Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²⁶ The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. `Get up,' said the angel. `Go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. It is desert there.'

²⁷ So Philip went. He saw a man from the country of Ethiopia. This man was a servant of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopian people. She gave this servant much power. He took care of her money. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship.

²⁸ Now he was on his way back. He sat in his carriage reading from the book which was written long ago by Isaiah, the prophet of God.

²⁹ The Spirit of the Lord said to Stephen, `Go over to that man in the carriage.'

³⁰ So Philip went running to him. He heard him reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. `Do you understand what you are reading?' Philip asked.

³¹ `How can I? I have no man to teach me,' he answered. He asked Philip to get into the carriage and ride with him.

³² This is what he was reading: `He was led as a sheep to be killed. A lamb says nothing while its wool is being cut, so he also says nothing.

³³ He was put down very low. He was not allowed to have a proper trial. He had no children to follow after him. For his life is taken from the earth.'

³⁴ Then the man from Ethiopia asked Philip, `Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about, himself or some other man?'

³⁵ Then Philip told him about Jesus. He began with what the man read in the book.

³⁶ While they were going along, they came to some water by the road. The man said, `See, here is water. What is there to stop me from being baptised?'

³⁷ Philip answered, `If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptised.' The man said, `I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'

³⁸ The man told the driver to stop. Then both he and Philip went down into the water, and Philip baptised him.

³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The man did not see him again, but he went on his way and was very happy.

⁴⁰ Next, Philip came to the town of Azotus. He told the good news in all the cities through which he passed. Then he came to Caesarea.

⁷ My dear brothers, we must love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves others is God's child and he knows God.

⁸ But anyone who does not love others does not know God, because God is love.

⁹ This is how God showed his love for us. He sent his only Son into the world to give us life.

¹⁰ This is love! We did not love God, but he loved us. And he sent his Son to be the sacrifice to pay for the wrong things we have done.

¹¹ My dear brothers, if God loved us so much, we must love one another also.

¹² No man has ever seen God. But God lives in us if we love one another. And in loving one another, his love is made perfect.

¹³ He has given us of his own Spirit. That is how we know that we are in him and he is in us.

¹⁴ And we have seen and we are telling you that the Father sent his Son to save the people in the world.

¹⁵ If anyone says, `Jesus is the Son of God,' God is in him and he is in God.

¹⁶ We know and we believe that God loves us. God is love. And anyone who loves others is in God and God is in him.

¹⁷ That is why we love each other very much. Then we will not be afraid on the day when people are judged. We are like Christ in this world.

¹⁸ Where God's love is, there is no fear. God's perfect love takes away fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear. Anyone who has fear does not have perfect love.

¹⁹ We love others because God first loved us.

²⁰ If anyone says, `I love God', and he hates his brother, he is telling a lie. If he does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

²¹ God gave us this law. The person who loves God must love his brother also.

15 I am the real fruit tree. My Father is the One who takes care of the tree.

² He takes away from me every branch that does not bear fruit. And he cleans every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

³ What I said to you has made you clean already.

⁴ But you must be in me and I will be in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself. It must be joined to the tree. And you cannot do any good thing if you are not joined to me.

⁵ I am the fruit tree and you are the branches. I will be in the person who is in me. That person will have a fruitful life. But you can do nothing without me.

⁶ If any person is not in me, he is cut off like a branch and dies. People gather the dry branches and throw them into the fire to be burned.

⁷ If you are in me and obey me, you may ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you.

⁸ If you do much good and become my disciples, you will make my Father's name great.