In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.

 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.

 These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

A call to persevere

 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

 Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Doxology

 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Acts 7

Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

  Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

 And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,  and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’[a]  Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.  And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.  But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.  ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’[b] said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’[c]  Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

The Patriarchs in Egypt

  

 “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him  and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.  Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance.  But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.  And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh.  Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five[d] people.  So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers.  And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

God Delivers Israel by Moses

  

 “But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt  till another king arose who did not know Joseph.  This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.  At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months.  But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.  And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.  And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.  For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.  And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’  But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?  Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’[e]  Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.

 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord[f] appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.  When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,  saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[g] And Moses trembled and dared not look.  ‘Then the LORD said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.  I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.”’[h]

 “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’[i] is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.  He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

Israel Rebels Against God

  

 “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel,[j] ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’[k]

 “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,  whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,  saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’[l]  And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.  Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:

 

 

      ‘ Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness,

      O house of Israel?

        You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch,

      And the star of your god Remphan,

      Images which you made to worship;

      And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’[m]

God’s True Tabernacle

  

 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,  which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,  who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.  But Solomon built Him a house.

 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

        ‘ Heaven is My throne,

      And earth is My footstool.

      What house will you build for Me? says the LORD,

      Or what is the place of My rest?

        Has My hand not made all these things?’[n]

Israel Resists the Holy Spirit

  

 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.  Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,  who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

Stephen the Martyr

  

 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.  But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,  and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;  and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.  And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

 

 

1 Thessalonians 5

 

The Day of the Lord

  But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.  But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.  For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,  who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Various Exhortations

  

 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,  and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.  See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

 Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing,  in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies.  Test all things; hold fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil.

Blessing and Admonition

 

 

 

 

 

2Thessalonians 2:3

 

 

The Great Apostasy

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,  not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ[a] had come.  Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin[b] is revealed, the son of perdition,  who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God[c] in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?  And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He[d] who now restrains will do so until He[e] is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.  The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,  and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,  that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Fast

 

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,  to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.

 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,  comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

 

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 5

 

‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

        ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.

        ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;  you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,  but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

        ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

        ‘ Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,  but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.  And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

        ‘ Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

        ‘You shall not murder.

        ‘You shall not commit adultery.

        ‘You shall not steal.

        ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

        ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Timothy 3

Qualifications of Overseers

  This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop,[a] he desires a good work.  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;  not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,[b] but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;  one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence  (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);  not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.  Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Qualifications of Deacons

  

 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money,  holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.  But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.  Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.  Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.  For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

The Great Mystery

  

 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly;  but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

 

      God[c] was manifested in the flesh,

      Justified in the Spirit,

      Seen by angels,

      Preached among the Gentiles,

      Believed on in the world,

      Received up in glory.

 

 

Galatians 5

Christian Liberty

  Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,[a] and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.  And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.  You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.  For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Love Fulfills the Law

  

 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?  This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.  A little leaven leavens the whole lump.  I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.  I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!

 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[b]  But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

Walking in the Spirit

  

 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 3

Sectarianism Is Carnal

  And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.  I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;  for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?  For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

 

Watering, Working, Warning

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.  So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.  Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.  According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.  For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,  each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.  If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Avoid Worldly Wisdom

  

 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;[a]  and again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”[b]  Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:  whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours.  And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

 

 

 

 

 

1 Peter 2

 

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,  as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,[a]  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People

  

 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,  you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,   “ Behold, I lay in Zion

A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,

And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”[b]

 

 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,[c]

 

 

“ The stone which the builders rejected

      Has become the chief cornerstone,”[d]

  and

 

 

      “ A stone of stumbling

      And a rock of offense.”[e]

   They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Living Before the World

  

 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,  having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Submission to Government

  

 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,  or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—  as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.  Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Submission to Masters

  

 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.  For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.  For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.  For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us,[f] leaving us[g] an example, that you should follow His steps:

        “ Who committed no sin,

      Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;[h]

  who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;  who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer[i] of your souls.

 Peter

Submission to Husbands

  Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,  when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.  Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—  rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.  For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands,  as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

A Word to Husbands

  

 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

Called to Blessing

  

 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;[a]  not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.  For

 

 

      “ He who would love life

      And see good days,

       Let him refrain his tongue from evil,

      And his lips from speaking deceit.

        Let him turn away from evil and do good;

       Let him seek peace and pursue it.

        For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,

       And His ears are open to their prayers;

      But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”[b]

Suffering for Right and Wrong

  

 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?  But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”[c]  But sanctify the Lord God[d] in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;  having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.  For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Christ’s Suffering and Ours

  

 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us[e] to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,  by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,  who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited[f] in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.  There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,  who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

 

 

 

1  Corinthians 15

The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality

  Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,  by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,  and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.  After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.  After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.  Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.  Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Risen Christ, Our Hope

  

 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.  And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.  Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.  For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.  And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!  Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

The Last Enemy Destroyed

  

 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.  But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.  Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.  For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.  For “He has put all things under His feet.”[a] But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.  Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

Effects of Denying the Resurrection

  

 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?  And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?  I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.  If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[b]

 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”  Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

A Glorious Body

  

 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”  Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.  And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.  But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh[c] of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.

 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.  There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.  It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.  It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.  And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.”[d] The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.  The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord[e] from heaven.  As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.  And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear[f] the image of the heavenly Man.

Our Final Victory

  

 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”[g]

        “ O Death, where is your sting?[h]

      O Hades, where is your victory?”[i]

  The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 John 2

 

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

  

 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.  He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.  He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

 Brethren,[a] I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.[b]  Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.  He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.  But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Their Spiritual State

I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

 write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one.  write to you, little children,

Because you have known the Father.

   have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

 have written to you, young men,

Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,

And you have overcome the wicked one.

Do Not Love the World

  

 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Deceptions of the Last Hour

  

 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the[c] Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.[d]  I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.  Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

  

 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.  And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.  But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will[e] abide in Him.

The Children of God

  

 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when[f] He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.  If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

 

 

 

Colossians 1

 

giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,  in whom we have redemption through His blood,[c] the forgiveness of sins.

 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For 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.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  And 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

  

 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,  and 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.

 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled  in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—  if 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.

Sacrificial Service for Christ

  

 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,  of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,  the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which[d] is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.  To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John 3

The New Birth

 

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.[a]  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but[b] have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

 

 

 

2 Timothy 3

 

Perilous Times and Perilous Men

  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,  traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!  For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,  always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;  but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

The Man of God and the Word of God

  

 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance,  persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.  Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.  But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.  But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,  and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

 

Hebrews 13

 

Concluding Moral Directions

 

  Let brotherly love continue.  Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.  Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”[a]  So we may boldly say:

 

 

“ The LORD is my helper;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?”[b]

Concluding Religious Directions

  

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Do not be carried about[c] with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.  For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.  Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.  Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.  For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.  Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.  But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

 

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 12

 

Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity

  Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:  You know that[a] you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.  Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:  for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same[b] Spirit,  to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Unity and Diversity in One Body

  

 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into[c] one Spirit.  For in fact the body is not one member but many.

 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?  But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.  And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.  And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”  No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.  And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty,  but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it,  that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.  And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.  And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?  Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?  But earnestly desire the best[d] gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revelation 21

 

All Things Made New

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.  Then I, John,[a] saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me,[b] “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

 And He said to me, “It is done![c] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.  He who overcomes shall inherit all things,[d] and I will be his God and he shall be My son.  But the cowardly, unbelieving,[e] abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

  

 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me[f] and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”[g]  And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy[h] Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,  having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.  Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:  three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names[i] of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.  And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.  The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.  Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.  The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.  The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,  the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.  The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem

  

 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.  The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it,[j] for the glory[k] of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.  And the nations of those who are saved[l] shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.[m]  Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).  And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.[n]  But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes[o] an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exodus 15

The Song of Moses

  Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying:

 

“I will sing to the LORD,

For He has triumphed gloriously!

The horse and its rider

He has thrown into the sea!

  The LORD is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation;

He is my God, and I will praise Him;

My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

  The LORD is a man of war;

The LORD is His name.

  Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;

His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

  The depths have covered them;

They sank to the bottom like a stone.

  “Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power;

Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

  And in the greatness of Your excellence

You have overthrown those who rose against You;

You sent forth Your wrath;

It consumed them like stubble.

  And with the blast of Your nostrils

The waters were gathered together;

The floods stood upright like a heap;

The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

  The enemy said, ‘I will pursue,

I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil;

My desire shall be satisfied on them.

I will draw my sword,

My hand shall destroy them.’

  You blew with Your wind,

The sea covered them;

They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

  “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?

Who is like You, glorious in holiness,

Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

  You stretched out Your right hand;

The earth swallowed them.

  You in Your mercy have led forth

The people whom You have redeemed;

You have guided them in Your strength

To Your holy habitation.

  “The people will hear and be afraid;

Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.

  Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;

The mighty men of Moab,

Trembling will take hold of them;

All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.

  Fear and dread will fall on them;

By the greatness of Your arm

They will be as still as a stone,

Till Your people pass over, O LORD,

Till the people pass over

Whom You have purchased.

  You will bring them in and plant them

In the mountain of Your inheritance,

In the place, O LORD, which You have made

For Your own dwelling,

The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.

  “The LORD shall reign forever and ever.”

 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

The Song of Miriam

  

 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.  And Miriam answered them:

 

“Sing to the LORD,

For He has triumphed gloriously!

The horse and its rider

He has thrown into the sea!”

 

 

 

The Book of Philippians

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;

 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye 

stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear 

and trembling.

 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in 

the world;

 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.

 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.

 For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.

 But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.

 Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.

 But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.

 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that 

ministered to my wants.

 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.

 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

 I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.

 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation:

 Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and 

do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by 

faith:

 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ 

Jesus.

 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things 

which are before,

 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things 

unto himself.

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers, whose 

names are in the book of life.

 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are 

lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.

 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound 

and to suffer need.

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.

 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving 

and receiving, but ye only.

 

 

Matthew 5

 

 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, 

saying:

        “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

        Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

        Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

        Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

        Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

        Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

        Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

        Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

  “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great 

is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Believers Are Salt and Light

    “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled 

underfoot by men.

 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it 

gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Christ Fulfills the Law

   “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth 

pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and 

teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For 

I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder Begins in the Heart

   “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’  But I say to you that 

whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the 

council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has 

something against you,  leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  

Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and 

you be thrown into prison.  Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Adultery in the Heart

 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has 

already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one 

of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more 

profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding

  “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any 

reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Jesus Forbids Oaths

   “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’  But I say to you, do not 

swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;  nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall 

you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than 

these is from the evil one.

Go the Second Mile 

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your 

right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to 

go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Love Your Enemies

   “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse 

you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,  that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He 

makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? 

Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren[i] only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors[j] do so? 

 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

 

 

 

 

Ephesians Chapter 2

 

 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children 

of disobedience:

 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the 

children of wrath, even as others.

 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made 

by hands;

 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and 

without God in the world:

 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making 

peace;

 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

 

Ephesians Chapter 4

 

 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of 

Christ:  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, 

whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every 

part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

 But ye have not so learned Christ;

 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.

 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.

 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.   This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

 

 

Ephesians Chapter 6

 

 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with 

him.  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual 

wickedness in high places.

 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:

 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.

 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

 

 

 

 

Matthew 7

Do Not Judge

  “Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 

 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me 

remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to  

remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

   “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and 

to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he 

give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things 

to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow Way

    “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is 

the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

    “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits. Do men 

gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear 

bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will 

know them.

I Never Knew You

   “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me 

in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will 

declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Build on the Rock

    “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain 

descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain 

descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,  for He taught them as one having authority, and 

not as the scribes.

 

The paraclete gospels John 14-17

 

 

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

  “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told 

you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may 

be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The Father Revealed

    “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 

‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; 

but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works 

themselves.

The Answered Prayer

    “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My 

Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Jesus Promises Another Helper

    “If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—  

the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I 

will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Indwelling of the Father and the Son

    “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My 

Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My 

Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with 

him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

The Gift of His Peace

    “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach 

you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to 

you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you 

would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world 

is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go 

from here.

 

The True Vine

  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He 

prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot 

bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in 

Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words 

abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Love and Joy Perfected

    “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My 

Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.  This is My commandment, that you love one another as 

I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I 

have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, 

that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another.

The World’s Hatred

    “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not 

of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his  

master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My 

name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for 

their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they 

have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a 

cause.’

The Coming Rejection

    “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you 

also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

  “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.  They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever 

kills you will think that he offers God service.  And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.  But these things I 

have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

   “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has 

filled your heart.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, 

I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe 

in Me;  of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;  of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for 

He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is 

Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Sorrow Will Turn to Joy

   “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.”

 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you 

will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?”  They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.”

 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not 

see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’?  Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be 

sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.  A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth 

to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see 

you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Until now you have 

asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Jesus Christ Has Overcome the World

    “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell 

you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you;  for the Father Himself loves 

you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.  I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave 

the world and go to the Father.”

 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!  Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no 

need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”

 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave 

Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will

 have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

 

Jesus Prays for Himself

  Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,  as You 

have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, 

the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  And 

now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

   “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your 

word.  Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.  For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they 

have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.  “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world 

but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  Now I am no longer 

in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as 

We are.  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son 

of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in 

themselves.  I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray 

that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, 

that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

  “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I 

in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may 

be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have 

loved them as You have loved Me.

 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me 

before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  

And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

 

 

James 1

Greeting to the Twelve Tribes

  James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

Profiting from Trials

    My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect 

work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, 

and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not 

that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;  he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The Perspective of Rich and Poor

   Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,  but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.  For no sooner has the 

sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

Loving God Under Trials

    Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who 

love Him.  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  But each 

one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, 

brings forth death.

 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom 

there is no variation or shadow of turning.  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Qualities Needed in Trials

    So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;  for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness 

of God.

Doers—Not Hearers Only

    Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his 

natural face in a mirror;  for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But he who looks into the perfect law of 

liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.  Pure and undefiled 

religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

 

Beware of Personal Favoritism

  My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.  For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold 

rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,  and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, 

“You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”  have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and 

become judges with evil thoughts?

 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love 

Him?  But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?  Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which 

you are called?

 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;  but if you show partiality, you commit sin, 

and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.  For He who said, 

“Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  

So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.  For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs 

over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

    What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute 

of daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, 

what does it profit?  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You 

believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is 

dead?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?  Do you see that faith was working together with his 

works, and by works faith was made perfect?  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for 

righteousness.”And he was called the friend of God.  You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

 

 

 

 

Matthew 6

 

Do Good to Please God

  “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  

Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have 

glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is 

doing,  that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

The Model Prayer

  “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be 

seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your 

Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the 

heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.  In this manner, therefore, pray:

 

      Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

        Your kingdom come. Your will be done

      On earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.

        And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

        And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.

      For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father 

forgive your trespasses.

Fasting to Be Seen Only by God

  “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. 

Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,  so that you do not appear to men to be 

fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

 

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

   “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;  but lay up for yourselves treasures 

in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Lamp of the Body

   “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of 

darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

You Cannot Serve God and Riches

   “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot 

serve God and mammon.

Do Not Worry

  “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than 

food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;  and yet I say to you that even Solomon in 

all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not 

much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For 

your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to 

you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 

 

Ephesians Chapter 1

 

We should be holy and without blame before him in love:

 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in 

him:

 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy 

Spirit of promise,

 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the 

saints,

 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

 

 

 

 

James 3

The Untamable Tongue

  My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.  For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not 

stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.  Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their 

whole body.  Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.  

Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, 

and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been 

tamed by mankind.  But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse 

men, who have been made in the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.  

Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?  Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring 

yields both salt water and fresh.

Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom

    Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.  But if you have bitter 

envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.  This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.  

For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing 

to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.  Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James

Pride Promotes Strife

  Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?  You lust and do not have. 

You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask 

amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.  Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever 

therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns 

jealously”?

 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

 

 

      “ God resists the proud,

      But gives grace to the humble.”

Humility Cures Worldliness

    Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; 

and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble 

yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Do Not Judge a Brother

    Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you 

judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.  There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

    Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;  whereas you 

do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to 

say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”  But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

 

 

 

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

  Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.  Your 

gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.  

Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord 

of Sabaoth.  You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.  You have condemned, you 

have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Be Patient and Persevering

    Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives 

the early and latter rain.  You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!  My brethren, take the prophets, who 

spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.  Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of 

Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall 

into judgment.

Meeting Specific Needs

    Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the 

church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The 

effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did 

not rain on the land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bring Back the Erring One

  

 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way 

will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

 

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 10

 

  Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,  all were baptized into Moses in 

the cloud and in the sea,  all ate the same spiritual food,  and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and 

that Rock was Christ.  But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.  And do not become idolaters as were 

some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”  Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in 

one day twenty-three thousand fell;  nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;  nor complain, as some of them 

also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.  Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon 

whom the ends of the ages have come.

 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who 

will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Flee from Idolatry

  

 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.  I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say.  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the 

communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  For we, though many, are one bread and one 

body; for we all partake of that one bread.

 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?  What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is 

offered to idols is anything?  Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have 

fellowship with demons.  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.  

Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

All to the Glory of God

  

 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.  Let no one seek his own, but each one the 

other’s well-being.

 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake;  for “the earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness.”

 If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake.  

But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the LORD’s, 

and all its fullness.”  “Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience?  But if I partake 

with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks?

 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church 

of God,  just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

 

 

 

 

Hebrews Chapter 1

 

 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged 

our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me 

a Son?

 And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

 

 

 

Hebrews Chapter 11

 

 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he 

being dead yet speaketh.

 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this 

testimony, that he pleased God.

 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the 

world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither 

he went.

 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

 Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful 

who had promised.

 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore 

innumerable.

 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed 

that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's 

commandment.

 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.

 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of 

the prophets:

 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the 

aliens.

 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, 

afflicted, tormented;

 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

 

 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, 

and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the 

right hand of the throne of God.

 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art 

rebuked of him:

 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of 

spirits, and live?

 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which 

are exercised thereby.

 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it 

carefully with tears.

 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:

 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:

 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away 

from him that speaketh from heaven:

 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken 

may remain.

 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

 For our God is a consuming fire.

 

 

 

 

 

Isaih Chapter 53

 

 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is 

no beauty that we should desire him.

 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we 

esteemed him not.

 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are 

healed.

 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, 

so he openeth not his mouth.

 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my 

people was he stricken.

 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his 

days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was 

numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

 

Luke chapter 10

 

 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers 

into his harvest.

 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.

 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.

 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.

 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.

 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:

 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,

 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh 

unto you.

 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a 

great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.

 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.

 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, 

and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the 

Son will reveal him.

 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:

 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, 

and have not heard them.

 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy 

neighbour as thyself.

 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, 

and departed, leaving him half dead.

 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou 

spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her 

therefore that she help me.

 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

 

 

 

 

 

Luke Chapter 1

 

 

 

 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and 

her name was Elisabeth.

 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's 

womb.

 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to 

make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad 

tidings.

 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall 

be fulfilled in their season.

 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and 

remained speechless.

 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that 

holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

 And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

 

 

 

Mattew Chapter 24

 

 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown 

down.

 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy 

coming, and of the end of the world?

 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very 

elect.

 Behold, I have told you before.

 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the 

powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in 

the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the 

other.

 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his 

house to be broken up.

 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

 And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

 

 

1 Corinthians  13

 

 

 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and 

have not charity, I am nothing.

 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish 

away.

 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

 

 

 

 

John Chapter 1

 

 

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 The same was in the beginning with God.

 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on 

him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) 

where dwellest thou?

 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, 

A stone.

 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of 

Joseph.

 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I 

saw thee.

 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of 

man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Chapter 10

 

 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf 

catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of 

my Father.

 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.

 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?

 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

 I and my Father are one.

 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,

 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.

 And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.

 And many believed on him there.

 

 

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