Book of Common Prayer

This is a song that David wrote for the music leader.

We trust God to help us^[a]

This is a song that David wrote for the music leader.

We thank God for his help^[b]

This is a song that David wrote.

God takes care of his people^[a]

This is a song that David wrote.

I trust God to keep me safe

¹⁷ Some time after that, the widow's son became ill. He became very ill until he could no longer breathe. ¹⁸ The woman said to Elijah, ‘Servant of God, why have you come to hurt me like this? Did you come to kill my son so that I would remember all my sins?’ ¹⁹ Elijah replied, ‘Give your son to me.’ He took her son from her arms. He carried the boy upstairs, to the room where he was staying. He put the boy down to lie on his bed. ²⁰ Then Elijah prayed to the Lord, ‘Lord, my God! Why have you caused such bad trouble to happen to this kind widow? I came to stay with her and now you have killed her son!’ ²¹ Then Elijah lay with his body across the boy. He did that three times. He prayed to the Lord, ‘Lord, my God, please cause this boy's life to return to him!’ ²² The Lord answered Elijah's prayer. The boy started to breathe again. He was alive! ²³ Elijah picked up the boy. He carried him down from his room into the house. He gave the boy to his mother and he said, ‘Look! Your son is alive!’ ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a servant of God. The words that you speak are truly a message from the Lord.’

John says ‘Hello’ to Gaius

¹ This letter comes from me, the leader of the believers. I am writing to you, my friend Gaius. I love you because we believe God's true message. ² My friend, I pray that God will help you to live well. I know that you are well in your spirit. I pray that your body will also be well. ³ I was very happy when I heard news about you. Some Christian friends came here to tell me about you. They said that you are living in a good way. That is the way that God's true message tells us to live. ⁴ I am happy when I hear that my children are living like that. When they obey God's true message, it makes me very happy.

Continue to help people

⁵ My friend, you do many things to help other believers. You help them even when they are strangers to you. This shows that you are serving God well. ⁶ These men have spoken to the group of believers here about your love. Please continue to help them when they visit you. Give them the things that they need to continue on their journey. That will make God happy. ⁷ They are travelling to different places to tell people about Jesus Christ. They do not accept any gifts from those people who are not Christians. ⁸ Because of that, we Christians must help them with the things that they need. In this way we will be working together with them as they tell people the true message about Christ.

Diotrephes is causing problems

⁹ I have already written something to the group of believers. But Diotrephes refuses to accept our authority. He really wants to be the only leader among them. ¹⁰ So, when I arrive there myself, I will speak to the believers about this. I will tell them clearly about the bad things that Diotrephes is doing. He tells other people bad things about us that are not true. Even that is not enough for him. He himself refuses to welcome the believers who are visiting. He also stops anyone else who wants to welcome those visitors.^[a] Instead, he sends them away from the group of believers.

Copy what good people do

¹¹ My friend, do not copy what bad people do. Instead, you should copy the good things that people do. The person who does good things shows that he belongs to God. But anyone who does bad things does not know God.

¹² All the believers say that Demetrius is a good person. He obeys God's true message. That also shows clearly that he is a good person. We also say the same thing about him. You know very well that what we say about him is true.

John finishes his letter

¹³ I would like to tell you many more things. But I do not want to write them in a letter. ¹⁴ Instead, I hope to come and visit you soon. Then I can see you and we can talk together.

¹⁵ I pray that God will give you peace. All your Christian friends here say ‘hello’ to you. Say ‘hello’ for me to each of my friends there, one by one.

⁴⁶ Jesus visited Cana again. This was the town in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. A certain man who was one of the king's officers was there. This officer had a son who was at his home in Capernaum. His son was very ill. ⁴⁷ The officer had heard the news that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea. So he went to Jesus and asked him to go to Capernaum. His son was dying. So he asked Jesus strongly to make his son well again.

⁴⁸ Jesus said to him, ‘You people want me to do great miracles that will surprise you. Unless you see these great miracles, none of you will ever believe my message.’ ⁴⁹ The king's officer said to Jesus, ‘Sir, come with me now before my child dies.’ ⁵⁰ Jesus replied, ‘Go home. Your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus had said. He started to go home. ⁵¹ While he was on the way, his servants met him. They told him, ‘Your child is now well. He will live.’ ⁵² He asked them, ‘At what time did he start to get well?’ They told him, ‘It was yesterday afternoon, at one o'clock. Then his body was no longer hot.’ ⁵³ Then the father remembered. He knew it was the time when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So the man and all his family believed in Jesus.

⁵⁴ This was the second miracle that Jesus did after he returned from Judea to Galilee.