M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The conception and birth of John the Baptist. The conception of Christ. The thankful songs of Mary and Zacharias.

1 Since many have taken in hand to compile an account of those things that are known for certain among us, ² as told to us by those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning, and ministered at the doing of them, ³ I determined also that, as soon as I had searched out diligently all things from the beginning, then I would write to you, good Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of those things of which you are informed.

⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the shift of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ Both were perfect before God, and walked in all the laws and observances of the Lord, and no man could find fault with them. ⁷ And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were well stricken in age.

⁸ And it came to pass as he executed the priest’s office before God, when his shift came ⁹ according to the custom of the priest’s office, the lot fell to him to burn incense. And he went into the temple of the Lord, ¹⁰ and the whole host of the people were outside in prayer while the incense was a-burning. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was startled, and fear came on him.

¹³ And the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard. And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to their Lord God. ¹⁷ And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the unbelievers to the wisdom of the just men: to make the people ready for the Lord.

¹⁸ And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be sure of this, seeing that I am old, and my wife well stricken in years?

¹⁹ And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God, and have been sent to speak to you and to show you these glad tidings. ²⁰ And behold, you shall be dumb and not able to speak until the time that these things are performed, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.

²¹ And the people waited for Zacharias, and wondered that he was so long in the temple. ²² And when he came out, he could not speak to them, whereby they perceived that he had seen some vision in the temple. And he gestured to them and remained speechless.

²³ And eventually, as soon as the time of his ministration was up, he departed home to his own house. ²⁴ And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵ Thus has God dealt with me in the days when he looked on me, to take from me the disgrace that I suffered among men.

²⁶ In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And the angel went in to her and said, Hail, thou full of grace! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.

²⁹ When she saw him, she was bewildered at his words, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this could be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for you have found grace with God. ³¹ Lo, you shall conceive in your womb, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will give to him the seat of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom shall be no end.

³⁴ Then said Mary to the angel, How will this be, seeing I do not know a man?

³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you. Therefore also, that holy thing which will be born of you will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold: your cousin Elizabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is her sixth month, though she be called barren. ³⁷ For with God, nothing is impossible.

³⁸ And Mary said, Behold the handmaiden of the Lord! Be it unto me even as you have said. 

And the angel departed from her.

He recalls God’s grace to the Corinthians, exhorts them to be of one mind, and rebukes the division that was among them. The wisdom of the world is foolishness before God; yea, there is no wisdom but in the despised cross of God.

1 Paul, by calling an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and brother Sosthenes.

² To the congregation of God which is at Corinth. To those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

³ Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I thank my God always in your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ – ⁵ that in all things you are made rich by him, in all learning and in all knowledge, ⁶ even as the testimony of Jesus Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷ so that you are behind in no gift, and wait for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ He will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For God is faithful, by whom you are called to the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰ I beseech you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to all speak one thing, and that there be no dissension among you, but be knit together in one mind and in one purpose. ¹¹ It is reported to me about you, my brethren, by those who are of the house of Chloe, that there is strife among you. ¹² And this is what I mean: that commonly among you one says, I hold to Paul; another, I hold to Apollos; the third, I hold to Cephas; the fourth, I hold to Christ. ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I christened none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶ (I baptized also the household of Stephanas. Beyond this, I do not remember if I baptized anyone or not.)

¹⁷ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should have been made of no effect. ¹⁸ For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will cast away the understanding of the learned. ²⁰ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this world? Has not God made the wisdom of this world foolishness?

²¹ For when the world through wisdom did not know God, in the wisdom of God, it pleased God to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching. ²² For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. ²³ But we preach Christ crucified: to the Jews an occasion of falling, and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both of the Jews and the Greeks, we preach Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ Brethren, look on your calling, how it is that not many who are wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many of high degree, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world, to confound things which are strong. ²⁸ And low things of the world, and things which are despised, God has chosen, yea and things of no reputation, to bring to nothing things of reputation, ²⁹ so that no flesh may glory in his presence. ³⁰ And to him you belong in Christ Jesus, who by God is made wisdom to us, and also righteousness and sanctifying and redemption, ³¹ so that as it is written, he who glories will glory in the Lord.