Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
26 But (A)an angel of the Lord spoke to (B)Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to (C)Gaza.” ([a]This is a desert road.) 27 So he got up and went; and (D)there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he (E)had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his [b]chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then (F)the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this [c]chariot.” 30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
“(G)He was led as a sheep to slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth.
33 “(H)In humiliation His judgment was taken away;
Who will [d]relate His [e]generation?
For His life is removed from the earth.”
34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” 35 Then Philip (I)opened his mouth, and (J)beginning from this Scripture he (K)preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! (L)What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 [[f]And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he ordered the [g]chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, (M)the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, [h]but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip [i]found himself at [j](N)Azotus, and as he passed through he (O)kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to (P)Caesarea.
25 From You comes (A)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (B)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [a]afflicted will eat and (C)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (D)praise the Lord.
Let your (E)heart live forever!
27 All the (F)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (G)families of the nations will worship before [b]You.
28 For the (H)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (I)rules over the nations.
29 All the [c](J)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who (K)go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who [d](L)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 [e](M)Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to (N)the coming generation.
31 They will come and (O)will declare His righteousness
To a people (P)who will be born, that He has performed it.
God Is Love
7 (A)Beloved, let us (B)love one another, for love is from God; and (C)everyone who loves is [a](D)born of God and (E)knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for (F)God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested [b](G)in us, that (H)God has sent His [c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, (I)not that we loved God, but that (J)He loved us and sent His Son to be (K)the propitiation for our sins. 11 (L)Beloved, if God so loved us, (M)we also ought to love one another. 12 (N)No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His (O)love is perfected in us. 13 (P)By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and (Q)testify that the Father has (R)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 (S)Whoever confesses that (T)Jesus is the Son of God, God (U)abides in him, and he in God. 16 (V)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has [d](W)for us. (X)God is love, and the one who (Y)abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, (Z)love is perfected with us, so that we may have (AA)confidence in (AB)the day of judgment; because (AC)as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but (AD)perfect love casts out fear, because fear [e]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not (AE)perfected in love. 19 (AF)We love, because He first loved us. 20 (AG)If someone says, “I love God,” and (AH)hates his brother, he is a (AI)liar; for (AJ)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, (AK)cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And (AL)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God (AM)should love his brother also.
Jesus Is the Vine—Followers Are Branches
15 “(A)I am the true vine, and My Father is the (B)vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He [a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 (C)You are already [b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 (D)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit [c]of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he (E)bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is (F)thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, (G)ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My (H)Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so [d](I)prove to be My disciples.
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