July 12, 2027

8The Oppression. Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, rose to power in Egypt. 9He said to his people, “See! The Israelite people have multiplied and become more numerous than we are! 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave the land.” 11Accordingly, they set supervisors over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. Thus they had to build for Pharaoh the garrison cities of Pithom and Raamses. 12Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians began to loathe the Israelites. 13So the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to cruel slavery, 14making life bitter for them with hard labor, at mortar and brick and all kinds of field work—cruelly oppressed in all their labor. 22Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “Throw into the Nile every boy that is born, but you may let all the girls live.”

1Psalm 124 God, the Rescuer of the People - A song of ascents. Of David. Had not the LORD been with us, let Israel say, 2Had not the LORD been with us, when people rose against us, 3Then they would have swallowed us alive, for their fury blazed against us. 4Then the waters would have engulfed us, the torrent overwhelmed us; 5then seething water would have drowned us. 6Blessed is the LORD, who did not leave us to be torn by their teeth. 7We escaped with our lives like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare was broken, and we escaped. 8Our help is in the name of the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.

10Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

34Jesus: A Cause of Division. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. 35For I have come to set a man ‘against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’ 37The Conditions of Discipleship. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 40Rewards. “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” 1When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.