Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is an isolated area.) 27 So he got up and went. And there was a man, an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship. 28 He was on his way home, sitting in his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go over there and stay close to that chariot.” 30 Philip ran up to it and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet.
Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I unless someone explains it to me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 Now the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading was this:
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he does not open his mouth.
33 In his[a] humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will talk about his generation?
For his life is taken from the earth.[b]
34 The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet talking about—himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began to speak. Starting with that very passage of Scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they were traveling along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”[c]
38 He ordered the chariot to stop. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they stepped up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away. The eunuch did not see him anymore, but went on his way rejoicing.
40 Philip, however, found himself at Azotus. And as he went from place to place, he preached the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
25 You are the source of my praise in the great congregation.[a]
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear him.
The Glory of Messiah’s Kingdom
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
Those who seek him will praise the Lord—
may he live in your hearts forever![b]
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before you.
28 For the kingdom belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will eat and bow down.
All who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.[c]
30 Descendants will serve him.
For generations people will be told about the Lord.
31 They will come and proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet to be born—
because he has done it.
God Is Love
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love has not known God, because God is love. 9 This is how God’s love for us was revealed: God has sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we may live through him. 10 This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us so much, we also should love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love has been brought to its goal in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 16 We also have come to know and trust the love that God has for us.
God is love. Whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 17 In this way his love has been brought to its goal among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are just like Jesus.[a] 18 There is no fear in love, but complete love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who continues to be afraid has not been brought to the goal in love.
19 We love[b] because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For how can anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen,[c] love God, whom he has not seen? 21 This then is the command we have from him: The one who loves God should also love his brother.
No Greater Love—in Good Fruit
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.[a] 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he is going to cut off. And he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will bear more fruit.
3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I am going to remain in you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Likewise, you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you continue to bear much fruit and prove to be[b] my disciples.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.