Mark 4:3-9  The Parable of the Sower & the Seed                          Text 1   

 

 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 

       And as he sowed,

 

some seed fell on a path,

       and the birds came and ate it up. 

 

Other seed fell on rocky ground,

where it did not have much soil,

       and it sprang up quickly,

       since it had no depth of soil. 

              And when the sun rose,

              it was scorched,

                   and since it had no root

                   it withered away. 

 

Other seed fell among thorns,

       and the thorns grew up and choked it,

              and it yielded no grain. 

 

Other seed fell into good soil

       and brought forth grain,

              growing up and increasing

                   and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” 

 

And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”

 

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  Mark 6:35 – 44      Loaves and Fishes                                            Text 2    

 

When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said,

       “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; 

              send them away

                   so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages                                              and buy something for themselves to eat.” 

 

But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”

       They said to him,

              “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread

                   and give it to them to eat?” 

 

And he said to them, “How many loaves have you?

       Go and see.”

              When they had found out, they said,

                   “Five, and two fish.” 

 

Then he ordered them to get all the people

       to sit down in groups on the green grass. 

              So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 

             

Taking the five loaves and the two fish,

       he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves

              and gave them to his disciples to set before the people,

                   And he divided the two fish among them all. 

 

And all ate and were filled, 

       and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 

             

Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

 

 

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  Mark 10:13-16         Let the Children Come to Me                       Text 3      

 

People were bringing children to Jesus so that he would bless them.

       But the disciples scolded them. 

 

When Jesus saw this,

       he grew angry and said to them, 

              “Allow the children to come to me.

                    Don’t forbid them,

                         because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. 

 

I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child

       will never enter it.” 

 

Then he hugged the children and blessed them.

 

 

 

  Mark 4:35-40    Jesus Calms the Storm                                         Text 4     

 

Later that day,

         when evening came,

                  Jesus said to them, 

                           “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” 

 

They left the crowd and took him in the boat just as he was.

         Other boats followed along.

 

Gale-force winds arose,

         and waves crashed against the boat so that the boat was swamped. 

 

But Jesus was in the rear of the boat,

         sleeping on a pillow.

                  They woke him up and said,

                           “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?”

 

He got up and gave orders to the wind,

         and he said to the lake, “Silence! Be still!” 

 

The wind settled down and there was a great calm. 

        

Jesus asked them, “Why are you frightened?

         Don’t you have faith yet?

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  Mark 9:33-37   Who Shall Be the Greatest                                       Text 5     

 

Then they came to Capernaum;

and when Jesus was in the house he asked them,

“What were you arguing about on the way?”

 

But they were silent,

for on the way they had argued with one another

who was the greatest.

 

He sat down and called the twelve, and said to them,

“Whoever wants to be first

must be last of all

and servant of all.”

 

Then he took a little child and put it among them;

and taking it in his arms, he said to them,

“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name

welcomes me,

and whoever welcomes me

welcomes not me

but the one who sent me.”

 

 

  Mark 10:46–52    Blind Bartimaeus                                                    Text 6     

 

As Jesus

        and his disciples

             and a large crowd

                  were leaving Jericho,                        

Bartimaeus

        son of Timaeus,

             a blind beggar,

                  was sitting by the roadside. 

 

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,

        he began to shout out and say,

             “Jesus,

                  Son of David,

                         have mercy on me!” 

 

Many sternly ordered him to be quiet,

        but he cried out even more loudly,

             “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

 

Jesus stood still.

 

and said, “Call him here.”

        And they called the blind man, saying to him,

             “Take heart;

                  get up,

                         he is calling you.” 

 

So throwing off his cloak,

        he sprang up

             and came to Jesus. 

 

Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

        The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” 

             Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.”

                  Immediately he regained his sight

                         and followed him on the way.

 

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  John 10:11-15     The Good Shepherd                                             Text 7     

 

“I am the good shepherd.

       The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

 

The hired hand,

       who is not the shepherd

              and does not own the sheep,

                   sees the wolf coming

                         and leaves the sheep and runs away,

                   and the wolf snatches them

                         and scatters them. 

 

The hired hand runs away

       because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 

 

I am the good shepherd.

       I know my own,

              and my own know me, 

       just as the Father knows me,

              and I know the Father.

 

And I lay down my life for the sheep. 

 

 

  Matthew 5:13-20          Salt and Light of the World                         Text 8     

 

“You are the salt of the earth,

      but if salt has lost its taste,

           how can its saltiness be restored?

                It is no longer good for anything

                      but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.

 

“You are the light of the world.

      A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 

     

People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket;

      rather, they put it on the lampstand,

           and it gives light to all in the house. 

 

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

      so that they may see your good works

           and give glory to your Father in heaven.

 

 

  Matthew 4:17-23      Fishers of People                                             Text 9     

 

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee,

    he saw two brothers,

         * Simon, who is called Peter,

          * and Andrew his brother,

               casting a net into the sea -

                      for they were fishers. 

 

And he said to them, “Follow me,

    and I will make you fishers of people.” 

         Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 

 

As he went from there,

    he saw two other brothers,

         * James son of Zebedee

         * and his brother John,

               in the boat with their father Zebedee,

                      mending their nets,

                          

And he called them. 

    Immediately they left the boat and their father

         and followed him.

 

Jesus went throughout all Galilee,

    * teaching in their synagogues

    * and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom

    * and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

 

 

 

  Luke 15:1-7      Parable of Lost Sheep                                          Text 10     

 

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 

     And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying,

          “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

 

So he told them this parable: 

     “Which one of you,

          having a hundred sheep and losing one of them,

                does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness

                    and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 

                        

And when he has found it,

     he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 

 

And when he comes home,

     he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them,

          ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 

 

Just so, I tell you,

     there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents

          than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.