^11 (A)He came to His ^[a]own, and His ^[b]own did not receive Him. ¹² But ^(B)as many as received Him, to them He gave the ^[c]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ^13 (C)who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Becomes Flesh

^14 (D)And the Word ^(E)became ^(F)flesh and dwelt among us, and ^(G)we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ^(H)full of grace and truth.

^15 (I)John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ^(J)‘He who comes after me ^[d]is preferred before me, ^(K)for He was before me.’ ”

^16 [e]And of His ^(L)fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For ^(M)the law was given through Moses, but ^(N)grace and ^(O)truth came through Jesus Christ.

³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(A)unless one is born ^[a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ 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?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(B)unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! ^(A)As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

^23 (A)If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

^18 (A)So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said to them, ^(B)“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ^20 (C)For we cannot but speak the things which ^(D)we have seen and heard.” ²¹ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, ^(E)because of the people, since they all ^(F)glorified God for ^(G)what had been done. ²² For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

Prayer for Boldness^(H)

²³ And being let go, ^(I)they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴ So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, ^(J)You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵ who ^[a]by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

²⁷ “For ^(L)truly against ^(M)Your holy Servant Jesus, ^(N)whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ^28 (O)to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. ²⁹ Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants ^(P)that with all boldness they may speak Your word, ³⁰ by stretching out Your hand to heal, ^(Q)and that signs and wonders may be done ^(R)through the name of ^(S)Your holy Servant Jesus.”

³¹ And when they had prayed, ^(T)the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(U)and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Sharing in All Things

³² Now the multitude of those who believed ^(V)were of one heart and one soul; ^(W)neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. ³³ And with ^(X)great power the apostles gave ^(Y)witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And ^(Z)great grace was upon them all.

The Model Prayer^(A)

11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

² So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

A Friend Comes at Midnight

⁵ And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; ⁶ for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? ⁸ I say to you, ^(D)though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking^(E)

^9 (F)“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; ^(G)seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ^11 (H)If a son asks for ^[e]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give ^(I)good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”