Daily Bible Readings for Thursday, 30 November 2006

Salvation is for All

If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. The scripture says, "Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed." This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him. As the scripture says, "Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved."

But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed? And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the scripture says, "How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring good news!" But not all have accepted the Good news. Isaiah himself said, "Lord, who believed our message?" So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.

But I ask: Is it true that they did not hear the message? Of course they did -- for as the scripture says:

"The sound of their voice went out to all the world; their words reached the ends of the earth."

- Romans 10:9-18

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Daily Bible Readings for Wednesday, 29 November 2006

Before all these things take place, however, you will be arrested and persecuted; you will be handed over to be tried in synagogues and be put in prison; you will be brought before kings and rulers for my sake. This will be your chance to tell the Good News. Make up your minds ahead of time not to worry about how you will defend yourselves, because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say. You will be handed over by your parents, your brothers, your relatives, and your friends; and some of you will be put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a single hair from your heads will be lost. Stand firm, and you will save yourselves.

- Luke 21:12-19 *

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Daily Bible Readings for Tuesday, 28 November 2006

Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of the Temple

Some of the disciples were talking about the Temple, how beautiful it looked with its fine stones and the gifts offered to God. Jesus said, "All this you see -- the time will come when not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one will be thrown down."

Troubles and Persecutions

"Teacher," they asked, "when will this be? And what will happen in order to show that the time has come for it to take place?"

Jesus said, "Watch out; don't be fooled. Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, 'I am he!' and "The time has come!" But don't follow them. Don't be afraid when you hear of wars and revolutions; such things must happen first, but they do not mean that the end is near."

He went on to say, "Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be terrible earthquakes, faminees, and plagues everywhere; there will be strange and terrifying things coming from the sky."

- Luke 21:5-11

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Daily Bible Readings for Monday, 27 November 2006

The Great King

The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are his. He built it on the deep waters beneath the earth and laid its foundations in the ocean depths.

Who has the right to go up the Lord's hill? Who may enter his holy Temple? Those who are pure in act and in thought, who do not worship idols or make false promises. The Lord will bless them and save them; God will declare them innocent. Such are the people who come to God, who come into the presence of the God of Jacob.

- Psalms 24:1-6

The Widow's Offering

Jesus looked around and saw rich people dropping their gifts in the Temple Treasury, and he also saw a very poor widow dropping in two little copper coins. He said, "I tell you that this poor widow put in more than all of the others. For the others offered their gifts from what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, gave all she had to live on."

- Luke 21:1-4

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Daily Bible Readings for Sunday, 26 November 2006

Greetings to the Seven Churches

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world.

He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. To Jesus Christ be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!

"I am the first and the last," says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come."

- Revelation 1:5-8

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Daily Bible Readings for Saturday, 25 November 2006

Praise the Lord, my protector! He trains me for battle and prepares me for war. He is my protector and defender, my shelter and savior, in whom I trust for safety. He subdues the nations under me.

We are like a puff of wind; our days are like a passing shadow.

I will sing you a new song, O God; I will play the harp and sing to you. You give victory to kings and rescue your servant David.

- Psalms 144:1, 2, 9, 10

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Daily Bible Readings for Friday, 24 November 2006

Jesus Warns against the Teachers of the Law

As all the people listened to him, Jesus said to his disciples, "Be on your guard against the teachers of the Law, who likes to walk around in their long robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace; who choose the reserved seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts; who take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes, and then make a show of saying long prayers! Their punishment will be all the worse!"

- Luke 19:45-48

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Daily Bible Readings for Thursday, 23 November 2006

A Hymn of Praise

Praise the Lord!

Sing a new song to the Lord; praise him in the assembly of his faithful people! Be glad, Israel, because of your Creator; rejoice, people of Zion, because of your king! Praise his name with dancing; play drums and harps in praise of him. The Lord takes pleasure in his people; he honors the humble with victory. Let God's people rejoice in their triumph and sing joyfully all night long. Let them shout aloud as they praise God, to punish the nations as God has commanded. This is the victory of God's people.

Praise the Lord!

- Psalms 149:1-6, 9

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Daily Bible Readings for Wednesday, 22 November 2006

The Parable of the Gold Coins

While the people were listening to this, Jesus continued and told them a parable. He was now almost at Jerusalem, and they supposed that the Kingdom of God was just about to appear. So he said, "There was once a man of high rank who was going to a country far away to be made king, after which he planned to come back home. Before he left, he called his ten servants and gave them each a gold coin and told them, 'See what you can earn with this while I am gone.' Now, his own people hated him, and so they sent messengers after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'

"The man was made king and came back. At once he ordered his servants to appear before him, in order to find out how much they had earned. The first one came and said, 'Sir, I have earned ten gold coins with the one you gave me.' 'Well done,' he said; 'you are a good servant! Since you were faithful in small matters, I will put you in charge of ten cities.' The second servant came and said, "Sir, I have earned five gold coins with the one you gave me.' To this one he said, 'You will will be in charge of five cities.' Another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it hidden in a handkerchief. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take what is not yours and reap what you did not plant.' He said to him, 'You bad servant! I will use your own words to condemn you! You know that I am a hard man, taking what is not mine and reaping what I have not planted. Well, then, why didn't you put my money in the bank? Then I would have received it back with interest when I returned.' Then he said to those who were standing there. 'Take the gold coin away from him and give it to the servant who has ten coins.' But they said to him, 'Sir, he already has ten coins!' 'I tell you,' he replied, 'that to those who have something, even more will be given; but those who have nothing, even the little that they have will be taken away from them. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and kill them in my presence!'"

- Luke 19:11-28

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Daily Bible Readings for Tuesday, 21 November 2006

What God Requires

Those who obey God in everything and always do what is right, whose words are true and since, and who do not slander others. They do no wrong to their friends nor spread rumors about their neighbors. They despise those whom God rejects, but honor those who obey the Lord. They always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost. They make loans with charging interest and cannot be bribed to testify against the innocent.

Whoever does these things will always be secure.

- Psalms 15:2-5

Jesus and Zacchaeus

Jesus went on into Jericho and was passing through. There was a chief tax collector there named Zacchaeus, who was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was a little man and could not see Jesus because of the crowd. So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to Zacchaeus, "Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today."

Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed him with great joy. All the people who saw it started grumbling, "This man has gone as a guest to the home of a sinner!"

Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much."

Jesus said to him, "Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

- Luke 19:1-10

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Daily Bible Readings for Monday, 20 November 2006

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

As Jesus was coming near Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road, begging. When he heard the crowd, passing by, he asked, "What is this?"

"Jesus of Nazareth is passing by," they told him.

He cried out, "Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!"

The people in front scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, "Son of David! Have mercy on me!"

So Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?"

"Sir," he answered, "I want to see again."

Jesus said to him, "Then See! Your faith has made you well."

At once he was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving thanks to God. When the crowd saw it, they all praised God.

- Luke 18:35-43

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Daily Bible Readings for Sunday, 19 November 2006

The Time of the End

The angel wearing linen clothes said, "At that time the great angel Michael, who guards your people, will appear. Then there will be a time of troubles, the worst since nations first came into existence. When that time comes, all the people of your nation whose names are written in God's book will be saved. Many of those who have already died will live again: some will enjoy eternal life, and some will suffer eternal disgrace. The wise leaders will shine with all the brightness of the sky. And those who have taught many people to do what is right will shine like the stars forever."

- Daniel 12:1-3

You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands.

I am always aware of the Lord's presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me.

And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure, because you protect me from the power of death. I have served you faithfully, and you will not abandon me to the world of the dead.

You will show me the path that leads to life; your presence fills me with joy and brings me pleasure forever.

- Psalms 16:5, 8-11

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Daily Bible Readings for Saturday, 18 November 2006

The Parable of the Widow and the Judge

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged. "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, 'Help me against my opponent!' For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or respect people, yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I don't, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!'"

And the Lord continued, "Listen to what that corrupt judge said. Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people, who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them? I tell you, he will judge in their favor and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?"

- Luke 18:1-8

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Daily Bible Readings for Friday, 17 November 2006

"As it was in the time of Noah so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. Everybody kept on eating and drinking, and men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat and the flood came and killed them all. It will be as it was in the time of Lot. Everybody kept on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. On the day Lot left Sodom fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and killed them all. That is how it will be on the day the Son of man is revealed.

"On that day someone who is on the roof of a house must no go down into the house to get any belongings; in the same way anyone who is out in the filed must not go back to the house. Remember Lot's wife! Those who try to save their own life will lose it; those who will lose their life will save it. On that night, I tell you, there will be two people sleeping in the same bed: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. The two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken away, the other will be left behind."

The disciples asked him, "Where, Lord?"

Jesus answered, "Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather."

- Luke 17:26-37

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Daily Bible Readings for Thursday, 16 November 2006

The Coming of the Kingdom

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, "The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, 'Look, here it is!" or, 'There it is!'; because the Kingdom of God is within you."

Then he said to the disciples, "The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, over there!' or, 'Look, over here!' But don't go out looking for it. As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer much and be rejected by the people of this day."

- Luke 17:20-25

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Daily Bible Readings for Monday, 13 November 2006

From Paul, a servant og God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I was chosen and sent to help the faith of God's chosen people and to lead them to the truth taught by our religion, which is based on the hope for eternal life. God, who does not lie, promised us this life before the beginning of time, and at the right time he revealed it in his message. This was entrusted to me, and I proclaim it by order of God our Savior.

I write to Titus, my true son in the faith that we have in common.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior give you grace and peace.

Titus' Work in Crete

I left you in Crete, so that you could put in order the things that sill needed doing and appoint church elders in every town. Remember my instructions: an elder must be without fault; he must have only one wife, and his children must be believers and not have the reputation of being wild or disobedient. For since a church leader is in charge of God's work, he should be without fault. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered, or a drunkard or violent or greedy for money. He must be hospitable and love what is good. He must be self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the message which can be trusted and which agrees with the doctrine. In this way he will be able to encourage others with the true teaching and also to show the error of those who are opposed to it.

- Titus 1:1-9

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Daily Bible Readings for Sunday, 12 November 2006

So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the town gate, he saw a widow gathering firewood. "Please bring me a glass of water," he said to her. And as she was going to get it, he called out, "And please bring me some bread too."

She answered, "By the living Lord your God I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a bit of olive oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death."

"Don't worry,"Elijah said to her. "Go on and prepare your meal. But first make a small loaf from what you have and bring it to me, and then prepare the rest for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I, the Lord, send rain.'"

The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days. As the Lord had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.

1 Kings 17:10-16

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Daily Bible Readings for Saturday, 11 November 2006

And Jesus went on to say,"And so I tell you: make friends for yourselves with worldy wealth, so that when it gives out, you will be welcomed in the eternal home. Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones. If, then, you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, how can you be trusted with true wealth? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you?

"No servant can be the slave of two masters; such a slave will hate one and love the other or will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

When the Pharisees heard all this, they made fun of Jesus, because they loved money. Jesus said to them, "You are the ones who make yourseleves look right in other people's sight, but God knows your hearts. For the things that are considered of great value by people are worth nothing in God's sight."

- Luke 16:9-15

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Daily Bible Readings for Friday, 10 November 2006

Keep on imitating me, my friends. Pay attention to those who follow the right example that we have set for you. I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ's death on the cross. They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world. We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.

So then, my friends, how dear you are to me and how I miss you! How happy you make me, and how proud I am of you! -- this, dear friends, is how you should stand firm in your life in the Lord.

- Philippians 3:17 - 4:1

The Shrewd Manager

Jesus said to his disciples, "There was once a rich man who had a servant who managed his property. The rich man was told that the manager was wasting his master's money, so he called him in and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Turn in a complete account of your handling of my property, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' The servant said to himself, 'My master is going to dismiss me from my job. What shall I do? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. Now I know what I will do! Then when my job is gone, I shall have friends who will welcome me in their homes.' So he called in all the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, 'How much do you owe my master?' 'One hundred barrels of olive oil,' he answered. 'Here is your account,' the manager told him; 'sit down and write fifty.' Then he asked another one, 'And you -- how much do you owe?' 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he answered, 'Here is your account,' the manager told him; 'write eight hundred.' As a result the master of this dishonest manager praised him for doing such a shrewd thing; because the people of this world are much more shrewd in handling their affairs than the people who belong to the light."

- Luke 16:1-8

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Daily Bible Readings for Thursday, 9 November 2006

Jesus Goes to the Temple

It was almost time for the Passover Festival, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. There in the Temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and pigeons, and also the moneychangers sitting at their tables. So he made a whip from cords and drove all the animals out of the Temple, both the sheep and the cattle; he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins; and he ordered those who sold the pigeons, "Take them out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" His disciples remembered that the scripture says, "My devotion to your house, O God, burns in me like a fire."

The Jewish authorities came back at him with a question, "What miracle can you perform to show us that you have the right to do this?"

Jesus answered, "Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will build it again."

"Are you going to build it again in three days?" they asked him. "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple!"

But the temple Jesus was speaking about was his body. So when he was raised from death, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and what Jesus had said.

- John 2:13-22

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Daily Bible Readings for Wednesday, 8 November 2006

Shining as Lights in the World

So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation, because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted.

Perhaps my life's blood is to be poured out like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God. If that is so, I am glad and share my joy with you all. In the same way, you too must be glad and share your joy with me.

- Philippians 2:12-18

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Daily Bible Readings for Tuesday, 7 November 2006

The poor will eat as much as they want; those who come to the Lord will praise him. May they prosper forever.

All nations will remember the Lord. From every part of the world they will turn to him; all races will worship him. The Lord is king, and he rules the nations. All proud people will bow down to him; all mortals will bow down before him. Future generations will serve him; they will speak of the Lord to the coming generation. People not yet born will be told: "The Lord saved his people."

- Psalms 22:26-27, 28-31

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Daily Bible Readings for Monday, 6 November 2006

Christ's Humility and Greatness

Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another. I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind. Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own.

- Philippians 2:1-4

Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors -- for they will invite you back, and in this way you will be paid for what you did. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; and you will be blessed, because they are not able to pay you back. God will repay you on the day the good people rise from death."

- Luke 14:12-14

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Daily Bible Readings for Sunday, 5 November 2006

The Great Commandment

A teacher of the law was there who heard the discussion. He saw that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer, so he came to him with a question: "Which commandment is the most important of all?"

Jesus replied, "The most important one is this: "Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second most important commandment is this: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment more important than these two."

The teacher of the law said to Jesus, "Well done, Teacher! It is true, as you say, that only the Lord is God and that there is no other god but he. And you must love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. It is more important to obey these two commandments than to offer on the altar animals and other sacrifices to God."

Jesus noticed how wise his answer was, and so he told him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of god."

After this nobody dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

- Mark 12:28-34

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Daily Bible Readings for Saturday, 4 November 2006

Humility and Hospitality

One Sabbath Jesus went to a meal at the home of one of the leading Pharisees; and people were watching Jesus closely.

Jesus noticed how some of the guests were choosing the best places, so he told this parable to all of them. "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place. It could happen that someone more important than you has been invited, and your host, who invited both of you, would have to come and say to you, 'Let him have this place.' Then you would be embarrassed and have to sit in the lowest place. Instead, when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that your host will come to you and say, 'Come on up, my friend, to a better place.' This will bring you honor in the presence of all the other guests. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great."

- Luke 14:1, 7-11

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Daily Bible Readings for Friday, 3 November 2006

Jesus Heals a Sick Man

One Sabbath Jesus went to eat a meal at the home of one of the leading Pharisees; and people were watching Jesus closely. A man whose legs and arms were swollen came to Jesus, and Jesus spoke up and asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, "Does our Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not?"

But they would not say a thing. Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, "If any one of you had a child or an ox that happened to fall in a well on a Sabbath, would you not pull it out at once on the Sabbath itself?"

But they were not able to answer him about this.

- Luke 14:1-6

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Daily Bible Readings for Thursday, 2 November 2006

The Death of Jesus

At noon the whole country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours. At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?"

Some of the people there heard him and said, "Listen, he is calling for Elijah!" One of them ran up with a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, and put it on the end of a stick. Then he held it up to Jesus' lips and said, "Wait! Let us see if Elijah is coming to bring him down from the cross!"

With a loud cry Jesus died.

The curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus had died. "This man was really the Son of God!" he said.

The Resurrection

After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus. Very early on Sunday morning, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they said to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" (It was a very large stone.) Then they looked up and saw that the stone had already been rolled back. So they entered the tomb, where they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe -- and they were alarmed.

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified! He is not here -- he has been raised! Look, here is the place where he was placed."

- Mark 15:33-39; 16:1-6

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Daily Bible Readings for Wednesday, 1 November 2006

The 144,000 People of Israel

And I saw another angel coming up from the east with the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels to whom God had given the power to damage the earth and the sea. The angel said, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we mark the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads." And I was told that the number of those who were marked with God's seal on their foreheads was 144,000. They were from the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Enormous Crowd

After this I looked, and there was an enormous crowd- no one could count all the people! They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They called out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb!" All the angels stood around the throne, the elders and the four living creatures. Then they threw themselves face downward in front of the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!"

One of the elders asked me, "Who are these people dressed in white robes, and where do they come from?"

"I don't know, sir. You do," I answered.

- Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

The Great King

The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are his. He built it on the deep waters beneath the earth and laid its foundations in the ocean depths.

Who has the right to go up the Lord's hill? Who may enter his holy Temple? Those who are pure in act and in thought, who do not worship idols or make false promises. The Lord will bless them and save them; God will declare them innocent. Such are the people who come to God, who come into the presence of the God of Jacob.

- Psalms 24:1-6

The Sermon on the Mount

Jesus saw the crowds and went up a hill, where he sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them:

True Happiness

"Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!
"Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them!
"Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!
"Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!
"Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them!
"Happy are the pure in heart; they will see God!
"Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!
"Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!

"Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted."

- Matthew 5:1-12

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