Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Son of Promise(A)
18 Then the Lord appeared to him by [a]the (B)terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 (C)So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; (D)and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let (E)a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And (F)I will bring a morsel of bread, that (G)you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, (H)inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”
They said, “Do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So (I)he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
So he said, “Here, (J)in the tent.”
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you (K)according to the time of life, and behold, (L)Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now (M)Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and [b]Sarah (N)had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah (O)laughed within herself, saying, (P)“After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my (Q)lord being old also?”
13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 (R)Is anything too hard for the Lord? (S)At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.
And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
Isaac Is Born(A)
21 And the Lord (B)visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah (C)as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah (D)conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, (E)at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—(F)Isaac.[a] 4 Then Abraham (G)circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, (H)as God had commanded him. 5 Now (I)Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, (J)“God has [b]made me laugh, and all who hear (K)will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? (L)For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
116 I (A)love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
12 What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 (A)I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 (B)Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
16 O Lord, truly (C)I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, (D)the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You (E)the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the (F)courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
[a]Praise the Lord!
Faith Triumphs in Trouble
5 Therefore, (A)having been justified by faith, [a]we have (B)peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 (C)through whom also we have access by faith into this grace (D)in which we stand, and (E)rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but (F)we also glory in tribulations, (G)knowing that tribulation produces [b]perseverance; 4 (H)and perseverance, [c]character; and character, hope. 5 (I)Now hope does not disappoint, (J)because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Christ in Our Place
6 For when we were still without strength, [d]in due time (K)Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But (L)God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The Compassion of Jesus(A)
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, (B)teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease [a]among the people. 36 (C)But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were [b]weary and scattered, (D)like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, (E)“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 (F)Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
The Twelve Apostles(G)
10 And (H)when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, (I)who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and [c]Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 (J)Simon the [d]Cananite, and Judas (K)Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
Sending Out the Twelve(L)
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: (M)“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of (N)the Samaritans. 6 (O)But go rather to the (P)lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 (Q)And as you go, preach, saying, (R)‘The kingdom of heaven [e]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, [f]cleanse the lepers, [g]raise the dead, cast out demons. (S)Freely you have received, freely give.
9 (A)Provide neither gold nor silver nor (B)copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; (C)for a worker is worthy of his food.
11 (D)“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 (E)If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. (F)But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 (G)And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, (H)shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, (I)it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
Persecutions Are Coming(J)
16 (K)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. (L)Therefore be wise as serpents and (M)harmless[a] as doves. 17 But beware of men, for (N)they will deliver you up to councils and (O)scourge you in their synagogues. 18 (P)You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (Q)But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For (R)it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 (S)for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 (T)“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And (U)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. (V)But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 (W)When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have (X)gone through the cities of Israel (Y)before the Son of Man comes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.