Psalm 32:1-5
(A special psalm by David.)
The Joy of Forgiveness
1Our God, you bless everyone 
whose sins you forgive 
and wipe away. 
2You bless them by saying, 
"You told me your sins, 
without trying to hide them, 
and now I forgive you." 
3Before I confessed my sins, 
my bones felt limp, 
and I groaned all day long. 
4Night and day your hand 
weighed heavily on me, 
and my strength was gone 
as in the summer heat. 
5So I confessed my sins 
and told them all to you. 
I said, "I'll tell the LORD 
each one of my sins." 
Then you forgave me 
and took away my guilt. 

Psalm 51
(For the music leader. A psalm by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David had been with Bathsheba.)
A Prayer for Forgiveness
1You are kind, God! 
Please have pity on me. 
You are always merciful! 
Please wipe away my sins. 
2Wash me clean from all 
of my sin and guilt. 
3I know about my sins, 
and I cannot forget 
my terrible guilt. 
4You are really the one 
I have sinned against; 
I have disobeyed you 
and have done wrong. 
So it is right and fair for you 
to correct and punish me. 
5I have sinned and done wrong 
since the day I was born. 
6But you want complete honesty, 
so teach me true wisdom. 
7Wash me with hyssop [a] until I am clean 
and whiter than snow. 
8Let me be happy and joyful! 
You crushed my bones, 
now let them celebrate. 
9Turn your eyes from my sin 
and cover my guilt. 
10Create pure thoughts in me 
and make me faithful again. 
11Don't chase me away from you 
or take your Holy Spirit 
away from me. 
12Make me as happy as you did 
when you saved me; 
make me want to obey! 
13I will teach sinners your Law, 
and they will return to you. 
14Keep me from any deadly sin. 
Only you can save me! 
Then I will shout and sing 
about your power to save. 
15Help me to speak, 
and I will praise you, Lord. 
16Offerings and sacrifices 
are not what you want. 
17The way to please you 
is to feel sorrow 
deep in our hearts. 
This is the kind of sacrifice 
you won't refuse. 
18Please be willing, Lord, 
to help the city of Zion 
and to rebuild its walls. 
19Then you will be pleased 
with the proper sacrifices, 
and we will offer bulls 
on your altar once again. 

Footnotes:

a Psalm 51:7 hyssop: A small bush with bunches of small, white flowers. It was sometimes used as a symbol for making a person clean from sin. 

Proverbs 28:13
13If you don't confess your sins, 
you will be a failure. 
But God will be merciful 
if you confess your sins 
and give them up. 

Joel 2:12-17
The LORD's Invitation
12The LORD said: 
It isn't too late. 
You can still return to me 
with all your heart. 
Start crying and mourning! 
Go without eating. 
13Don't rip your clothes 
to show your sorrow. 
Instead, turn back to me 
with broken hearts. 
I am merciful, kind, and caring. 
I don't easily lose my temper, 
and I don't like to punish. 
14I am the LORD your God. 
Perhaps I will change my mind 
and treat you with mercy. 
Then you will be blessed 
with enough grain and wine 
for offering sacrifices to me. 
15Sound the trumpet on Zion! 
Call the people together. 
Show your sorrow 
by going without food. 
16Make sure that everyone 
is fit to worship me. [a] Bring adults, children, babies, 
and even bring newlyweds 
from their festivities. 
17Tell my servants, the priests, 
to cry inside the temple 
and to offer this prayer 
near the altar: [b] "Save your people, LORD God! 
Don't let foreign nations 
make jokes about us. 
Don't let them laugh and ask, 
`Where is your God?' " 



Footnotes:

a Joel 2:16 fit to worship me: This required going through certain kinds of ceremonies. 
b Joel 2:17 inside. . . altar: The Hebrew text has "between the porch and the altar," which is the place where the priests usually prayed for the people. 

Matthew 6:14-15
14If you forgive others for the wrongs they do to you, your Father in heaven will forgive you. 15But if you don't forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Luke 15 
One Sheep
(Matthew 18.12-14)
1Tax collectors [a] and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. 2So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, "This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them." 3Then Jesus told them this story: 
4If any of you has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won't you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? 5And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder 6and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, "Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep." 

7Jesus said, "In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over ninety-nine good people who don't need to." 

One Coin
8Jesus told the people another story: 
What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won't she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? 9Then she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, "Let's celebrate! I've found the coin I lost." 

10Jesus said, "In the same way God's angels are happy when even one person turns to him." 

Two Sons
11Jesus also told them another story: 
Once a man had two sons. 12The younger son said to his father, "Give me my share of the property." So the father divided his property between his two sons. 

13Not long after that, the younger son packed up everything he owned and left for a foreign country, where he wasted all his money in wild living. 14He had spent everything, when a bad famine spread through that whole land. Soon he had nothing to eat. 

15He went to work for a man in that country, and the man sent him out to take care of his pigs. [b] 16He would have been glad to eat what the pigs were eating, [c] but no one gave him a thing. 17Finally, he came to his senses and said, "My father's workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death! 18I will go to my father and say to him, `Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. 19I am no longer good enough to be called your son. Treat me like one of your workers.' " 

20The younger son got up and started back to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him. 

21The son said, "Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son." 

22But his father said to the servants, "Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals [d] for his feet. 23Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate. 24This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found." And they began to celebrate. 25The older son had been out in the field. But when he came near the house, he heard the music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants over and asked, "What's going on here?" 

27The servant answered, "Your brother has come home safe and sound, and your father ordered us to kill the best calf." 28The older brother got so angry that he would not even go into the house. 

His father came out and begged him to go in. 29But he said to his father, "For years I have worked for you like a slave and have always obeyed you. But you have never even given me a little goat, so that I could give a dinner for my friends. 30This other son of yours wasted your money on prostitutes. And now that he has come home, you ordered the best calf to be killed for a feast." 

31His father replied, "My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we should be glad and celebrate! Your brother was dead, but he is now alive. He was lost and has now been found." 

Footnotes:

a Luke 15:1 Tax collectors: See the note at 3.12. 
b Luke 15:15 pigs: The Jewish religion taught that pigs were not fit to eat or even to touch. A Jewish man would have felt terribly insulted if he had to feed pigs, much less eat with them. 
c Luke 15:16 what the pigs were eating: The Greek text has " (bean) pods," which came from a tree in Palestine. These were used to feed animals. Poor people sometimes ate them too. 
d Luke 15:22 ring. . . sandals: These show that the young man's father fully accepted him as his son. A ring was a sign of high position in the family. Sandals showed that he was a son instead of a slave, since slaves did not usually wear sandals. 

Philemon 1 
1From Paul, who is in jail for serving Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is like a brother because of our faith. 
Philemon, you work with us and are very dear to us. This letter is to you 

2and to the church that meets in your home. It is also to our dear friend Apphia and to Archippus, who serves the Lord as we do. 

3I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace! 

Philemon's Love and Faith
4Philemon, each time I mention you in my prayers, I thank God. 
5I hear about your faith in our Lord Jesus and about your love for all of God's people. 

6As you share your faith with others, I pray that they may come to know all the blessings Christ has given us. 

7My friend, your love has made me happy and has greatly encouraged me. It has also cheered the hearts of God's people. 

Paul Speaks to Philemon about Onesimus
8Christ gives me the courage to tell you what to do. 
9But I would rather ask you to do it simply because of love. Yes, as someone [a] in jail for Christ, 

10I beg you to help Onesimus! [b] He is like a son to me because I led him to Christ here in jail. 

11Before this, he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. 

12Sending Onesimus back to you makes me very sad. 

13I would like to keep him here with me, where he could take your place in helping me while I am here in prison for preaching the good news. 

14But I won't do anything unless you agree to it first. I want your act of kindness to come from your heart, and not be something you feel forced to do. 

15Perhaps Onesimus was taken from you for a little while so that you could have him back for good, 

16but not as a slave. Onesimus is much more than a slave. To me he is a dear friend, but to you he is even more, both as a person and as a follower of the Lord. 

17If you consider me a friend because of Christ, then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. 

18If he has cheated you or owes you anything, charge it to my account. 

19With my own hand I write: I, PAUL, WILL PAY YOU BACK. But don't forget that you owe me your life. 

20My dear friend and follower of Christ our Lord, please cheer me up by doing this for me. 

21I am sure you will do all I have asked, and even more. 

22Please get a room ready for me. I hope your prayers will be answered, and I can visit you. 

23Epaphras is also here in jail for being a follower of Christ Jesus. He sends his greetings, 

24and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, who work together with me. 

25I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you! 



Footnotes:

a Philemon 1:9 someone: Greek "a messenger" or "an old man." 
b Philemon 1:10 Onesimus: In Greek this name means "useful." 

Hebrews 4:14-16
Jesus Is the Great High Priest
14We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. 15Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. 

1 John 1:5-10
God Is Light
5Jesus told us that God is light and doesn't have any darkness in him. Now we are telling you. 
6If we say that we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth. 7But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. 8If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. 9But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. 

10If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts. [a] 

Footnotes:

a 1 John 1:10 and his message isn't in our hearts: Or "because we have not accepted his message."