Scriptures

New Living Translation (NLT)

Matthew 12
⁵⁰ Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”
Matthew 13
¹ Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.
² A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.
³ He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.
⁴ As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
⁵ Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.
⁶ But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.
⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.
⁸ Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!
⁹ Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
¹⁰ His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”