Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Exodus 33:12-23

Verse 12. Then Moses said to the LORD, “Look, You have been telling me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have found favor in My sight.’ Verse 13. Now if indeed I have found favor in Your sight, please let me know Your ways, that I may know You and find favor in Your sight. Remember that this nation is Your people.” Verse 14. And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Verse 15. “If Your Presence does not go with us,” Moses replied, “do not lead us up from here. Verse 16. For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?” Verse 17. So the LORD said to Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.” Verse 18. Then Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.” Verse 19. “I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name — the LORD — in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Verse 20. But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.” Verse 21. The LORD continued, “There is a place near Me where you are to stand upon a rock, Verse 22. and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Verse 23. Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”

PSALM

Psalm 99

The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!

Great is the LORD in Zion; He is exalted above all the peoples.

Let them praise Your great and awesome name — He is holy!

The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.

Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy!

Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called to the LORD and He answered.

He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them.

O LORD our God, You answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, yet an avenger of their misdeeds.

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Isaiah 45:1-7

Verse 1. This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut: Verse 2. “I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. Verse 3. I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name. Verse 4. For the sake of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I call you by name; I have given you a title of honor, though you have not known Me. Verse 5. I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me, Verse 6. so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. Verse 7. I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.

PSALM

Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13)

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.

Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty fill His sanctuary.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and enter His courts.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.

SECOND READING

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Verse 1. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. Verse 2. We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers Verse 3. and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 4. Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you, Verse 5. because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction — just as you know we lived among you for your sake. Verse 6. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering. Verse 7. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Verse 8. For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more. Verse 9. For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God Verse 10. and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead — Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.

GOSPEL

Matthew 22:15-22

Verse 15. Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words. Verse 16. They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance. Verse 17. So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Verse 18. But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me? Verse 19. Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. Verse 20. “Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?” Verse 21. “Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Verse 22. And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.