Today our passages are Leviticus 7:28–9:6; Mark 3:31–4:25; Psalm 37:12-29; and Proverbs 10:5. 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.
Leviticus 7:28-9:6 (Contemporary English Version)
28The LORD also told Moses 29-30to say to the people of Israel:
If you want to offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, you must bring the part to be burned and lay it on the bronze altar. But you must first lift up [a] the choice ribs with their fat to show that the offering is dedicated to me. 31A priest from Aaron's family will then send the fat up in smoke, but the ribs belong to the priests. 32-33The upper joint of the right hind leg is for the priest who offers the blood and the fat of the animal. 34I have decided that the people of Israel must always give the choice ribs and the upper joint of the right hind leg to Aaron's descendants 35who have been ordained as priests to serve me. 36This law will never change. I am the LORD! 37These are the ceremonies for sacrifices to please the LORD, to give him thanks, and to ask his blessing or his forgiveness, as well as the ceremonies for those sacrifices that demand a payment and for the sacrifices that are offered when priests are ordained. 38While Moses and the people of Israel were in the desert at Mount Sinai, the LORD commanded them to start offering these sacrifices.
4Moses obeyed the LORD, and when everyone had come together, 5he said, " We are here to follow the LORD's instructions."
6After Moses told Aaron and his sons to step forward, he had them wash themselves. 7He put the priestly shirt and robe on Aaron and wrapped the sash around his waist. Then he put the sacred vest on Aaron and fastened it with the finely woven belt. 8Next, he put on Aaron the sacred breastpiece that was used in learning what the LORD wanted his people to do. 9He placed the turban on Aaron's head, and on the front of the turban was the narrow strip of thin gold as a sign of his dedication to the LORD.
10Moses then dedicated the sacred tent and everything in it to the LORD by sprinkling them with some of the oil for ordination. 11He sprinkled the bronze altar seven times, and he sprinkled its equipment, as well as the large bronze bowl and its base. 12He also poured some of the oil on Aaron's head to dedicate him to the LORD. 13At last, Moses dressed Aaron's sons in their shirts, then tied sashes around them and put special caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded.
14Moses led out the bull that was to be sacrificed for sin, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. 15After it was killed, Moses dipped a finger in the blood and smeared some of it on each of the four corners of the bronze altar, before pouring out the rest at the foot of the altar. This purified the altar and made it a fit place for offering the sacrifice for sin. 16Moses then took the fat on the bull's insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and sent them up in smoke on the altar fire. 17Finally, he took the skin and the flesh of the bull, together with the food still in its stomach, and burned them outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded.
18Moses led out the ram for the sacrifice to please the LORD. [b] After Aaron and his sons had laid their hands on its head, 19Moses killed the ram and splattered its blood against the four sides of the altar. 20-21Moses had the animal cut up, and he washed its insides and hind legs. Then he laid the head, the fat, and the rest of the ram on the altar and sent them up in smoke with a smell that pleased the LORD. All this was done just as the LORD had commanded. 22Moses led out the ram for the ceremony of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head, 23and it was killed. Moses smeared some of its blood on Aaron's right earlobe, some on his right thumb, and some on the big toe of his right foot. 24Moses did the same thing for Aaron's sons, before splattering the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar. 25He took the animal's fat tail, the fat on its insides, and the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and the right hind leg. 26Then he took from a basket some of each of the three kinds of bread [c] that had been made without yeast and had been dedicated to the LORD. 27Moses placed the bread on top of the meat and gave it all to Aaron and his sons, who lifted it up [d] to show that it was dedicated to the LORD. 28After this, Moses placed it on the fires of the altar and sent it up in smoke with a smell that pleased the LORD. This was part of the ordination ceremony. 29Moses lifted up the choice ribs of the ram to show that they were dedicated to the LORD. This was the part that the LORD had said Moses could have. 30Finally, Moses sprinkled the priestly clothes of Aaron and his sons with some of the oil for ordination and with some of the blood from the altar. So Aaron and his sons, together with their priestly clothes, were dedicated to the LORD.
31Moses said to Aaron and his sons:
The LORD told me that you must boil this meat at the entrance to the sacred tent and eat it there with the bread. 32Burn what is left over 33and stay near the entrance to the sacred tent until the ordination ceremony ends seven days from now. 34We have obeyed the LORD in everything that has been done today, so that your sins may be forgiven. [e]35The LORD has told me that you must stay near the entrance to the tent for seven days and nights, or else you will die. 36Aaron and his sons obeyed everything that the LORD had told Moses they must do.
The LORD has ordered you to do this, so that he may appear to you in all of his glory.
If you want to offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, you must bring the part to be burned and lay it on the bronze altar. But you must first lift up [a] the choice ribs with their fat to show that the offering is dedicated to me. 31A priest from Aaron's family will then send the fat up in smoke, but the ribs belong to the priests. 32-33The upper joint of the right hind leg is for the priest who offers the blood and the fat of the animal. 34I have decided that the people of Israel must always give the choice ribs and the upper joint of the right hind leg to Aaron's descendants 35who have been ordained as priests to serve me. 36This law will never change. I am the LORD! 37These are the ceremonies for sacrifices to please the LORD, to give him thanks, and to ask his blessing or his forgiveness, as well as the ceremonies for those sacrifices that demand a payment and for the sacrifices that are offered when priests are ordained. 38While Moses and the people of Israel were in the desert at Mount Sinai, the LORD commanded them to start offering these sacrifices.
Leviticus 8
The Ceremony for Ordaining Priests
(Exodus 29.1-37)
1The LORD said to Moses: 2Send for Aaron and his sons, as well as their priestly clothes, the oil for ordination, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and a basket of bread made without yeast. 3Then bring the whole community of Israel together at the entrance to the sacred tent.4Moses obeyed the LORD, and when everyone had come together, 5he said, " We are here to follow the LORD's instructions."
6After Moses told Aaron and his sons to step forward, he had them wash themselves. 7He put the priestly shirt and robe on Aaron and wrapped the sash around his waist. Then he put the sacred vest on Aaron and fastened it with the finely woven belt. 8Next, he put on Aaron the sacred breastpiece that was used in learning what the LORD wanted his people to do. 9He placed the turban on Aaron's head, and on the front of the turban was the narrow strip of thin gold as a sign of his dedication to the LORD.
10Moses then dedicated the sacred tent and everything in it to the LORD by sprinkling them with some of the oil for ordination. 11He sprinkled the bronze altar seven times, and he sprinkled its equipment, as well as the large bronze bowl and its base. 12He also poured some of the oil on Aaron's head to dedicate him to the LORD. 13At last, Moses dressed Aaron's sons in their shirts, then tied sashes around them and put special caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded.
14Moses led out the bull that was to be sacrificed for sin, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. 15After it was killed, Moses dipped a finger in the blood and smeared some of it on each of the four corners of the bronze altar, before pouring out the rest at the foot of the altar. This purified the altar and made it a fit place for offering the sacrifice for sin. 16Moses then took the fat on the bull's insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and sent them up in smoke on the altar fire. 17Finally, he took the skin and the flesh of the bull, together with the food still in its stomach, and burned them outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded.
18Moses led out the ram for the sacrifice to please the LORD. [b] After Aaron and his sons had laid their hands on its head, 19Moses killed the ram and splattered its blood against the four sides of the altar. 20-21Moses had the animal cut up, and he washed its insides and hind legs. Then he laid the head, the fat, and the rest of the ram on the altar and sent them up in smoke with a smell that pleased the LORD. All this was done just as the LORD had commanded. 22Moses led out the ram for the ceremony of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head, 23and it was killed. Moses smeared some of its blood on Aaron's right earlobe, some on his right thumb, and some on the big toe of his right foot. 24Moses did the same thing for Aaron's sons, before splattering the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar. 25He took the animal's fat tail, the fat on its insides, and the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and the right hind leg. 26Then he took from a basket some of each of the three kinds of bread [c] that had been made without yeast and had been dedicated to the LORD. 27Moses placed the bread on top of the meat and gave it all to Aaron and his sons, who lifted it up [d] to show that it was dedicated to the LORD. 28After this, Moses placed it on the fires of the altar and sent it up in smoke with a smell that pleased the LORD. This was part of the ordination ceremony. 29Moses lifted up the choice ribs of the ram to show that they were dedicated to the LORD. This was the part that the LORD had said Moses could have. 30Finally, Moses sprinkled the priestly clothes of Aaron and his sons with some of the oil for ordination and with some of the blood from the altar. So Aaron and his sons, together with their priestly clothes, were dedicated to the LORD.
31Moses said to Aaron and his sons:
The LORD told me that you must boil this meat at the entrance to the sacred tent and eat it there with the bread. 32Burn what is left over 33and stay near the entrance to the sacred tent until the ordination ceremony ends seven days from now. 34We have obeyed the LORD in everything that has been done today, so that your sins may be forgiven. [e]35The LORD has told me that you must stay near the entrance to the tent for seven days and nights, or else you will die. 36Aaron and his sons obeyed everything that the LORD had told Moses they must do.
Leviticus 9
The First Sacrifices Offered by Aaron and His Sons
1Eight days later Moses called together Aaron, his sons, and Israel's leaders. 2Then he said to Aaron: Find a young bull and a ram that have nothing wrong with them. Offer the bull to the LORD as a sacrifice for sin and the ram as a sacrifice to please him. [f] 3Tell the people of Israel that they must offer sacrifices as well. They must offer a goat [g] as a sacrifice for sin, and a bull and a ram as a sacrifice to please the LORD. The bull and the ram must be a year old and have nothing wrong with them. 4Then the people must offer a bull and a ram as a sacrifice to ask the LORD's blessing [h] and also a grain sacrifice [i] mixed with oil. Do this, because the LORD will appear to you today. 5After the animals and the grain had been brought to the front of the sacred tent, and the people were standing there in the presence of the LORD, 6Moses said:The LORD has ordered you to do this, so that he may appear to you in all of his glory.
Footnotes:
- Leviticus 7:29 lift up: Or " wave."
- Leviticus 8:18 sacrifice to please the LORD: See the note at 1.1-3.
- Leviticus 8:26 three kinds of bread: Made from the finest wheat flour; olive oil was mixed into part of the dough, and some of it was made into thin wafers brushed with oil (see Exodus 29.2,3).
- Leviticus 8:27 lifted it up: See the note at 7.29,30.
- Leviticus 8:34 forgiven: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 34.
- Leviticus 9:2 sacrifice to please him: See the note at 1.1-3.
- Leviticus 9:3 goat: See the note at 1.1-3.
- Leviticus 9:4 to ask the LORD's blessing: See the note at 3.1.
- Leviticus 9:4 grain sacrifice: To give thanks to the LORD (see the note at 2.1).
Mark 3:31-4:25 (Contemporary English Version)
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
(Matthew 12.46-50; Luke 8.19-21)
31Jesus' mother and brothers came and stood outside. Then they sent someone with a message for him to come out to them. 32The crowd that was sitting around Jesus told him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters [a] are outside and want to see you." 33Jesus asked, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" 34Then he looked at the people sitting around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 35Anyone who obeys God is my brother or sister or mother."Mark 4
A Story about a Farmer
(Matthew 13.1-9; Luke 8.4-8)
1The next time Jesus taught beside Lake Galilee, a big crowd gathered. It was so large that he had to sit in a boat out on the lake, while the people stood on the shore. 2He used stories to teach them many things, and this is part of what he taught: 3Now listen! A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. 4While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. 5Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. 7Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked out the plants. So they did not produce any grain. 8But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants grew and produced thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as much as was scattered.9Then Jesus said, "If you have ears, pay attention."
Why Jesus Used Stories
(Matthew 13.10-17; Luke 8.9,10)
10When Jesus was alone with the twelve apostles and some others, they asked him about these stories. 11He answered: I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories. 12The reason is,"These people will look
and look, but never see.
They will listen and listen,
but never understand.
If they did,
they would turn to God,
and he would forgive them."
Jesus Explains the Story about the Farmer
(Matthew 13.18-23; Luke 8.11-15)
13Jesus told them: If you don't understand this story, you won't understand any others. 14What the farmer is spreading is really the message about the kingdom. 15The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But Satan soon comes and snatches it away from them. 16The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away. 17But they don't have any roots, and they don't last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.18The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. 19But they start worrying about the needs of this life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 20The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and welcome the message. They produce thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as much as was planted.
Light
(Luke 8.16-18)
21Jesus also said: You don't light a lamp and put it under a clay pot or under a bed. Don't you put a lamp on a lampstand? 22There is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret that will not be well known. 23If you have ears, pay attention!24Listen carefully to what you hear! The way you treat others will be the way you will be treated--and even worse. 25Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose what little they have.
Footnotes:
- Mark 3:32 and sisters: These words are not in some manuscripts.
Psalm 37:12-29 (Contemporary English Version)
12Merciless people make plots
against good people
and snarl like animals,
13but the Lord laughs and knows
their time is coming soon.
14The wicked kill with swords
and shoot arrows
to murder
the poor and the needy
and all who do right.
15But they will be killed
by their own swords,
and their arrows
will be broken.
16It is better to live right
and be poor
than to be sinful and rich.
17The wicked will lose all
of their power,
but the LORD gives strength
to everyone who is good.
18Those who obey the LORD
are daily in his care,
and what he has given them
will be theirs forever.
19They won't be in trouble
when times are bad,
and they will have plenty
when food is scarce.
20Wicked people are enemies
of the LORD
and will vanish like smoke
from a field on fire.
21An evil person borrows
and never pays back;
a good person is generous
and never stops giving.
22Everyone the LORD blesses
will receive the land;
everyone the LORD curses
will be destroyed.
23If you do what the LORD wants,
he will make certain
each step you take is sure.
24The LORD will hold your hand,
and if you stumble,
you still won't fall.
25As long as I can remember,
good people have never
been left helpless,
and their children have never
gone begging for food.
26They gladly give and lend,
and their children
turn out good.
27If you stop sinning
and start doing right,
you will keep living
and be secure forever.
28The LORD loves justice,
and he won't ever desert
his faithful people.
He always protects them,
but destroys the children
of the wicked.
29God's people will own the land
and live here forever.
against good people
and snarl like animals,
13but the Lord laughs and knows
their time is coming soon.
14The wicked kill with swords
and shoot arrows
to murder
the poor and the needy
and all who do right.
15But they will be killed
by their own swords,
and their arrows
will be broken.
16It is better to live right
and be poor
than to be sinful and rich.
17The wicked will lose all
of their power,
but the LORD gives strength
to everyone who is good.
18Those who obey the LORD
are daily in his care,
and what he has given them
will be theirs forever.
19They won't be in trouble
when times are bad,
and they will have plenty
when food is scarce.
20Wicked people are enemies
of the LORD
and will vanish like smoke
from a field on fire.
21An evil person borrows
and never pays back;
a good person is generous
and never stops giving.
22Everyone the LORD blesses
will receive the land;
everyone the LORD curses
will be destroyed.
23If you do what the LORD wants,
he will make certain
each step you take is sure.
24The LORD will hold your hand,
and if you stumble,
you still won't fall.
25As long as I can remember,
good people have never
been left helpless,
and their children have never
gone begging for food.
26They gladly give and lend,
and their children
turn out good.
27If you stop sinning
and start doing right,
you will keep living
and be secure forever.
28The LORD loves justice,
and he won't ever desert
his faithful people.
He always protects them,
but destroys the children
of the wicked.
29God's people will own the land
and live here forever.
Proverbs 10:5 (Contemporary English Version)
5At harvest season
it's smart to work hard,
but stupid to sleep.
Verse of the Day
“Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts.” - 1 John 4:11-12
it's smart to work hard,
but stupid to sleep.
Verse of the Day
“Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts.” - 1 John 4:11-12
Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.
Thought for the DayEnglish stage and film actor, Cedric Hardwicke wrote, “I believe that God felt sorry for actors so he created Hollywood to give them a place in the sun and a swimming pool. The price they had to pay was to surrender their talent.”
A Joke for Today
At the urging of his doctor, Bill moved to Texas.
After settling in, he met a neighbor who was also an older man.
“Say, is this really a healthy place?”
“It sure is,” the man replied.
“When I first arrived here I couldn't say one word. I had hardly any hair on my head. I didn't have the strength to walk across a room and I had to be lifted out of bed.”
“That's wonderful!” said Bill. “How long have you been here?”
“I was born here.”
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