Hi friends, I'm Annie F. Downs. Let's read the Gospels. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are the stories of Jesus Christ's life on earth, the friendships, the parables, the sacrifices, the meals, the miracles. So here is how it works. I'll read three chapters to you. You can listen or read along in your own Bible or online, and then I'll pray, and that's it. So today is day 12, and I'll be reading

Mark, chapters 4 through 7. And this month, I'm reading from the CSB. Mark 4. Again, he began to teach by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around him.

So he got into a boat on the sea and sat down while the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore.

He taught them many things and parables, and in his teaching he said to them,

Listen, consider the sower who went out to sow.

As he sowed, some seed fell along the path,

and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it didn't have much

soil, and it grew up quickly since the soil wasn't deep. When the sun came up, it was scorched,

and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among

thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn't produce fruit. Still other seed

fell on good ground, and it grew up, producing fruit that increased 30, 60, and a hundred times.

Then he said, let anyone who has ears to hear, listen. When he was alone, those

around him with the 12 asked him about the parables. He answered them, the secret of the kingdom of

God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables so that they may

indeed look and yet not perceive. They may indeed listen and yet not understand.

Otherwise, they might turn back and be forgiven. Then he said to them, don't you understand this

parable? How then will you understand all of the parables? The sower sows the word. Some are like the

words sewn on the path. When they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes

away the words sewn in them. And others are like seeds sewn on rocky ground. When they hear the

word, immediately they receive it with joy. But they have no root. They are short-lived. When distress or

persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.

Others are like seeds sewn among thorns. These are the ones who hear the word, but the worries of

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