Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God’s Promise of Hope
22 The Lord God says, “I will also take a young branch from the very top of the cedar tree and plant it. I will break a soft new one from the very top of its young branches, and plant it on a high mountain. 23 I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel. It will grow branches and give fruit and become a beautiful cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it. They will nest in the shadow of its branches. 24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord. I bring down the high tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree become green. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.”
A Song of Praise
92 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and sing praises to Your name, O Most High. 2 It is good to tell of Your loving-kindness in the morning, and of how faithful You are at night, 3 with harps, and with music of praise. 4 For You have made me glad by what You have done, O Lord. I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
12 The man who is right and good will grow like the palm tree. He will grow like a tall tree in Lebanon. 13 Planted in the house of the Lord, they will grow well in the home of our God. 14 They will still give fruit when they are old. They will be full of life and strength. 15 And they will show that the Lord is faithful. He is my rock. There is nothing in Him that is not right and good.
6 We are sure of this. We know that while we are at home in this body we are not with the Lord. 7 Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us. 8 We are sure we will be glad to be free of these bodies. It will be good to be at home with the Lord. 9 So if we stay here on earth or go home to Him, we always want to please Him. 10 For all of us must stand before Christ when He says who is guilty or not guilty. Each one will receive pay for what he has done. He will be paid for the good or the bad done while he lived in this body.
11 Because of this, we know the fear of God. So we try to get men to put their trust in Christ. God knows us. I hope that your hearts know me well also. 12 We do not want to sound as if we think we are so important. Instead, we are making it easy for you to be proud of us. In that way, you will be able to tell them about us. They always talk about the way people look, but do not care about their hearts. 13 Are we crazy to talk like this? It is all because of what God has done. If we are using our minds well, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ puts us into action. We are sure that Christ died for everyone. So, because of that, everyone has a part in His death. 15 Christ died for everyone so that they would live for Him. They should not live to please themselves but for Christ Who died on a cross and was raised from the dead for them.
16 So from now on, we do not think about what people are like by looking at them. We even thought about Christ that way one time. But we do not think of Him that way anymore. 17 For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun.
The Picture-Story of the Grain
26 He said, “The holy nation of God is like a man who plants seed in the ground. 27 He goes to sleep every night and gets up every day. The seed grows, but he does not know how. 28 The earth gives fruit by itself. The leaf comes first and then the young grain can be seen. And last, the grain is ready to gather. 29 As soon as the grain is ready, he cuts it. The time of gathering the grain has come.”
The Picture-Story of the Mustard Seed
30 Jesus said, “In what way can we show what the holy nation of God is like? Or what picture-story can we use to help you understand? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed that is planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds. 32 After it is put in the ground, it grows and becomes the largest of the spices. It puts out long branches so birds of the sky can live in it.” 33 As they were able to understand, He spoke the Word to them by using many picture-stories. 34 Jesus helped His followers understand everything when He was alone with them.
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