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 five this month, and I'll be

reading Matthew chapters 13 through 15. And this month I'm reading from the CSB version.

Matthew 13. On that day, Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. Such large crowds

gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

Then he told them many things in parables, saying, consider the sower who went out to sow. As he

sowed, some seed fell along the path,

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

much soil, and it grew up quickly since the soil wasn't deep. But 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.

Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit, some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was

sown. Let anyone who has ears listen. Then the disciples came up and asked him,

Why are you speaking to them in parables? He answered, because the secrets of the

kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them. For whoever has,

more will be given to him and he will have more than enough, but whoever does not have,

even what he has will be taken away from him. That is why I speak to them in parables,

because looking they do not see and hearing they do not listen or understand.

Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says, you will listen and listen but never understand.

You will look and look but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown callous. Their ears are hard

of hearing and they have shut their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes and hear with their

ears and understand with their hearts and turn back, and I would heal them. Blessed are your eyes because

they do see and your ears because they do hear. For truly, I tell you, many prophets and

righteous people longed to see the things you see but didn't see them, to hear the things you hear

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