3rd Sunday of Lent.

Verse for the Week: Luke 9:62.
Jesus said, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
Call to Worship: Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
4 He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the mightiest mountains.
5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land, too.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, 7 for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.
If only you would listen to his voice today!
8 The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
9 For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw everything I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

1 來吧，我們來頌讚上主！來向拯救我們的保護者歡呼！2 我們要以感謝的心到他面前；我們要向他歡唱頌讚之歌。3 因為上主是大能的上帝，是超越萬神的大君王。4 他統轄全地，從最深的地穴到最高的山峰。5 他管理自己所造的海洋；他管理親手塑造的陸地。6 來吧，我們來俯伏敬拜他！來向創造我們的上主跪拜！7 他是我們的上帝；我們是他牧養的子民，是他帶領的羊群。你們現在聽他所說的話吧：8 不要頑固，像當年在米利巴的祖先；
不要像他們在曠野、在瑪撒時一樣，9 雖然他們看見了我為他們做的事，仍然在那裏考驗我，試探我。10 四十年之久，我厭惡這些人。我說：他們是多麼不忠！他們不服從我的命令。11 因此我在憤怒下發誓說：他們絕不能進入我本來要賜給他們安居的地方。

LENTEN VERSE: Psalm 25:15
“My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.”
我時刻仰望上主；他救我脫離險境。

LENTEN READING 5: Mark 15:1–5,15. Jesus’ Trial before Pilate
1 Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council—met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor. 2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.” 3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, 4 and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” 5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise. 15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.
1 第二天一早，祭司長匆忙地跟長老、經學教師，和全議會商議，定好了他們的計劃。他們把耶穌綁起來，押走，交給彼拉多。2 彼拉多問他：「你是猶太人的王嗎？」 耶穌回答：「這是你說的。」3 祭司長控告耶穌許多事，4 彼拉多就再盤問耶穌說：「你看，他們控告你這許多罪狀，你不答辯嗎？」5 耶穌仍然一言不發；彼拉多非常詫異。15 彼拉多為了討好群眾，就釋放巴拉巴給他們，又命令把耶穌鞭打了，然後交給人去釘十字架。

LENTEN READING 6: John 19:1–3. Jesus Mocked and Beaten
1 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2 The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. 3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.
1 於是，彼拉多命令把耶穌帶去，鞭打了。2 兵士用荊棘編成一頂冠冕，戴在他頭上，又給他穿上紫色的袍子。3 他們上前對他說：「猶太人的王萬歲！」然後用手掌打他。

Scripture: Mark 11:12–21; 12:38–44
12 The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it. 15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the temple as a marketplace. 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” 18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching. 19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city. 20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”

12:38 Jesus said: “Beware of the teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. 39 And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. 40 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.” 41 Jesus sat down near the treasury in the temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had, all she had to live on.”

12 第二天，他們從伯大尼回城；在路上，耶穌餓了。13 他看見前面不遠的地方有一棵無花果樹，長滿了葉子，就走過去，想看看樹上有沒有果子。他到了樹前，只看見葉子，因為那時候不是結無花果的季節。14 耶穌對著那棵樹說：「從今以後，再不會有人吃你的果子！」 他的門徒都聽見了這話。15 他們到了耶路撒冷，耶穌一進聖殿就把所有在聖殿裏作買賣的人都趕出去。他推倒兌換銀錢的人的桌子和販賣鴿子的人的凳子，16 也不准任何人扛抬雜物在聖殿的院子穿來穿去。17 他教導他們說：「聖經記載上帝的話說：『我的聖殿要作萬民禱告的殿』，你們卻把它變成賊窩！」18 祭司長和經學教師聽見這話，就想法子要殺害耶穌。但是他們怕他，因為群眾都欽佩他的教導。19 傍晚，耶穌就和門徒到城外去。20 第二天一早，耶穌和門徒又從那條路經過，看見那棵無花果樹連根都枯死了。21 彼得記起這事的經過，就對耶穌說：「老師，你看，你所詛咒的無花果樹枯死了。 12:38 在教導他們的時候，他說：「要提防經學教師；他們喜歡穿長袍招搖過市，喜歡人家在公共場所向他們致敬問安，39 又喜歡會堂裏的特別座位和宴會上的首座。40 他們吞沒了寡婦的家產，然後表演長篇的禱告。他們一定受到更嚴厲的懲罰！」41耶穌坐在聖殿庫房的對面，看大家怎樣投錢在奉獻箱裏。很多有錢人投進許多錢；42 後來一個窮寡婦上來，投進兩個小銅板，約等於一文錢。43 耶穌把他的門徒都叫過來，對他們說：「我實在告訴你們，這個窮寡婦所投進奉獻箱的比其他的人都多。44 別人是從他們的財富中捐出有餘的；可是她已經很窮，卻把自己全部的生活費用都獻上了。」