Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 “For (A)as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 (B)So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [a]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall (C)prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For(D) you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall (E)break forth into singing before you,
And (F)all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (G)Instead of (H)the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord (I)for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Praise to God for His Salvation and Providence
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the [a]vow shall be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
(A)To You all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will (B)provide atonement for them.
4 (C)Blessed is the man You (D)choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
(E)We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
(F)Being clothed with power;
7 (G)You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
(H)And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening [b]rejoice.
9 You [a]visit the earth and (A)water it,
You greatly enrich it;
(B)The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
(C)The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.
Free from Indwelling Sin
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, (A)who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For (B)the law of (C)the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from (D)the law of sin and death. 3 For (E)what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, (F)God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who (G)do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For (H)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, (I)the things of the Spirit. 6 For (J)to be [b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because (K)the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, (L)nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of (M)Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, (N)He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [d]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
The Parable of the Sower(A)
13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house (B)and sat by the sea. 2 (C)And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that (D)He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: (E)“Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some (F)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 (G)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Parable of the Sower Explained(A)
18 (B)“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word (C)of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately (D)receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when (E)tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately (F)he stumbles. 22 Now (G)he who received seed (H)among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears (I)fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.