First Sunday in Lent

FIRST READING

Genesis 9:8-17

Verse 8. Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, Verse 9. “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, Verse 10. and with every living creature that was with you — the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth— every living thing that came out of the ark. Verse 11. And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Verse 12. And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: Verse 13. I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Verse 14. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, Verse 15. I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Verse 16. And whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is on the earth.” Verse 17. So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and every creature on the earth.”

PSALM

Psalm 25:1-10

Of David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.

Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who engage in treachery without cause will be disgraced.

Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.

Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You.

Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age.

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD.

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way.

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.

All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees.

SECOND READING

1 Peter 3:18-22

Verse 18. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit, Verse 19. in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison Verse 20. who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water. Verse 21. And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Verse 22. who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

GOSPEL

Mark 1:9-15

Verse 9. In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Verse 10. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. Verse 11. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” Verse 12. At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, Verse 13. and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him. Verse 14. After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. Verse 15. “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”