Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God's Covenant with Abram

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ^(A)“Fear not, Abram, I am ^(B)your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ² But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue^[a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and ^(C)a member of my household will be my heir.” ⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; ^(D)your very own son^[b] shall be your heir.” ⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and ^(E)number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, ^(F)“So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And ^(G)he believed the Lord, and ^(H)he counted it to him as righteousness.

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of ^(A)things not seen. ² For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by ^(B)the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of ^(C)things that are visible.

⁸ By faith ^(A)Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place ^(B)that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he went to live in ^(C)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, ^(D)living in tents ^(E)with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to ^(F)the city that has ^(G)foundations, ^(H)whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith ^(I)Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered ^(J)him faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and ^(K)him as good as dead, were born descendants ^(L)as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(M)not having received the things promised, but ^(N)having seen them and greeted them from afar, and ^(O)having acknowledged that they were ^(P)strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, ^(Q)they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(R)to be called their God, for ^(S)he has prepared for them a city.

^32 (A)“Fear not, little ^(B)flock, for ^(C)it is your Father's good pleasure to give you ^(D)the kingdom. ^33 (E)Sell your possessions, and ^(F)give to the needy. ^(G)Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ^(H)a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ^34 (I)For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

^35 (J)“Stay dressed for action^[a] and ^(K)keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ and be like men who are ^(L)waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and ^(M)knocks. ^37 (N)Blessed are those servants^[b] whom the master finds ^(O)awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ^(P)he will dress himself for service and ^(Q)have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸ If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! ^39 (R)But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ^(S)the thief was coming, he^[c] would not have left his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ^(T)ready, for ^(U)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”