Jeremiah 28:5-9

 

Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple. 6He said, "Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the Lord does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all our loved ones. 7But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people. 8The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, famine, and disease. 9So a prophet who predicts peace must carry the burden of proof. Only when his predictions come true can it be known that he is really from the Lord."  (NLT)

 

Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

 

L.  I will sing of the tender mercies of the Lord forever!

C.  Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.

L.  Your unfailing love will last forever.

C.  Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.

L.  The Lord said, "I have made a solemn agreement with David, my chosen servant.

C.  I have sworn this oath to him:  'I will establish your descendants as kings forever;

L.  they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.' "

C.   Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,

L.  for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

C.  They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness.

L.  You are their glorious strength. Our power is based on your favor.

C.  Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.  (NLT)

 

The second lesson

 

Romans 6:12-23

 

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. 13Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. 14Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace. 15So since God's grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16Don't you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval. 17Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you. 18Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.  19I speak this way, using the illustration of slaves and masters, because it is easy to understand. Before, you let yourselves be slaves of impurity and lawlessness. Now you must choose to be slaves of righteousness so that you will become holy.  20In those days, when you were slaves of sin, you weren't concerned with doing what was right. 21And what was the result? It was not good, since now you are ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.  (NLT)

 

The Gospel Lesson

 

Matthew 10:40-42

40 "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.  41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.  42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."  (NIV)