Book of Common Prayer

¹⁴ I am writing to you about these matters even though I hope to come to you soon.

¹⁵ Then if I do not come right away, you will know what people should do in God's family. This family is the church of the living God. The church people hold what is true and keeps it strong.

¹⁶ God's plan is very great as we all know. Here it is: we saw God as a man; God's Spirit proved he was right; angels saw him; the nations were told about him; people of the world believed in him; God took him up into heaven.

4 The Spirit of God says very plainly that in later times some people will stop believing. They will listen to other spirits that fool them, and to the teaching of bad spirits.

² Men will tell lies and make people believe they are something when they are not. These men will have made their hearts so hard that they will not know they are doing wrong.

³ They will teach people that they should not marry. They will teach them not to eat some kinds of food. God made the food and he wanted people to take it and thank him for it. Those who believe and know what is true do this.

⁴ Everything that God has made for food is good. It is all right to eat it if people thank God for it.

⁵ God's word and asking him to bless the food makes it good for people to eat.

²⁴ Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵ While people were sleeping, a bad man came and sowed weeds among the good seed. Then he went away.

²⁶ The good seed grew and the plants gave more seeds. Then the weeds grew too.

²⁷ The servants came and said to the man who owned the field, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How did the weeds get here?"

²⁸ `He answered them, "A bad man has done this." They asked him, "Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?"

²⁹ ` "No," said the man. "If you pull up the weeds, then the good plants will come up with them.

³⁰ Let them both grow together until the harvest time. When it is time to cut it, I will say to the men who cut it, `Cut the weeds first. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then put the grain into my storehouse.' " '

³¹ Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man took a mustard seed and planted it in his field.

³² A mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. But the plant that grows from it is bigger than other plants. It is like a tree. It is so big that birds come and live in the branches.'

³³ Jesus told them another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman took yeast and mixed it with many cups of flour. The yeast went all through the flour.'

³⁴ Jesus told the people all these things in stories. He did not tell them anything without a story.