Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Praise to the Sovereign Lord
2 (B)Clouds and darkness surround Him;
(C)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 (D)A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about.
4 (E)His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
5 (F)The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 (G)The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.
7 (H)Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols.
(I)Worship Him, all you gods.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
And the daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9 For You, Lord, are (J)most high above all the earth;
(K)You are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, (L)hate evil!
(M)He preserves the souls of His saints;
(N)He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 (O)Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 (P)Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
(Q)And give thanks [b]at the remembrance of [c]His holy name.
Prologue
1 The former account I made, O (A)Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 (B)until the day in which [a]He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit (C)had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 (D)to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many [b]infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
The Holy Spirit Promised
4 (E)And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have (F)heard from Me; 5 (G)for John truly baptized with water, (H)but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, (I)“It is not for you to (J)know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 (K)But you shall receive power (L)when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and (M)you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and (N)Samaria, and to the (O)end of the earth.”
Jesus Ascends to Heaven(P)
9 (Q)Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, (R)He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them (S)in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, (T)will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Praise to God, the Ruler of the Earth
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
47 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great (A)King over all the earth.
3 (B)He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
4 He will choose our (C)inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
The Eternal Reign of the Lord
93 The (A)Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord is clothed,
(B)He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be [a]moved.
2 (C)Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
3 The floods have [b]lifted up, O Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their waves.
4 (D)The Lord on high is mightier
Than the noise of many waters,
Than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Your testimonies are very sure;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O Lord, [c]forever.
Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15 Therefore I also, (A)after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 (B)do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that (C)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, (D)may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 (E)the eyes of your [a]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is (F)the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, (G)according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when (H)He raised Him from the dead and (I)seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 (J)far above all (K)principality[b] and [c]power and [d]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And (L)He put all things under His feet, and gave Him (M)to be head over all things to the church, 23 (N)which is His body, (O)the fullness of Him (P)who fills all in all.
The Scriptures Opened
44 Then He said to them, (A)“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And (B)He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, (C)“Thus it is written, [a]and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and (D)remission of sins should be preached in His name (E)to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And (F)you are witnesses of these things. 49 (G)Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city [b]of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
The Ascension(H)
50 And He led them out (I)as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 (J)Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 (K)And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually (L)in the temple [c]praising and blessing God. [d]Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.