In the Field Audio Scriptures

The eternal Jesus brings life, salvation, miracles, and divine dependence to rest in Him. With John, he brings a clear statement of purpose through eyewitness testimonies that can serve to both stimulate new beliefs and substantiate existing ones. The accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which are known as the Synoptic Gospels, all take a biographical (or chronological) approach to Jesus' life. On the other hand, John follows a theological one by adding more reflection and perspective to what people already know about the Son named Jesus.

Luke writes briefly of the birth of Jesus, acknowledging that whoever and wherever you are in the human race, Jesus is the Son of God sent for your salvation. There was never a time when Jesus was not, the preexistent Son of God, and because of this, a special divine arrangement was required for Him to enter into humanity: the miracle of the virgin birth of Christ. God allowed the eternal Son of God to be implanted in the temporal womb of Mary. She carried the seed of the eternal Son of God until He was born into human flesh.

The rule of God has come to earth. This is what the story of Israel is about. Jesus came from the family line of Abraham, the ancestor of all the tribes of Israel, continuing to the great King David. This biblical scripture is proof that God had kept his ancient promises, beginning the Christmas Story with the birth of Jesus.

1 We, Paul and Timothy, are writing this letter. We serve Christ Jesus. We are sending this letter to you, all God’s holy people in Philippi. You belong to Christ Jesus. We are also sending this letter to your leaders and deacons. 

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 

4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.

5 I am happy because you have joined me in spreading the good news. You have done so from the first day until now.  

6 God began a good work in you. And I am sure that he will carry it on until it is completed. That will be on the day Christ Jesus returns.

7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you. I love you with all my heart. I may be held by chains, or I may be standing up for the truth of the good news. Either way, all of you share in God’s grace together with me. 

8 God is my witness that I long for all of you. I love you with the love that Christ Jesus gives.

9 I pray that your love will grow more and more. And let it be based on knowledge and understanding. 

10 Then you will be able to know what is best. Then you will be pure and without blame for the day that Christ returns.

11 You will be filled with the fruit of right living produced by Jesus Christ. All these things bring glory and praise to God.

12 Brothers and sisters, here is what I want you to know. What has happened to me has actually helped to spread the good news. 

13 One thing has become clear. I am being held by chains because I am a  witness for Christ. All the palace guards and everyone else know it. 

14 And because I am a prisoner, most of the believers have become bolder in the Lord. They now dare even more to preach the good news without fear.

15 It’s true that some preach about Christ because they are jealous. But others preach about Christ to help me in my work.

16 The last group acts out of love. They know I have been put here to be a witness for the good news. 

17 But the others preach about Christ only to get ahead. They preach Christ for the wrong reasons. They think they can stir up trouble for me while I am being held by chains. 

18 But what does it matter? Here is the important thing. Whether for right or wrong reasons, Christ is being preached about. That makes me very glad. And I will continue to be glad.

19 I  know that you are praying for me. I also know that God will give me the  Spirit of Jesus Christ to help me. So no matter what happens, I’m sure I  will still be set free. 

20 I  completely expect and hope that I won’t be ashamed in any way. I’m sure  I will be brave enough. Now as always Christ will receive glory because of what happens to me. He will receive glory whether I live or die. 

21 For me, life finds all its meaning in Christ. Death also has its benefits.

22 Suppose  I go on living in my body. Then I will be able to carry on my work. It will bear a lot of fruit. But what should I choose? I don’t know! 

23 I can’t decide between the two. I long to leave this world and be with Christ. That is better by far. 

24 But it is more important for you that I stay alive. 

25 I’m sure of this. So I know I will remain with you. And I will continue with all of you to help you grow in your faith. I will also continue to help you be joyful in what you have been taught. 

26 I’m sure I will be with you again. Then you will be able to boast in Christ Jesus even more because of me.

Refer to https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=philippians%201&version=NIRV for the remainder of the verse.

1 So does belonging to Christ help you in any way? Does his love comfort you at all? Do you share anything in common because of the Holy Spirit? Has Christ ever been gentle and loving toward you? 

2 If any of these things has happened to you, then agree with one another. Have the same love. Be one in spirit and in the way you think and act. By doing this, you will make my joy complete. 

3 Don’t do anything only to get ahead. Don’t do it because you are proud. Instead, be humble. Value others more than yourselves. 

4 None of you should look out just for your own good. Each of you should also look out for the good of others. 

5 As you deal with one another, you should think and act as Jesus did. 

6 In his very nature he was God. Jesus was equal with God. But Jesus didn’t take advantage of that fact. 

7 Instead, he made himself nothing. He did this by taking on the nature of a servant. He was made just like human beings. 

8 He appeared as a man. He was humble and obeyed God completely. He did this even though it led to his death. Even worse, he died on a cross! 

9 So God lifted him up to the highest place. God gave him the name that is above every name. 

10 When the name of Jesus is spoken, everyone will kneel down to worship him. Everyone in heaven and on earth and under the earth will kneel down to worship him. 

11 Everyone’s mouth will say that Jesus Christ is Lord. And God the Father will receive the glory. 

12 My dear friends, you have always obeyed God. You obeyed while I was with you. And you have obeyed even more while I am not with you. So continue to work out your own salvation. Do it with fear and trembling. 

13 God is working in you. He wants your plans and your acts to fulfill his good purpose. 

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing. 

15 Then you will be pure and without blame. You will be children of God without fault among sinful and evil people. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. 

16 You will shine as you hold on tight to the word of life. Then I will be able to boast about you on the day Christ returns. I can be happy that I didn’t run or work for nothing. 

17 But my life might even be poured out like a drink offering on your sacrifices. I’m talking about the way you serve because you believe. Even so, I am glad. I am joyful with all of you. 

18 So you too should be glad and joyful with me. 

19 I hope to send Timothy to you soon if the Lord Jesus allows it. Then I will be encouraged when I receive news about you. 

20 I have no one else like Timothy. He will truly care about how you are doing. 

21 All the others are looking out for their own interests. They are not looking out for the interests of Jesus Christ. 

22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself. He has served with me like a son with his father in spreading the good news. 

23 So I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 

24 And I’m sure I myself will come soon if the Lord allows it. 

25 But I think it’s necessary to send Epaphroditus back to you. He is my brother in the Lord. He is a worker and a soldier of Christ together with me. He is also your messenger. You sent him to take care of my needs. 

26 He longs for all of you. He is troubled because you heard he was sick.

27 He was very sick. In fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him. He also had mercy on me. God spared me sadness after sadness. 

Refer to https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2&version=NIRV for remainder of the verse.

1 Further, my brothers and sisters, be joyful because you belong to the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write about some important matters to you again. If you know about them, you will have a safe path to follow. 

2 Watch out for those dogs. They are people who do evil things. When they circumcise, it is nothing more than a useless cutting of the body. 

3 But we have been truly circumcised. We serve God by the power of his Spirit. We boast about what Christ Jesus has done. We don’t put our trust in who we are or what we can do. 

4 I have many reasons to trust in who I am and what I have done. Someone else may think they have reasons to trust in these things. But I have even more.

5 I was circumcised on the eighth day. I am part of the people of Israel. I am from the tribe of Benjamin. I am a pure Hebrew. As far as the law is concerned, I am a Pharisee. 

6 As far as being committed is concerned, I opposed and attacked the church. As far as keeping the law is concerned, I kept it perfectly.

7 I thought things like that were really something great. But now I consider them to be nothing because of Christ. 

8 Even more, I consider everything to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. To know him is worth much more than anything else. Because of him I have lost everything. But I consider all of it to be garbage so I can know Christ better. 

9 I want to be joined to him. Being right with God does not come from my obeying the law. It comes because I believe in Christ. It comes from God because of faith. 

10 I want to know Christ better. Yes, I want to know the power that raised him from the dead. I want to join him in his sufferings. I want to become like him by sharing in his death. 

11 Then by God’s grace I will rise from the dead.

12 I have not yet received all these things. I have not yet reached my goal. Christ Jesus took hold of me so that I could reach that goal. So I keep pushing myself forward to reach it. 

13 Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet. But here is the one thing I do. I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. 

14 I push myself forward toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.

15 So all of us who are grown up in the faith should see things this way. Maybe you think differently about something. But God will make it clear to you. 

16 Only let us live up to what we have already reached.

17 Brothers and sisters, join together in following my example. You have us as a model. So pay close attention to those who live as we do. 

18 I have told you these things many times before. Now I tell you again with tears in my eyes. Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. 

19 The only thing they have coming to them is death. Their stomach is their god. They brag about what they should be ashamed of. They think only about earthly things. 

20 But we are citizens of heaven. And we can hardly wait for a Savior from there. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

21 He has the power to bring everything under his control. By his power he will change our earthly bodies. They will become like his glorious body.

1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus, just as God our Savior commanded. Christ Jesus also commanded it. We have put our hope in him.

2 Timothy, I am sending you this letter. You are my true son in the faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace.

3 Timothy, stay there in Ephesus. That is what I told you to do when I went into Macedonia. I want you to command certain people not to teach things that aren’t true.

4 And command them not to spend their time on stories that are made up. They must not waste time on family histories that never end. These things only lead to fights about ideas. They don’t help God’s work move forward. His work is done by faith.

5 Love is the purpose of my command. Love comes from a pure heart. It comes from a good sense of what is right and wrong. It comes from faith that is honest and true.

6 Some have turned from these teachings. They would rather talk about things that have no meaning.

7 They want to be teachers of the law. And they are very sure about that law. But they don’t know what they are talking about.

8 We know that the law is good if it is used properly.

9 We also know that the law isn’t made for godly people. It is made for those who break the law. It is for those who refuse to obey. It is for ungodly and sinful people. It is for those who aren’t holy and who don’t believe. It is for those who kill their fathers or mothers. It is for murderers.

10 It is for those who commit sexual sins. It is for those who commit homosexual acts. It is for people who buy and sell slaves. It is for liars. It is for people who tell lies in court. It is for those who are a witness to things that aren’t true. And it is for anything else that is the opposite of true teaching.

11 True teaching agrees with the good news about the glory of the blessed God. He trusted me with that good news.

12 I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. I thank him for appointing me to serve him.

13 I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer.

14 Our Lord poured out more and more of his grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus.

15 Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all.

16 But for that very reason, God showed me mercy. And I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in him. Then they would receive eternal life.

17 The eternal King will never die. He can’t be seen. He is the only God. Give him honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

18 My son Timothy, I am giving you this command. It is in keeping with the prophecies once made about you. By remembering them, you can fight the battle well.

19 Then you will hold on to faith. You will hold on to a good sense of what is right and wrong. Some have not accepted this knowledge of right and wrong. So they have destroyed their faith. They are like a ship that has sunk.

20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them. I have handed them over to Satan. That will teach them not to speak evil things against God.

1 First, I want you to pray for all people. Ask God to help and bless them. Give thanks for them.

2 Pray for kings. Pray for everyone who is in authority. Pray that we can live peaceful and quiet lives. And pray that we will be godly and holy.

3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior. He wants all people to be saved.

4 He wants them to come to know the truth.

5 There is only one God. And there is only one go-between for God and human beings. He is the man Christ Jesus.

6 He gave himself to pay for the sins of all people. We have been told this message at just the right time.

7 I was appointed to be a messenger and an apostle to preach the good news. I am telling the truth. I’m not lying. God appointed me to be a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

8 So I want the men in every place to pray. I want them to lift up holy hands. I don’t want them to be angry when they pray. I don’t want them to argue.

9 In the same way, I want the women to be careful how they dress. They should wear clothes that are right and proper. They shouldn’t wear their hair in very fancy styles. They shouldn’t wear gold or pearls. They shouldn’t wear clothes that cost a lot of money.

10 Instead, they should put on good works as if good works were their clothes. This is proper for women who claim to worship God.

11 When a woman is learning, she should be quiet. She should follow her leaders in every way.

12 I do not let women teach or take authority over a man. They must be quiet.

13 That’s because Adam was made first. Then Eve was made.

14 Adam was not the one who was tricked. The woman was tricked and became a sinner.

15 Will women be saved by having children? Only if they keep on believing, loving, and leading a holy life in a proper way.

1 Here is a saying you can trust. If anyone wants to be a leader in the church, they want to do a good work for God and people.

2 A leader must be free from blame. He must be faithful to his wife. In anything he does, he must not go too far. He must control himself. He must be worthy of respect. He must welcome people into his home. He must be able to teach.

3 He must not get drunk. He must not push people around. He must be gentle. He must not be a person who likes to argue. He must not love money.

4 He must manage his own family well. He must make sure that his children obey him. And he must do this in a way that gains him respect.

5 Suppose someone doesn’t know how to manage his own family. Then how can he take care of God’s church?

6 The leader must not be a new believer. If he is, he might become proud. Then he would be judged just like the devil.

7 The leader must also be respected by those who are outside the church. Then he will not be put to shame. He will not fall into the devil’s trap.

8 In the same way, deacons must be worthy of respect. They must be honest and true. They must not drink too much wine. They must not try to get money by cheating people.

9 They must hold on to the deep truths of the faith. Even their own minds tell them to do that.

10 First they must be tested. Then let them serve as deacons if there is nothing against them.

11 In the same way, the women must be worthy of respect. They must not say things that harm others. In anything they do, they must not go too far. They must be worthy of trust in everything.

12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife. He must manage his children and family well.

13 Those who have served well earn the full respect of others. They also become more sure of their faith in Christ Jesus.

14 I hope I can come to you soon. But now I am writing these instructions to you.

15 Then if I have to put off my visit, you will know how people should act in God’s family. The family of God is the church of the living God. It is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

16 There is no doubt that true godliness comes from this great mystery. Jesus came as a human being. The Holy Spirit proved that he was the Son of God. He was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations. People in the world believed in him. He was taken up to heaven in glory.

1 The Holy Spirit clearly says that in the last days some people will leave the faith. They will follow spirits that will fool them. They will believe things that demons will teach them.

2 Teachings like those come from liars who pretend to be what they are not. Their sense of what is right and wrong has been destroyed. It’s as though it has been burned with a hot iron.

3 They do not allow people to get married. They order them not to eat certain foods. But God created those foods. So people who believe and know the truth should receive them and give thanks for them.

4 Everything God created is good. You shouldn’t turn anything down. Instead, you should thank God for it.

5 The word of God and prayer make it holy.

6 Point out these things to the brothers and sisters. Then you will serve Christ Jesus well. You will show that you’ve grown in the truths of the faith. You will show that you’ve been trained by the good teaching you’ve obeyed.

7 Don’t have anything to do with godless stories and silly tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly.

8 Training the body has some value. But being godly has value in every way. It promises help for the life you are now living and the life to come.

9 This is the truth you can trust and accept completely.

10 This is why we work and try so hard. It’s because we have put our hope in the living God. He is the Savior of all people. Most of all, he is the Savior of those who believe.

11 Command and teach these things.

12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe. Show the believers how to be pure.

13 Until I come, spend your time reading Scripture out loud to one another. Spend your time preaching and teaching.

14 Don’t fail to use the gift the Holy Spirit gave you. He gave it to you through a prophecy from God. It was given when the elders placed their hands on you.

15 Keep on doing these things. Give them your complete attention. Then everyone will see how you are coming along.

16 Be careful of how you live and what you believe. Never give up. Then you will save yourself and those who hear you.