Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
22 Thus says the Lord God, “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out; I will pluck from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and I will plant it on a (A)high and lofty mountain. 23 On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately (B)cedar. And birds of every [a]kind will [b]nest under it; they will [c]nest in the shade of its branches. 24 All the (C)trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree and make the dry tree (D)flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”
Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.
A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (A)good to give thanks to the Lord
And to (B)sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To (C)declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your (D)faithfulness [a]by night,
3 [b]With the (E)ten-stringed lute and [c]with the (F)harp,
[d]With resounding music [e]upon the (G)lyre.
4 For You, O Lord, have made me glad by [f]what You (H)have done,
I will (I)sing for joy at the (J)works of Your hands.
12 The (A)righteous man will [a]flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a (B)cedar in Lebanon.
13 (C)Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish (D)in the courts of our God.
14 They will still [b](E)yield fruit in old age;
They shall be [c]full of sap and very green,
15 To [d]declare that (F)the Lord is upright;
He is my (G)rock, and there is (H)no unrighteousness in Him.
6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that (A)while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for (B)we walk by faith, not by [a]sight— 8 we are of good courage, I say, and (C)prefer rather to be absent from the body and (D)to be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be (E)pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before (F)the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for [b]his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
11 Therefore, knowing the (A)fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are (B)made manifest also in your consciences. 12 We are not (C)again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an (D)occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we [a]are (E)beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ (A)controls us, having concluded this, that (B)one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer (C)live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one [a](D)according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ [b]according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is (E)in Christ, [c]he is (F)a new creature; (G)the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Parable of the Seed
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 But when the crop permits, he immediately [a](A)puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 (B)And He said, “How shall we [b](C)picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that (D)the birds of the [c]air can nest under its shade.”
33 With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; 34 and He did not speak to them (E)without a parable; but He was (F)explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
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