Book of Common Prayer
God’s Love for Israel
105 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.
Tell the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him. Sing praises to him.
Tell about all the wonderful things he has done.
3 Be glad that you are his.
Let those who ask the Lord for help be happy.
4 Depend on the Lord and his strength.
Always go to him for help.
5 Remember the wonderful things he has done.
Remember his miracles and his decisions.
6 You are descendants of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen people.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His laws are for all the world.
8 He will keep his agreement forever.
He will keep his promises always.
9 He will keep his agreement he made with Abraham.
He will keep the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He made it a law for the people of Jacob.
He made it an agreement with Israel to last forever.
11 The Lord said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
The promised land will belong to you.”
12 Then God’s people were few in number.
They were strangers in the land.
13 They went from one nation to another.
They went from one kingdom to another.
14 But the Lord did not let anyone hurt them.
He warned kings not to harm them.
15 He said, “Don’t hurt my chosen people.
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 God ordered a time of hunger in the land.
And he destroyed all the food.
17 Then he sent a man ahead of them.
It was Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They put chains around his feet
and an iron ring around his neck.
19 Then the time he had spoken of came.
The Lord’s words proved that Joseph was right.
20 The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and freed him.
The ruler of the people set him free.
21 He made him the master of his house.
Joseph was in charge of his riches.
22 He could order the princes as he wished.
He taught the older men to be wise.
23 Then his father Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob, also called Israel, lived in Egypt.[a]
24 The Lord made his people grow in number.
He made them stronger than their enemies.
25 And he caused the Egyptians to hate his people.
They made plans against the Lord’s servants.
26 Then he sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They did many signs among the Egyptians.
They worked miracles in Egypt.
28 The Lord sent darkness and made the land dark.
But the Egyptians turned against what he said.
29 So he changed their water into blood
and made their fish die.
30 Then their country was filled with frogs.
They were even in the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 The Lord spoke, and flies came.
Gnats were everywhere in the country.
32 He made hail fall like rain.
And he sent lightning through their land.
33 He struck down their grapevines and fig trees.
He destroyed every tree in the country.
34 He spoke, and grasshoppers came.
The locusts were too many to count.
35 They ate all the plants in the land.
They ate what the earth produced.
36 The Lord also killed all the firstborn sons in the land,
the oldest son of each family.
37 Then he brought his people out,
and they carried with them silver and gold.
Not one of his people stumbled.
38 The Egyptians were glad when they left
because the Egyptians were afraid of them.
39 The Lord covered them with a cloud
and lit up the night with fire.
40 When they asked, he brought them quail.
He filled them with bread from heaven.
41 God split the rock, and water flowed out.
It ran like a river through the desert.
42 He remembered his holy promise
to his servant Abraham.
43 So God brought his people out with joy.
He brought out his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them lands that belonged to other nations.
They received what others had worked for.
45 This was so they would keep his orders
and obey his teachings.
Praise the Lord!
3 Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the country of Edom. Jacob sent messengers to Esau. 4 Jacob told the messengers, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘This is what Jacob, your servant, says: I have lived with Laban and have remained there until now. 5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. I send this message to you and ask you to accept us.’”
6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you. And he has 400 men with him.”
7 Then Jacob was very afraid and worried. He divided the people who were with him into two camps. He also divided all the flocks, herds and camels into two camps. 8 Jacob thought, “Esau might come and destroy one camp. But the other camp can run away and be saved.”
9 Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to return to my country and my family. You said that you would do good to me. 10 I am not worthy of the kindness and continual goodness you have shown me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I had only my walking stick. But now I own enough to have two camps. 11 Please save me from my brother Esau. I am afraid he will come and kill all of us, even the mothers with the children. 12 You said to me, ‘I will do good to you. I will make your children as many as the sand of the seashore. There will be too many to count.’”
13 Jacob stayed there for the night. He prepared a gift for Esau from what he had with him. 14 It was 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep. 15 There were 30 female camels and their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. 16 Jacob gave each separate flock of animals to one of his servants. Then he said to them, “Go ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” 17 Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals he said, “My brother Esau will come to you. He will ask you, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going? Whose animals are these?’ 18 Then you will answer, ‘These animals belong to your servant Jacob. He sent them as a gift to you my master, Esau. And Jacob also is coming behind us.’”
19 Jacob ordered the second servant, the third servant and all the other servants to do the same thing. He said, “Say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 Say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” Jacob thought, “If I send this gift ahead of me, maybe Esau will forgive me. Then when I see him, perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So Jacob sent the gift to Esau. But Jacob stayed that night in the camp.
Reject the Enemies of Christ
18 My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near. 19 Those enemies of Christ were in our group. But they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, then they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.
20 You have the gift[a] that the Holy One gave you. So you all know the truth.[b] 21 Why do I write to you? Do I write because you do not know the truth? No, I write this letter because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.
22 So who is the liar? It is the person who says Jesus is not the Christ. A person who says Jesus is not the Christ is the enemy of Christ. He does not believe in the Father or in his Son. 23 If anyone does not believe in the Son, he does not have the Father. But whoever accepts the Son has the Father, too.
24 Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching that you heard from the beginning. If you continue in that teaching, you will stay in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.
26 I am writing this letter about those people who are trying to lead you the wrong way. 27 Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you do not need any other teacher. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. This gift is true, not false. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.
28 Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear on the day when Christ comes back. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes. 29 You know that Christ is righteous. So you know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
19 Again the Jews did not agree with each other because of these words Jesus said. 20 Many of them said, “A demon has come into him and made him crazy. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “A man who is crazy with a demon does not say things like this. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
22 The time came for the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. This was during the winter. 23 Jesus was walking in the Temple in Solomon’s Porch. 24 The Jews gathered around him and said, “How long will you make us wonder about you? If you are the Christ, then tell us plainly.”
Jesus Is the Son of God
25 Jesus answered, “I told you already, but you did not believe. I do miracles in my Father’s name. Those miracles show who I am. 26 But you don’t believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never die. And no person can steal them out of my hand. 29 My Father gave my sheep to me. He is greater than all, and no person can steal my sheep out of my Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.