Staff & Leadership

¹Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD from the heavens;

Praise Him in the heights!

²Praise Him, all His angels;

Praise Him, all His hosts!

³Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all stars of light!

⁴Praise Him, highest heavens,

And the waters that are above the heavens!

⁵Let them praise the name of the LORD,

For He commanded and they were created.

⁶He has also established them forever and ever;

He has made a decree which will not pass away.

⁷Praise the LORD from the earth,

Sea monsters and all deeps;

⁸Fire and hail, snow and clouds;

Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

⁹Mountains and all hills;

Fruit trees and all cedars;

¹⁰Beasts and all cattle;

Creeping things and winged fowl;

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples;

Princes and all judges of the earth;

¹²Both young men and virgins;

Old men and children.

¹³Let them praise the name of the LORD,

For His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴And He has lifted up a horn for His people,

Praise for all His godly ones;

Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him.

Praise the LORD!

⁴But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,⁵so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.⁶Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”⁷Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

²²And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “EVERYfirstbornMALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD”),²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS.”

²⁵And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.²⁶And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,²⁸then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,

According to Your word;

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

³¹Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³²A LIGHTOF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,

And the glory of Your people Israel.”

³³And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—³⁵and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.³⁸At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.⁴⁰The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

¹“Arise, shine; for your light has come,

And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

²“For behold, darkness will cover the earth

And deep darkness the peoples;

But the LORD will rise upon you

And His glory will appear upon you.

³“Nations will come to your light,

And kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴“Lift up your eyes round about and see;

They all gather together, they come to you.

Your sons will come from afar,

And your daughters will be carried in the arms.

⁵“Then you will see and be radiant,

And your heart will thrill and rejoice;

Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you,

The wealth of the nations will come to you.

⁶“A multitude of camels will cover you,

The young camels of Midian and Ephah;

All those from Sheba will come;

They will bring gold and frankincense,

And will bear good news of the praises of the LORD.

¹Give the king Your judgments, O God,

And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

²May he judge Your people with righteousness

And Your afflicted with justice.

³Let the mountains bring peace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

⁴May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

⁵Let them fear You while the sun endures,

And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

⁶May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,

Like showers that water the earth.

⁷In his days may the righteous flourish,

And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

⁸May he also rule from sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,

And his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;

The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

¹¹And let all kings bow down before him,

All nations serve him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,

The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

¹³He will have compassion on the poor and needy,

And the lives of the needy he will save.

¹⁴He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be precious in his sight;

Paul’s Stewardship

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—²if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;³that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.⁴By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,⁵which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;⁶to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,⁷of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.⁸To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,⁹and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;¹⁰so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.¹¹This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,¹²in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

The Visit of the Magi

¹Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,²“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.⁴Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.⁵They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

⁶‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,

ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;

FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER

WHO WILLSHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”

⁷Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”⁹After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.¹¹After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.¹²And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

¹But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel,

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

²“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

³“For I am the LORD your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I have given Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in your place.

⁴“Since you are precious in My sight,

Since you are honored and I love you,

I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

⁵“Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

And gather you from the west.

⁶“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring My sons from afar

And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

⁷Everyone who is called by My name,

And whom I have created for My glory,

Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

¹Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty,

Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

²Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name;

Worship the LORD in holy array.

³The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;

The God of glory thunders,

The LORD is over many waters.

⁴The voice of the LORD is powerful,

The voice of the LORD is majestic.

⁵The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;

Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

⁶He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

And Sirion like a young wild ox.

⁷The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.

⁸The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;

The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve

And strips the forests bare;

And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

¹⁰The LORD sat as King at the flood;

Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.

¹¹The LORD will give strength to His people;

The LORD will bless His people with peace.

¹⁴Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,¹⁵who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.¹⁶For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.¹⁷Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.

¹⁵Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,¹⁶John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.¹⁷“His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.¹⁹But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done,²⁰Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

Jesus Is Baptized

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Genealogy of Jesus

¹For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,

Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,

And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

²The nations will see your righteousness,

And all kings your glory;

And you will be called by a new name

Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.

³You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,

And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

⁴It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”

Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;

But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”

And your land, “Married”;

For the LORD delights in you,

And to Him your land will be married.

⁵For as a young man marries a virgin,

So your sons will marry you;

And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

So your God will rejoice over you.

⁵Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens,

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

⁶Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

Your judgments are like a great deep.

O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

⁷How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

⁸They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;

And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.

⁹For with You is the fountain of life;

In Your light we see light.

¹⁰O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,

And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

The Use of Spiritual Gifts

¹Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.²You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.³Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.⁵And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.⁶There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.⁷But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.⁸For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,¹⁰and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.¹¹But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

Miracle at Cana

¹On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;²and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.³When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.”⁴And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”⁵His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”⁶Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.⁷Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim.⁸And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him.⁹When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,¹⁰and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine;but you have kept the good wine until now.”¹¹This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

Ezra Reads the Law

¹And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel.²Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.³He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.⁴Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam on his left hand.⁵Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.⁶Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.⁷Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place.⁸They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.

“This Day Is Holy”

⁹Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

¹The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

²Day to day pours forth speech,

And night to night reveals knowledge.

³There is no speech, nor are there words;

Their voice is not heard.

⁴Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their utterances to the end of the world.

In them He has placed a tent for the sun,

⁵Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;

It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

⁶Its rising is from one end of the heavens,

And its circuit to the other end of them;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

⁸The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

⁹The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

¹⁰They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward.

¹²Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

¹³Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;

Let them not rule over me;

Then I will be blameless,

And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

¹²For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.¹³For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴For the body is not one member, but many.¹⁵If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.¹⁶And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?¹⁸But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.¹⁹If they were all one member, where would the body be?²⁰But now there are many members, but one body.²¹And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”²²On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;²³and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable,²⁴whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked,²⁵so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.²⁶And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

²⁷Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.²⁸And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.²⁹All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?³⁰All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?³¹But earnestly desire the greater gifts.

And I show you a still more excellent way.

¹⁴And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.¹⁵And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

¹⁶And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.¹⁷And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

¹⁸“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,

BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.

HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,

AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,

TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

¹⁹TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

²⁰And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.²¹And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”