Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
8 And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
Sarah Turns against Hagar
9 Now Sarah saw (A)the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, (B)mocking Isaac. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “(C)Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be an heir with my son [a]Isaac!” 11 (D)The matter [b]distressed Abraham greatly because of his son Ishmael. 12 But God said to Abraham, “[c]Do not be distressed because of the boy and your slave woman; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for (E)through Isaac [d]your descendants shall be named. 13 And of (F)the son of the slave woman I will make a nation also, because he is your [e]descendant.” 14 So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a [f]skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was used up, she [g]left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “May I not [h]see the boy die!” And she sat opposite him, and (G)raised her voice and wept. 17 God (H)heard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “[i]What is the matter with you, Hagar? (I)Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him by [j]the hand, (J)for I will make a great nation of him.” 19 Then God (K)opened her eyes, and she saw (L)a well of water; and she went and filled the [k]skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20 And (M)God was with the boy, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 (N)He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Pleading and Trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 (A)Incline Your ear, Lord, and answer me;
For I am (B)afflicted and needy.
2 (C)Protect my [a]soul, for I am (D)godly;
You my God, save Your servant who (E)trusts in You.
3 Be (F)gracious to me, Lord,
For (G)I call upon You all day long.
4 Make the soul of Your servant joyful,
For to You, Lord, (H)I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are (I)good, and (J)ready to forgive,
And (K)abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.
6 (L)Listen, Lord, to my prayer;
And give Your attention to the sound of my pleading!
7 On (M)the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For (N)You will answer me.
8 There is (O)no one like You among the gods, Lord,
Nor are there any works (P)like Yours.
9 (Q)All nations whom You have made will come and worship before You, Lord,
And they will glorify Your name.
10 For You are (R)great, and You (S)do [b]wondrous deeds;
You alone (T)are God.
Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 (A)What shall we say then? Are we to (B)continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 [a](C)Far from it! How shall we who (D)died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been (E)baptized into (F)Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been (G)buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was (H)raised from the dead through the (I)glory of the Father, so we too may walk in (J)newness of life. 5 For (K)if we have become [b]united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [c]in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our (L)old [d]self was (M)crucified with Him, in order that our (N)body of sin might be [e]done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for (O)the one who has died is [f]freed from sin.
8 Now (P)if we have died with Christ, we believe that (Q)we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been (R)raised from the dead, [g]is never to die again; (S)death no longer is master over Him. 10 For [h]the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but [i]the life that He lives, He lives to [j]God. 11 So you too, consider yourselves to be (T)dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(A)A [a]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (B)If they have called the head of the house [b](C)Beelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!
26 “So do not (D)fear them, (E)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 (F)What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (G)on the housetops. 28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather (H)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [c](I)hell. 29 (J)Are two sparrows not sold for an [d]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (K)even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not fear; (L)you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
32 “Therefore, (M)everyone who [e]confesses Me before people, I will also confess [f]him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But (N)whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34 “(O)Do not think that I came to [g]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to [h]bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to (P)turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and (Q)a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.
37 “(R)The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And (S)the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 (T)The one who has found his [i]life will lose it, and the one who has lost his [j]life on My account will find it.
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