Bible Browser

7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore it is said,
‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
   he gave gifts to his people.’
⁹(When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended^* into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) ¹¹The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. ¹⁴We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. ¹⁵But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Psalm 122

1  I was glad when they said to me, ♦︎
   ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’
2  And now our feet are standing ♦︎
   within your gates, O Jerusalem;
3  Jerusalem, built as a city ♦︎
   that is at unity in itself.
4  Thither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, ♦︎
   as is decreed for Israel,
      to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5  For there are set the thrones of judgement, ♦︎
   the thrones of the house of David.
6  O pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ♦︎
   ‘May they prosper who love you.
7  ‘Peace be within your walls ♦︎
   and tranquillity within your palaces.’
8  For my kindred and companions’ sake, ♦︎
   I will pray that peace be with you.
9  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, ♦︎
   I will seek to do you good.

Repent or Perish

13At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. ⁷So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” ⁸He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’