Readings

1 Kings 17:17-2417

¹⁷ Later on, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became terribly sick, so much so that he had no breath left in him. ¹⁸ She said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O you man of God? Have you come to remind me of my sin and to kill my son?”

¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son,” and he took him out of her arms and carried him up to a loft where he slept and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ He cried to the Lord and said, “O Lord, my God, have You brought tragedy upon the widow with whom I live by killing her son?” ²¹ And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord and said, “O Lord, my God, I pray that You let this child’s soul come into him again.”

²² The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he was revived. ²³ Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and returned him to his mother, and Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”

²⁴ The woman said to Elijah, “Now, because of this, I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth!”

Psalm 30 MEV

A Psalm of David. A Song at the dedication of the temple.

¹ I will extol You, O Lord, for You have drawn me up,
     and have not caused my foes to rejoice over me.
² O Lord my God, I cried to You,
     and You healed me.
³ O Lord, You have brought up my soul from the grave;
     You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

⁴ Sing to the Lord, O you saints of His,
     and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.
⁵ For His anger endures but a moment,
     in His favor is life;
weeping may endure for a night,
     but joy comes in the morning.

⁶ In my prosperity I said,
     “I will never be moved.”
⁷ Lord, by Your favor
     You had set me strong as a mountain;
You hid Your face,
     and I was terrified.

⁸ I cried to You, O Lord,
     and to the Lord I made supplication:
⁹ “What profit is there in my death,
     if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust give You thanks?
     Will it declare Your truth?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me;
     Lord, be my helper.”

¹¹ For You have turned my mourning into dancing;
     You have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
¹² so that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
     O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Ephesians 3:13-21

¹³ Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

To Know the Love of Christ

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, power to be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Luke 7:11-17

The Raising of the Widow’s Son

¹¹ The following day He went into a city called Nain, and many of His disciples and a large crowd went with Him. ¹² When He came near the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

¹⁴ Then He came and touched the coffin, and those who carried it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” ¹⁵ He who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother.

¹⁶ Fear came on everyone. And they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us!” and “God has visited His people!” ¹⁷ This rumor of Him went throughout all Judea and the surrounding region.