Book of Common Prayer

I Am Writing To You Because of What Has Already Happened In Your Life

¹² I am writing to you, little-children^[a], because your sins have been forgiven you for-the-sake-of His name. ¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known the One from the beginning. I am writing to you, young-men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I Wrote To You Because of Who And What You Already Know

¹⁴ I wrote^[b] to you, children, because you have known the Father. I wrote to you, fathers, because you have known the One from the beginning. I wrote to you, young-men, because you are strong ones, and the word of God is abiding in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

So Don’t Love The World Or Pursue Its Desires. The One Doing God’s Will Abides Forever

¹⁵ Do not be loving the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone is loving the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ Because everything in the world— the desire of ^[c] the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the boastful-pride of life^[d]— is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing-away, and its desire. But the one doing the will of God abides forever.

10 ¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, the one not entering into the fold of the sheep through the door, but going-up from-another-place— that one is a thief and a robber. ² But the One entering through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The doorkeeper opens to this One. And the sheep hear^[a] His voice. And He calls His own sheep by name, and leads them out. ⁴ When He brings out all His own, He proceeds in front of them. And the sheep are following Him, because they know His voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers”. ⁶ Jesus spoke this figure-of-speech to them, but those ones did not understand what the things were which He was speaking to them.

I Am The Door of The Sheep. All Who Enter Through Me Will Be Saved

⁷ Then Jesus said again, “Truly, truly, I say to you that I am the door of ^[b] the sheep. ⁸ All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen-to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. And he will go in and go out, and he will find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief does not come except that he may steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have abundance^[c].

I Am The Good Shepherd. All My Sheep Know Me. I Give My Life For Them

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays-down His life for the sheep. ¹² The one being a hired one and not a shepherd, of whom the sheep are not his own— he sees the wolf coming and leaves^[d] the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them, ¹³ because he is a hired one, and he is not concerned about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. And I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. And I lay-down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold^[e]. I must bring those also. And they^[f] will hear My voice. And they will become one flock, [with] one Shepherd. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves Me— because I lay down My life so that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. I received this commandment from My Father”.