Old and New Testament Readings

English Standard Version (ESV)

WORDcrafter Ministries Edition

Old and New Testament Readings

Easy reading, Easy listening, Better Understanding

July 3, 2016 - Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

Hello, and welcome to WORDcrafter readings of Old and New Testament Scriptures for Sunday, July 3, 2016.

Readings during worship services in many churches typically include readings from the Old Testament, a Psalm, readings from the New Testament Epistles, and a reading from the Gospels. The following scriptures are being read in many Christian Churches who observe this Sunday, July 3, 2016, as the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost.

WORDcrafter transcripts and recordings are presented in Bible history order instead of the liturgical order that may be used in many church services.

The English Standard Version of the Bible is a faithful and accurate translation of the original Hebrew and Greek texts into modern English. The English Standard Version of the Bible is published by Crossway Bibles. Crossway Bibles is a ministry of Good News Publishers.

WORDcrafter Ministries has permission to edit the English Standard Version of the Bible for easier reading, easier listening, and better understanding. The following is the transcript of the audio edition of Old and New Testament readings produced by WORDcrafter ministries. Some words and phrases have been repeated or added to help the reader or listener better understand the scriptures.

Isaiah the prophet of God, lived and worked from about 740 years before Christ to about 700 to 680 years before Christ. He had witnessed the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel just a few miles away. The people of Israel were carried off into captivity by the Assyrians. Isaiah watched as the land of Israel became occupied by people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim (2 Kings 17:24). The cities, homes, fields, shops, and wells were now being enjoyed by people who did not build them. Idols of false gods occupied the places of worship.

Secular historians might say this migration of people is a normal occurrence when viewed over thousands of years. Some would say that the presence of many idols, sacrifices, and religious practices in one place is a model of tolerance.

Bible history says this fall of the nation Israel and the resettling of the land was the righteous judgment of God after centuries of patience with a rebellious people. Isaiah the prophet of God was one of God's spokesmen, warning the people of the Southern Kingdom of Judah and its capital Jerusalem that a similar judgment was in store for them if there was no repentance.

Please notice that the warnings of judgment for rebellious people are accompanied by promises of eternal blessing for faithful people.

Old Testament Prophecy

The Old Testament Prophecy for this day is from Isaiah, Chapter 66, verses 10 through 23.

Isaiah 66:10-23 (ESV)

10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
 all you who love her;
rejoice with Jerusalem in joy,
 all you who mourn over her;
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
 from Jerusalem's consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
 from her glorious abundance.”

12 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will extend peace to Jerusalem like a river,
 and I will extend the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you people who love Jerusalem and mourn for her shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
 so I, the Lord, will comfort you;
 you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
 your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,
 and the Lord shall show his indignation against his enemies.

Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord

15 “For behold, the Lord will come in fire,
 and his chariots will come like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury,
 and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment,
 and by his sword, will He enter with all flesh;
 and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

17 “Those people who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens of false gods, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, those people shall come to an end together, declares the Lord.

18 “For I, the Lord, know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And people of all nations and tongues shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I, the Lord, will set a sign among them. And from them, the people of all nations and tongues I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, to people who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan. I, the Lord, will send survivors to people of the coastlands far away, people that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And these survivors shall declare my glory among the nations. 

20 And these survivors of the nations and tongues shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. These survivors shall bring your brothers on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord.

This shall happen similar to the way the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 And some of the people of all nations and tongues also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.

22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
 that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
 so shall your offspring and your name remain.
23 From new moon to new moon,
 and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD

Old Testament Psalm

The Old Testament Psalm for this day is Psalm 66

Psalm 66:1-12 (ESV)How Awesome Are Your Deeds

66 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2  sing the glory of his name;
 give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
 So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

4 All the earth worships you
 and sings praises to you;
 they sing praises to your name.” Selah

5 Come and see what God has done:
 he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 God turned the Red sea into dry land;
  the nation of Israel passed through the Jordan river on foot.
There did we rejoice in God,
7  who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
 let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

8 Bless our God, O peoples;
 let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 our God has kept our soul among the living
 and has not let our feet slip.

10 For you, O God, have tested us;
 you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
 you, O God, laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men ride over our heads;
 we went through fire and through water;
yet you, O God, have brought us out to a place of abundance.

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD

Luke, chapter four and the following chapters record the beginnings of Jesus' ministry. Jesus called most of his disciples from around the sea of Galilee. Much of the early ministry of Jesus and the disciples occurred around the sea of Galilee and its cities. This area had been resettled by foreign immigrants who worshiped pagan gods a few centuries before Jesus' ministry. Did some of the pagan beliefs and practices still exist among the people even when Jesus was there?

Demons were cast out, Thousands were fed, a Roman officer's servant was healed, Jairus' daughter was brought back to life, a paralytic was healed, Jesus was transfigured. The apostles and disciples were being sent out to present the Kingdom of God and the Messiah Jesus. Three of Galilean cities where these amazing things happened are mentioned in Luke, chapter ten.

New Testament Gospel

The New Testament Gospel reading for this day is the gospel of Luke, chapter ten, verses 1 through 20.

Luke 10:1-20 (ESV) Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10 After this the Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 

2 And Jesus said to the seventy-two, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

 3 Jesus said to the seventy-two, "Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road."

 5 Jesus said, "Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there in that house, your peace will rest upon him. But if a son of peace is not there, your peace will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages."

Jesus said to the seventy-two, "Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and the people of the town receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in that town and say to the people of that town, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 

10 Jesus said, "But whenever you enter a town and the people of that town do not receive you, go into its streets and say to those people, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

13 Jesus said, "Woe to you, people of Chorazin! Woe to you, people of Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in the pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon, those pagan people would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for the people of Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, people of Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades."

16 Jesus said, "The one who hears you, my disciples, hears me, and the one who rejects you, my disciples, rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy-Two

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And Jesus said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you disciples and apostles authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." 20 Jesus said, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

THIS IS THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

New Testament Epistle

St. Paul offers important instructions for Christians who struggle with the truths that sins and transgressions are still everyday visitors in the lives of Christians. But St. Paul reminds the Galatians and us that forgiveness, restoration, brotherly love, spiritual growth, and peace are also everyday visitors for those who believe and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

The New Testament Episitle for this day is the Epistle of St. Paul to the new Christians in Galatia, chapter 6.

Galatians 6 (ESV) Bear One Another's Burdens

The apostle Paul writes to those who are of the household of faith in Jesus Christ, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore the transgressing brother in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

3 For if anyone, who is of the household of faith in Jesus Christ, thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each self-boasting person will have to bear his own load.

6 Let the one who is taught the word about Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God share all good things with the one who teaches. 

7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit of God's Son Jesus Christ will from the Spirit of God's Son reap eternal life. 

9 And let us Christians not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith in Jesus Christ."

Final Warning and Benediction

11 The apostle Paul's final words to the Galatians, "See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

12 It is those people who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and they want to do this to you only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those people who are circumcised do not themselves keep the whole law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 

14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. By the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ the world has been crucified to me, and I have been crucified to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule of faith only in Jesus Christ, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I, Paul, bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen."

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD

Almighty God, our maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess to you, that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We are much like the people of ancient Israel in the days of the prophet Isaiah and in the days of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our best efforts to be obedient fall short. Through the light of your word, and with the help of your Holy Spirit, we now know that, only through faith in your Son Jesus Christ can we be made acceptable to you. We come to you for your mercy and grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the sake of Jesus Christ, we ask you to forgive our sins.

Your word instructs us how to be the best children we can be. How to be the best brothers and sisters we can be. How to be the best parents we can be. How to be the best modern day prophets and apostles we can be to our loved ones who are close by and to others we have not yet met.

Help us to freely offer ourselves to your service. Help us to not depend on our own understanding and strength. Help us to depend on your presence, your wisdom, and your power.

In the name of the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.