread in dedication to me. These offerings are holy and are my gift to the priest. ²¹This is a day of celebration and worship, a time of rest from your work. You and your descendants must obey this law. ²²When you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing around the edges of your fields and don't pick up what falls on the ground. Leave it for the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the LORD your God!     

The Festival of Trumpets

(Numbers 29.1-6)

 ²³The LORD told Moses ^24-25to say to the people of Israel:    The first day of the seventh month ^[m] must be a day of complete rest. Then at the sound of the trumpets, you will come together to worship and to offer sacrifices on the altar. 

The Great Day of Forgiveness

(Numbers 29.7-11)

 ²⁶The LORD God said to Moses:     ²⁷The tenth day of the seventh month ^[n] is the Great Day of Forgiveness. ^[o] It is a solemn day of worship; everyone must go without eating to show sorrow for their sins, and sacrifices must be burned. ²⁸No one is to work on that day--it is the Great Day of Forgiveness, when sacrifices will be offered to me, so that I will forgive your sins. ²⁹I will destroy anyone who refuses to go without eating. ^30-31None of my people are ever to do any work on that day--not now or in the future. And I will wipe out those who do! ³²This is a time of complete rest just like the Sabbath, and everyone must go without eating from the evening of the ninth to the evening of the tenth. 

The Festival of Shelters

(Numbers 29.12-40)

 ³³The LORD told Moses ³⁴to say to the community of Israel:    Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, ^[p]and continuing for seven days, everyone must celebrate the Festival of Shelters in honor of me. ³⁵No one is to do any work on the first day of the festival--it is a time when everyone must come together for worship. ³⁶For seven days, sacrifices must be offered on the altar. The eighth day is also to be a day of complete rest, as well as a time of offering sacrifices on the altar and of coming together for worship. ³⁷I have chosen these festivals as times when my people must come together for worship and when animals, grain, and wine are to be offered on the proper days. ³⁸These festivals must be celebrated in addition to the Sabbaths and the times when you offer special gifts or sacrifices to keep a promise or as a voluntary offering.
    ³⁹Remember to begin the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the seventh month after you have harvested your crops. Celebrate this festival for seven days in honor of me and don't do any work on the first day or on the day following the festival. ⁴⁰Pick the best fruit from your trees ^[q] and cut leafy branches to use during the time of this joyous celebration in my honor. ⁴¹I command you and all of your descendants to celebrate this festival during the seventh month of each year. ⁴²For seven days every Israelite must live in a shelter, ⁴³so future generations will know that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. ⁴⁴This is how Moses instructed the people of Israel to celebrate the LORD's festivals.
    

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 22:19 goats: See the note at 1.1-3.
2. Leviticus 22:21 sacrifice to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.
3. Leviticus 22:29 sacrifice to give thanks: See 7.12.
4. Leviticus 23:4 first month: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
5. Leviticus 23:11 lift it up: See the note at 7.29,30.
6. Leviticus 23:12 sacrifice to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
7. Leviticus 23:17 lifted up: See the note at 7.29,30.
8. Leviticus 23:18 sacrifice to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
9. Leviticus 23:18 proper grain. . . animal: See Numbers 15.1-16.
10. Leviticus 23:19 goat: See the note at 1.1-3.
11. Leviticus 23:19 sacrifice to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.
12. Leviticus 23:20 lift up: See the note at 7.29,30.
13. Leviticus 23:24 seventh month: See the note at 16.29.
14. Leviticus 23:27 seventh month: See the note at 16.29.
15. Leviticus 23:27 Great Day of Forgiveness: See the note at 16.34.
16. Leviticus 23:34 seventh month: See the note at 16.29.
17. Leviticus 23:40 best fruit from your trees: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Mark 9:30-10:12 (Contemporary English Version)

Jesus Again Speaks about His Death

(Matthew 17.22,23; Luke 9.43b-45)

 ³⁰Jesus left with his disciples and started through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know about it, ³¹because he was teaching the disciples that the Son of Man would be handed over to people who would kill him. But three days later he would rise to life. ³²The disciples did not understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask.     

Who Is the Greatest?

(Matthew 18.1-5; Luke 9.46-48)

 ³³Jesus and his disciples went to his home in Capernaum. After they were inside the house, Jesus asked them, "What were you arguing about along the way?" ³⁴They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer.     ³⁵After Jesus sat down and told the twelve disciples to gather around him, he said, "If you want the place of honor, you must become a slave and serve others!"
    ³⁶Then Jesus had a child stand near him. He put his arm around the child and said, ³⁷"When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me."     

For or against Jesus

(Luke 9.49,50)

 ³⁸John said, "Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of people. But he wasn't one of us, and we told him to stop."     ³⁹Jesus said to his disciples:
   Don't stop him! No one who works miracles in my name will soon turn and say something bad about me. ⁴⁰Anyone who isn't against us is for us. ⁴¹And anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name, just because you belong to me, will surely be rewarded. 

Temptations To Sin

(Matthew 18.6-9; Luke 17.1,2)

 ⁴²It will be terrible for people who cause even one of my little followers to sin. Those people would be better off thrown into the ocean with a heavy stone tied around their necks. ^43-44So if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! You would be better off to go into life crippled than to have two hands and be thrown into the fires of hell that never go out. ^[a] ^45-46If your foot causes you to sin, chop it off. You would be better off to go into life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. ^[b] ⁴⁷If your eye causes you to sin, get rid of it. You would be better off to go into God's kingdom with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁸The worms there never die, and the fire never stops burning.     ⁴⁹Everyone must be salted with fire. ^[c]
    ⁵⁰Salt is good. But if it no longer tastes like salt, how can it be made salty again? Have salt among you and live at peace with each other. ^[d]
    

Mark 10

Teaching about Divorce

(Matthew 19.1-12; Luke 16.18)

 ¹After Jesus left, he went to Judea and then on to the other side of the Jordan River. Once again large crowds came to him, and as usual, he taught them.     ²Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. So they came up to him and asked if it was right for a man to divorce his wife. ³Jesus asked them, "What does the Law of Moses say about that?"
    ⁴They answered, "Moses allows a man to write out divorce papers and send his wife away."
    ⁵Jesus replied, "Moses gave you this law because you are so heartless. ⁶But in the beginning God made a man and a woman. ⁷That's why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. ⁸He becomes like one person with his wife. Then they are no longer two people, but one. ⁹And no one should separate a couple that God has joined together."
    ¹⁰When Jesus and his disciples were back in the house, they asked him about what he had said. ¹¹He told them, "A man who divorces his wife and marries someone else is unfaithful to his wife. ¹²A woman who divorces her husband ^[e]and marries again is also unfaithful."
    

Footnotes:

1. Mark 9:43 never go out: Some manuscripts add, "The worms there never die, and the fire never stops burning."
2. Mark 9:45 thrown into hell: Some manuscripts add, "The worms there never die, and the fire never stops burning."
3. Mark 9:49 salted with fire: Some manuscripts add "and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt." The verse may mean that Christ's followers must suffer because of their faith.
4. Mark 9:50 Have salt among you and live at peace with each other: This may mean that when Christ's followers have to suffer because of their faith, they must still try to live at peace with each other.
5. Mark 10:12 A woman who divorces her husband: Roman law let a woman divorce her husband, but Jewish law did not let a woman do this.

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Psalm 44:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 44

(A special psalm for the people of Korah and for the music leader.)

A Prayer for Help

 ¹Our God, our ancestors told us    what wonders you worked
   and we listened carefully.
    ²You chased off the nations
   by causing them trouble
   with your powerful arm.
   Then you let our ancestors
   take over their land.
    ³Their strength and weapons
   were not
   what won the land
   and gave them victory!
   You loved them and fought
   with your powerful arm
   and your shining glory.
    ⁴You are my God and King,
   and you give victory ^[a] to the people of Jacob.
    ⁵By your great power,
   we knocked our enemies down
   and stomped on them.
    ⁶I don't depend on my arrows
   or my sword to save me.
    ⁷But you saved us
   from our hateful enemies,
   and you put them to shame.
    ⁸We boast about you, our God,
   and we are always grateful.
    

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 44:4 and. . . victory: One ancient translation; Hebrew " please give victory."

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Proverbs 10:19 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁹You will say the wrong thing
   if you talk too much--
   so be sensible and watch
   what you say.

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Verse of the Day

“God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control.” - 2 Timothy 1:7 

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker, Marcel Pagnol wrote, “The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.”

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A Joke for Today

A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads "Low bridge ahead!" Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge. Cars are backed up for miles. 

Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, "Got stuck, huh?" 

The truck driver says, "No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas."

The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, March 3, 2019 (Transfiguration of the Lord)

Bible Talk: The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, March 3, 2019 ...: Below are NRSV translations of the lessons from the Old Testament ( Exodus 34:29-35 ), the Psalms ( Psalm 99 ), the Letters ( 2 Corinthians ...

Bible Readings for February 27, 2019

Today our passages are Leviticus 20:22–22:16; Mark 9:1-29; Psalm 43:1-5; and Proverbs 10:18. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

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Leviticus 20:22-22:16 (Contemporary English Version)

²²Obey my laws and teachings. Or else the land I am giving you will become sick of you and throw you out. ²³The nations I am chasing out did these disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example. ²⁴I am the LORD your God, and I have promised you their land that is rich with milk and honey. I have chosen you to be different from other people. ²⁵That's why you must make a difference between animals and birds that I have said are clean and unclean ^] --this will keep you from becoming disgusting to me. ²⁶I am the LORD, the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too. ²⁷If you claim to receive messages from the dead, you will be put to death by stoning, just as you deserve.

   

Leviticus 21

Instructions for Priests

 ¹The LORD gave Moses these instructions for Aaron's sons, the priests:

   Touching a dead body will make you unclean. So don't go near a dead relative, ²except your mother, father, son, daughter, brother, ³or an unmarried sister, who has no husband to take care of her. ⁴Don't make yourself unclean by attending the funeral of someone related to you by marriage. ^] 5Don't shave any part of your head or trim your beard or cut yourself to show that you are mourning. ⁶I am the LORD your God, and I have chosen you alone to offer sacrifices of food to me on the altar. That's why you must keep yourselves holy. ⁷Don't marry a divorced woman or a woman who has served as a temple prostitute. You are holy,⁸because I am holy. And so, you must be treated with proper respect, since you offer food sacrifices to me, the God of holiness. ⁹If any of you priests has a daughter who disgraces you by serving as a temple prostitute, she must be burned to death.

    ¹⁰If you are the high priest, you must not mess up your hair or tear your clothes in order to mourn for the dead. ¹¹Don't make yourself unclean by going near a dead body, not even that of your own father or mother. ¹²If you leave the sacred place to attend a funeral, both you and the sacred place become unclean, because you are the high priest.

    ¹³If you are the high priest, you must marry only a virgin ¹⁴from your own tribe. Don't marry a divorced woman or any other woman who has already had sex, including a temple prostitute. ¹⁵In this way, your descendants will be qualified to serve me. Remember--I am the LORD, and I have chosen you.

    ¹⁶The LORD told Moses ^17-18to say to Aaron:

   No descendant of yours can ever serve as my priest if he is blind or lame, if his face is disfigured, if one leg is shorter than the other, ¹⁹if either a foot or a hand is crippled, ²⁰if he is a hunchback or a dwarf, if an eye or his skin is diseased, or if his testicles have been damaged. ²¹These men may not serve as my priests and burn sacrifices to me. ²²They may eat the food offerings presented to me, ²³but they may not enter the sacred place or serve me at the altar. Remember--I am the LORD, the one who makes a priest holy.

    ²⁴Moses told all of this to Aaron, his sons, and the people of Israel.

   

Leviticus 22

The Offerings Are Holy

 ¹The LORD told Moses ²to say to Aaron and his sons:

   I am the LORD God, and I demand that you honor my holy name by showing proper respect for the offerings brought to me by the people of Israel. ³If any of you are unclean when you accept an offering for me, I will no longer let you serve as a priest. ⁴None of you may take part in the sacred meals while you have a skin disease or an infected penis, or after you have been near a dead body or have had a flow of semen, ⁵or if you have touched an unclean creature of any sort, including an unclean person. ^6-7Once you are unclean, you must take a bath, but you still cannot eat any of the sacred food until evening. ⁸I command you not to eat anything that is killed by a wild animal or dies a natural death. This would make you unclean. ⁹Obey me, or you will die on duty for disgracing the place of worship. Remember--I am the LORD, the one who makes a priest holy.

    ¹⁰Only you priests and your families may eat the food offerings; these are too sacred for any of your servants. ¹¹However, any slave that you own, including those born into your household, may eat this food. ¹²If your daughter marries someone who isn't a priest, she can no longer have any of this food. ¹³But if she returns to your home, either widowed or divorced, and has no children, she may join in the meal. Only members of a priestly family can eat this food, ¹⁴and anyone else who accidentally does so, must pay for the food plus a fine of twenty percent.

    ¹⁵I warn you not to treat lightly the offerings that are brought by the people of Israel. ¹⁶Don't let them become guilty of eating this sacred food. Remember--I am the LORD, the one who makes these offerings holy.

   

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 20:25 clean and unclean: See the note at 11.4-8.
2. Leviticus 21:4 marriage: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.

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Mark 9:1-29 (Contemporary English Version)

Mark 9

 ¹I can assure you that some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's kingdom come with power.

   

The True Glory of Jesus

(Matthew 17.1-13; Luke 9.28-36)

 ²Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. They went up on a high mountain, where they could be alone. There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. ³And his clothes became much whiter than any bleach on earth could make them. ⁴Then Moses and Elijah were there talking with Jesus.

    ⁵Peter said to Jesus, "Teacher, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁶But Peter and the others were terribly frightened, and he did not know what he was talking about.

    ⁷The shadow of a cloud passed over and covered them. From the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to what he says!" ⁸At once the disciples looked around, but they saw only Jesus.

    ⁹As Jesus and his disciples were coming down the mountain, he told them not to say a word about what they had seen, until the Son of Man had been raised from death. ¹⁰So they kept it to themselves. But they wondered what he meant by the words "raised from death."

    ¹¹The disciples asked Jesus, "Don't the teachers of the Law of Moses say that Elijah must come before the Messiah does?"

    ¹²Jesus answered:

   Elijah certainly will come ^] to get everything ready. But don't the Scriptures also say that the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected? ¹³I can assure you that Elijah has already come. And people treated him just as they wanted to, as the Scriptures say they would.   

Jesus Heals a Boy

(Matthew 17.14-20; Luke 9.37-43a)

 ¹⁴When Jesus and his three disciples came back down, they saw a large crowd around the other disciples. The teachers of the Law of Moses were arguing with them.

    ¹⁵The crowd was really surprised to see Jesus, and everyone hurried over to greet him.

    ¹⁶Jesus asked, "What are you arguing about?"

    ¹⁷Someone from the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought my son to you. A demon keeps him from talking. ¹⁸Whenever the demon attacks my son, it throws him to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grit his teeth in pain. Then he becomes stiff. I asked your disciples to force out the demon, but they couldn't do it."

    ¹⁹Jesus said, "You people don't have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

    ²⁰They brought the boy, and as soon as the demon saw Jesus, it made the boy shake all over. He fell down and began rolling on the ground and foaming at the mouth.

    ²¹Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"

   The man answered, "Ever since he was a child. ²²The demon has often tried to kill him by throwing him into a fire or into water. Please have pity and help us if you can!"

    ²³Jesus replied, "Why do you say `if you can'? Anything is possible for someone who has faith!"

    ²⁴Right away the boy's father shouted, "I do have faith! Please help me to have even more."

    ²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was gathering fast, he spoke sternly to the evil spirit that had kept the boy from speaking or hearing. He said, "I order you to come out of the boy! Don't ever bother him again."

    ²⁶The spirit screamed and made the boy shake all over. Then it went out of him. The boy looked dead, and almost everyone said he was. ²⁷But Jesus took hold of his hand and helped him stand up.

    ²⁸After Jesus and the disciples had gone back home and were alone, they asked him, "Why couldn't we force out that demon?"

    ²⁹Jesus answered, "Only prayer can force out that kind of demon."

   

Footnotes:

1. Mark 9:12 Elijah certainly will come: See the note at 6.15.

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Psalm 43:1-5 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 43

A Prayer in Times of Trouble

 ¹Show that I am right, God!

   Defend me against everyone

   who doesn't know you;

   rescue me from each

   of those deceitful liars.

    ²I run to you

   for protection.

   Why have you turned me away?

   Why must enemies mistreat me

   and make me sad?

    ³Send your light and your truth

   to guide me.

   Let them lead me to your house

   on your sacred mountain.

    ⁴Then I will worship

   at your altar

   because you

   make me joyful.

   You are my God,

   and I will praise you.

   Yes, I will praise you

   as I play my harp.

    ⁵Why am I discouraged?

   Why am I restless?

   I trust you!

   And I will praise you again

   because you help me,

   and you are my God.

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Proverbs 10:18 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁸You can hide your hatred

   by telling lies,

   but you are a fool

   to spread lies.

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Verse of the Day

“Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.” - 1 John 3:18

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American historian who taught at Harvard University, pioneering social history and urban history, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. wrote, “Expelled from individual consciousness by the rush of change, history finds its revenge by stamping the collective unconsciousness with habits and values.”

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A Joke for Today

A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, observing his wife, looking at herself in the mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she'd like to have for her Birthday.

"I'd like to be six again", she replied, still looking in the mirror. On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Lucky Charms, and then took her to Six Flags theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Monster Roller Coaster, everything there was. Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down. He then took her to a McDonald's where he ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake. Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite candy, M&M's. What a fabulous adventure! Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted.

He leaned over his wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, "Well Dear, what was it like being six again??"

Her eyes slowly opened and her expression changed , "I meant my dress size!"

Bible Readings for February 26, 2019

Today our passages are Leviticus 19:1–20:21; Mark 8:11-38; Psalm 42:1-11; and Proverbs 10:17.  The readings are the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

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Leviticus 19-20:21 (Contemporary English Version)

Leviticus 19

Moral and Religious Laws

 ¹The LORD told Moses ²to say to the community of Israel:

   I am the LORD your God. I am holy, and you must be holy too! ^3-4Respect your father and your mother, honor the Sabbath, and don't make idols or images. I am the LORD your God.

    ⁵When you offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, ^a] be sure to follow my instructions. ⁶You may eat the meat either on the day of the sacrifice or on the next day, but you must burn anything left until the third day. ⁷If you eat any of it on the third day, the sacrifice will be disgusting to me, and I will reject it. ⁸In fact, you will be punished for not respecting what I say is holy, and you will no longer belong to the community of Israel. ⁹When you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing along the edges of your fields and don't pick up what falls on the ground. ¹⁰Don't strip your grapevines clean or gather the grapes that fall off the vines. Leave them for the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the LORD your God.

    ¹¹Do not steal or tell lies or cheat others.

    ¹²Do not misuse my name by making promises you don't intend to keep. I am the LORD your God.

    ¹³Do not steal anything or cheat anyone, and don't fail to pay your workers at the end of each day. ^b] 14I am the LORD your God, and I command you not to make fun of the deaf or to cause a blind person to stumble.

    ¹⁵Be fair, no matter who is on trial--don't favor either the poor or the rich.

    ¹⁶Don't be a gossip, but never hesitate to speak up in court, especially if your testimony can save someone's life. ^c] 17Don't hold grudges. On the other hand, it's wrong not to correct someone who needs correcting. ¹⁸Stop being angry and don't try to take revenge. I am the LORD, and I command you to love others as much as you love yourself.

    ¹⁹Breed your livestock animals only with animals of the same kind, and don't plant two kinds of seed in the same field or wear clothes made of different kinds of material.

    ²⁰If a man has sex with a slave woman who is promised in marriage to someone else, he must pay a fine, but they are not to be put to death. After all, she was still a slave at the time. ^d] 21-22The man must bring a ram to the entrance of the sacred tent and give it to a priest, who will then offer it as a sacrifice to me, so the man's sins will be forgiven. ²³After you enter the land, you will plant fruit trees, but you are not to eat any of their fruit for the first three years. ²⁴In the fourth year the fruit must be set apart, as an expression of thanks ²⁵to me, the LORD God. Do this, and in the fifth year, those trees will produce an abundant harvest of fruit for you to eat.

    ²⁶Don't eat the blood of any animal.

   Don't practice any kind of witchcraft.

    ^27-28I forbid you to shave any part of your head or beard or to cut and tattoo yourself as a way of worshiping the dead.

    ²⁹Don't let your daughters serve as temple prostitutes--this would bring disgrace both to them and the land.

    ³⁰I command you to respect the Sabbath and the place where I am worshiped.

    ³¹Don't make yourselves disgusting to me by going to people who claim they can talk to the dead.

    ³²I command you to show respect for older people and to obey me with fear and trembling.

    ³³Don't mistreat any foreigners who live in your land. ³⁴Instead, treat them as well as you treat citizens and love them as much as you love yourself. Remember, you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    ^35-36Use honest scales and don't cheat when you weigh or measure anything.

   I am the LORD your God. I rescued you from Egypt, ³⁷and I command you to obey my laws.

   

Leviticus 20

Penalties for Disobeying God's Laws

 ¹The LORD told Moses ²to say to the community of Israel:

   Death by stoning is the penalty for any citizens or foreigners in the country who sacrifice their children to the god Molech. ³They have disgraced both the place where I am worshiped and my holy name, and so I will turn against them and no longer let them belong to my people. ⁴Some of you may let them get away with human sacrifice, ⁵but not me. If any of you worship Molech, I will turn against you and your entire family, and I will no longer let you belong to my people.

    ⁶I will be your enemy if you go to someone who claims to speak with the dead, and I will destroy you from among my people. ⁷Dedicate yourselves to me and be holy because I am the LORD your God. ⁸I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.

    ⁹If you curse your father or mother, you will be put to death, and it will be your own fault.

    ¹⁰If any of you men have sex with another man's wife, both you and the woman will be put to death.

    ¹¹Having sex with one of your father's wives disgraces him. So both you and the woman will be put to death, just as you deserve. ¹²It isn't natural to have sex with your daughter-in-law, and both of you will be put to death, just as you deserve. ¹³It's disgusting for men to have sex with one another, and those who do will be put to death, just as they deserve. ¹⁴It isn't natural for a man to marry both a mother and her daughter, and so all three of them will be burned to death. ^15-16If any of you have sex with an animal, both you and the animal will be put to death, just as you deserve.

    ¹⁷If you marry one of your sisters, you will be punished, and the two of you will be disgraced by being openly forced out of the community. ¹⁸If you have sex with a woman during her monthly period, both you and the woman will be cut off from the people of Israel. ¹⁹The sisters of your father and mother are your own relatives, and you will be punished for having sex with any of them. ²⁰If you have sex with your uncle's wife, neither you nor she will ever have any children. ²¹And if you marry your sister-in-law, neither of you will ever have any children. ^e]

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 19:5 sacrifice. . . to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.
2. Leviticus 19:13 to pay. . . end of each day: Day laborers needed their wages to buy food for their evening meal, which was the main meal of the day.
3. Leviticus 19:16 but never. . . someone's life: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4. Leviticus 19:20 time: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 20.
5. Leviticus 20:21 And. . . children: According to Deuteronomy 25.5,6 a man was supposed to marry his brother's widow if his brother had died without having children. Otherwise, such marriages were forbidden (see also Matthew 22.23-33; Mark 12.18-27; Luke 20.27-40).

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Mark 8:11-38 (Contemporary English Version)

A Sign from Heaven

(Matthew 16.1-4)

 ¹¹The Pharisees came out and started an argument with Jesus. They wanted to test him by asking for a sign from heaven. ¹²Jesus groaned and said, "Why are you always looking for a sign? I can promise you that you will not be given one!" ¹³Then he left them. He again got into a boat and crossed over to the other side of the lake.

   

The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod

(Matthew 16.5-12)

 ¹⁴The disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵Jesus warned them, "Watch out! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod." ^a]

    ¹⁶The disciples talked this over and said to each other, "He must be saying this because we don't have any bread."

    ¹⁷Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you talking about not having any bread? Don't you understand? Are your minds still closed? ¹⁸Are your eyes blind and your ears deaf? Don't you remember ¹⁹how many baskets of leftovers you picked up when I fed those five thousand people with only five small loaves of bread?"

   "Yes," the disciples answered. "There were twelve baskets."

    ²⁰Jesus then asked, "And how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up when I broke seven small loaves of bread for those four thousand people?"

   "Seven," they answered.

    ²¹"Don't you know what I am talking about by now?" Jesus asked.

   

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

 ²²As Jesus and his disciples were going into Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. ²³Jesus took him by the hand and led him out of the village, where he spit into the man's eyes. He placed his hands on the blind man and asked him if he could see anything. ²⁴The man looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees walking around."

    ²⁵Once again Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes, and this time the man stared. His eyes were healed, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶Jesus said to him, "You may return home now, but don't go into the village."

   

Who Is Jesus?

(Matthew 16.13-20; Luke 9.18-21)

 ²⁷Jesus and his disciples went to the villages near the town of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, "What do people say about me?"

    ²⁸The disciples answered, "Some say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah. ^b] Others say you are one of the prophets."

    ²⁹Then Jesus asked them, "But who do you say I am?"

   "You are the Messiah!" Peter replied.

    ³⁰Jesus warned the disciples not to tell anyone about him.

   

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

(Matthew 16.21-28; Luke 9.22-27)

 ³¹Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, "The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life." ³²Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.

   Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. ³³But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, "Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God."

    ³⁴Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

   If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. ³⁵If you want to save your life, ^c] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. ³⁶What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? ³⁷What could you give to get back your soul?

    ³⁸Don't be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

   

Footnotes:

1. Mark 8:15 Herod: Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.
2. Mark 8:28 Elijah: See the note at 6.15.
3. Mark 8:35 life: In verses 35-37 the same Greek word is translated "life," "yourself," and "soul."

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Psalm 42:1-11 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 42

BOOK II

(Psalms 42-72)

(A special psalm for the people of Korah and for the music leader.)

Longing for God

 ¹As a deer gets thirsty

   for streams of water,

   I truly am thirsty

   for you, my God.

    ²In my heart, I am thirsty

   for you, the living God.

   When will I see your face?

    ³Day and night my tears

   are my only food,

   as everyone keeps asking,

   "Where is your God?"

    ⁴Sorrow floods my heart,

   when I remember

   leading the worshipers

   to your house. ^a] I can still hear them shout

   their joyful praises.

    ⁵Why am I discouraged?

   Why am I restless?

   I trust you!

   And I will praise you again

   because you help me,

    ⁶and you are my God.

   I am deeply discouraged

   as I think about you

   from where the Jordan begins

   at Mount Hermon

   and from Mount Mizar. ^b] 7Your vicious waves

   have swept over me

   like an angry ocean

   or a roaring waterfall.

    ⁸Every day, you are kind,

   and at night

   you give me a song

   as my prayer to you,

   the living LORD God.

    ⁹You are my mighty rock. ^c] Why have you forgotten me?

   Why must enemies mistreat me

   and make me sad?

    ¹⁰Even my bones are in pain,

   while all day long

   my enemies sneer and ask,

   "Where is your God?"

    ¹¹Why am I discouraged?

   Why am I restless?

   I trust you!

   And I will praise you again

   because you help me,

   and you are my God.

   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 42:4 leading. . . house: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Psalm 42:6 Mount Mizar: The location is not known.
3. Psalm 42:9 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.

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Proverbs 10:17 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁷Accept correction,

   and you will find life;

   reject correction,

   and you will miss the road.

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Verse of the Day

“God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life.” - 1 John 4:9

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

German-American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans, Levi Strauss wrote, “We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen not because they are 'good to eat' but because they are 'good to think.'”

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A Joke for Today

One Sunday a priest announced he was passing out miniature crosses made of palm leaves. "Put this cross in the room where your family argues most," he advised. "When you look at it, the cross will remind you that God is watching."

When the parishioners were leaving church, a woman walked up to the priest, shook his hand and said, "I'll take five."