Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁶ So we always feel sure. While we live in our bodies we are not in our house with the Lord. We know that.

⁷ We do not see these things, but we believe them.

⁸ We feel sure that we will want to leave this body and go to live with the Lord.

⁹ So it does not matter if we are living here or go to live there. Wherever we are we want to please the Lord.

¹⁰ We must all stand before Christ to be judged. Then we will receive pay. If we have done well, our pay will be good. If we have not done well, our pay will not be good.

¹¹ We know that the Lord must be feared, so we try to get people to believe. God knows what we are and what we do. And we hope that in your hearts you, too, know.

¹² No, we are not praising ourselves again. But we are telling you this so that you may really be proud of us. Then you will be ready to answer people who are proud of themselves. They are proud of the things which can be seen. But in their hearts they have nothing to be proud of us.

¹³ If we are crazy, it is for God's sake. If we are right in our minds, it is for your sakes.

¹⁴ The love of Christ makes us do what we do to win men. We believe that one man died for all people. [To God] it is as if we all died with him.

¹⁵ He died for all, so that those who live would not live to please themselves. But they should live to please him who gave his life for them and rose again from death.

¹⁶ So then we no longer know people by what we see on the outside. There was a time when we knew Christ that way, but now we do not know him that way any longer.

¹⁷ So, if any man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. His old life has gone. You see, he has begun a new life.

²⁶ And Jesus said, `The kingdom of God is like this. A man sows some seed in the ground.

²⁷ Then he goes on just as he did before. He sleeps at night and wakes up in the morning. The seed begins to grow but he doesn't know what makes it grow.

²⁸ The ground itself makes the seed grow. First the plant comes up. Then it begins to have seed of its own. After a while the harvest is ready.

²⁹ When the harvest is really ready, he cuts it right away because the harvest time has come.'

³⁰ And Jesus said, `What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I say it is like?

³¹ It is like this. A mustard seed is the smallest seed that is ever planted in the earth.

³² But the plant that grows from that seed is bigger than any other plant. It puts out very big branches. The birds come and live in its branches.'

³³ Jesus told the people many stories like this. He told them as much of God's words as they were able to understand.

³⁴ He did not tell them anything without a story. When he was alone with his disciples, he told them the meaning of the stories.