Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

18 And the Lord appeared to him by the ^(A)oaks^[a] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. ² He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. ^(B)When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth ³ and said, “O Lord,^[b] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let a ^(C)little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, ⁵ while I bring a morsel of bread, that ^(D)you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—^(E)since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” ⁶ And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs^[c] of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” ⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. ⁸ Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹ They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is ^(F)in the tent.” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “I will surely return to you ^(G)about this time next year, and ^(H)Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. ¹¹ Now ^(I)Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. ^12 (J)So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ^(K)“After I am worn out, and ^(L)my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” ¹³ The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ ^14 (M)Is anything too hard^[d] for the Lord? ^(N)At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁵ But Sarah denied it,^[e] saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

The Birth of Isaac

21 The Lord ^(A)visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah ^(B)as he had promised. ² And Sarah ^(C)conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age ^(D)at the time of which God had spoken to him. ³ Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, ^(E)Isaac.^{[a] 4} And Abraham ^(F)circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, ^(G)as God had commanded him. ^5 (H)Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ And Sarah said, ^(I)“God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” ⁷ And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? ^(J)Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

I Love the Lord

Peace with God Through Faith

5 ^(A)Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^(B)we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also ^(C)obtained access by faith^[b] into this grace ^(D)in which we stand, and ^(E)we^[c] rejoice^[d] in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we ^(F)rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^(G)produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and ^(H)hope does not put us to shame, because God's love ^(I)has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

⁶ For ^(J)while we were still weak, at the right time ^(K)Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but ^(L)God shows his love for us in that ^(M)while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

^35 (A)And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ^36 (B)When he saw the crowds, ^(C)he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^(D)like sheep without a shepherd. ^37 (E)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore ^(F)pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^(G)send out laborers into his harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles

10 ^(H)And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. ^2 (I)The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(J)who is called Peter, and ^(K)Andrew his brother; ^(L)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^(M)Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^{[a] 4} Simon the Zealot,^[b] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^5 (N)These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^(O)the Samaritans, ^6 (P)but go rather to ^(Q)the lost sheep of ^(R)the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ^(S)‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’^{[c] 8 (T)}Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,^[d] cast out demons. ^(U)You received without paying; give without pay.

^9 (A)Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰ no bag for your journey, or two tunics^[a] or sandals or a staff, for ^(B)the laborer deserves his food. ¹¹ And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹² As you enter the house, ^(C)greet it. ¹³ And if the house is ^(D)worthy, let ^(E)your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ^(F)your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^(G)shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, ^(H)it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ^(I)the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

^16 (J)“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^(K)wise as serpents and ^(L)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men, for ^(M)they will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^(N)in their synagogues, ^18 (O)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^(P)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19 (Q)When ^(R)they deliver you over, ^(S)do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^(T)what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20 (U)For it is not you who speak, but ^(V)the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 (W)Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ^22 (X)and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(Y)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they ^(Z)persecute you in one town, ^(AA)flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^(AB)before the Son of Man comes.