⁶ Therefore I remind you ^(A)to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

Glory Only in the Lord

²⁶ For ^[a]you see your calling, brethren, ^(A)that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many ^[b]noble, are called. ²⁷ But ^(B)God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the ^[c]base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Abraham’s Faith Confirmed^(A)

22 Now it came to pass after these things that ^(B)God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

² Then He said, “Take now your son, ^(C)your only son Isaac, whom you ^(D)love, and go ^(E)to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a ^(F)burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

³ So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. ⁵ And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the ^[a]lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will ^(G)come back to you.”

⁶ So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and ^(H)laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. ⁷ But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the ^[b]lamb for a burnt offering?”

⁸ And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the ^(I)lamb for a ^(J)burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

⁹ Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and ^(K)laid him on the altar, upon the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

¹¹ But the ^(L)Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

So he said, “Here I am.”

¹² And He said, ^(M)“Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for ^(N)now I know that you fear God, since you have not ^(O)withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

¹³ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of the place, ^[c]The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

¹⁵ Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, ¹⁶ and said: ^(P)“By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— ¹⁷ blessing I will ^(Q)bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants ^(R)as the stars of the heaven ^(S)and as the sand which is on the seashore; and ^(T)your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. ^18 (U)In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ^(V)because you have obeyed My voice.”

Christ Brings Division^(A)

^49 (B)“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But ^(C)I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is ^(D)accomplished! ^51 (E)Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, ^(F)but rather division. ^52 (G)For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. ^53 (H)Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, ^(A)whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain ^(B)from the foundation of the world.

^16 (A)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten ^(B)Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ^17 (C)For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

^18 (D)“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.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came ^[a]before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ^9 (A)I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

^11 (B)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a ^[b]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(C)leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and ^(D)I know My sheep, and ^(E)am known by My own. ^15 (F)As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; ^(G)and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(H)other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; ^(I)and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷ “Therefore My Father ^(J)loves Me, ^(K)because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I ^(L)have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. ^(M)This command I have received from My Father.”

The Outworking of Love

^16 (A)By this we know love, ^(B)because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Living Sacrifices to God

12 I ^(A)beseech^[a] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies ^(B)a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your ^[b]reasonable service. ² And ^(C)do not be conformed to this world, but ^(D)be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may ^(E)prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.