11Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.  12And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.  13And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  14But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  15Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  16And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. 17“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  18I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,  19and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’20“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  23And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;  24for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. [Luke 15:11-24]

50Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across  from Jericho, saying, 51“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; 53you shall dispossess the  inhabitants  of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54And you shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance; there everyone’s inheritance shall be whatever falls to him by lot. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 55But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall  be  irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. 56Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them.’ ” [Numbers 33:50-56]

35Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  38Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” [Matthew 9:35-38]

19For it pleased the  Father  that  in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 21And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. [Colossians 1:19-23]

20Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country. 21So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. 24But the word of God grew and multiplied. 25And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark. 1Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. 4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. [Acts 12:20-13:4]

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.Reconciled in Christ 19For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell. [Colossians 1:15-19]

20Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country. 21So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. 24But the word of God grew and multiplied. Barnabas and Saul Appointed 25And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark. 1Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.Preaching in Cyprus 4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. [Acts 12:20-13:4]

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. [Hebrews 12:1-3]