Revised Common Lectionary

¹The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.²He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.³He said, "My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.⁴Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.⁵Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on-since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said."⁶And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes."⁷Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.⁸Then 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.

⁹They said to him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" And he said, "There, in the tent."¹⁰Then one said, "I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.¹²So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?"¹³The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?'¹⁴Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son."¹⁵But Sarah denied, saying, "I did not laugh"; for she was afraid. He said, "Oh yes, you did laugh."

¹The LORD dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as he had promised.²Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him.³Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him.⁴And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.⁵Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.⁶Now Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."⁷And she said, "Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

³⁵Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

10:1Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;⁴Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts,¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.¹²As you enter the house, greet it.¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

¹⁶"See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues;¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time;²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.²¹Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;²²and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.²³When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.