Matthew 2:1-12

2Nowafter Jesus was born inBethlehem of Judeain the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a]fromthe east came to Jerusalem,2saying, Where is he who has been bornking of the Jews? For we sawhis star when it rose[b]and have come toworship him.3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;4and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them wherethe Christ was to be born.5They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

6And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;for from you shall come a rulerwho willshepherd my people Israel.

7Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.8And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.9After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.11And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures,they offered him gifts,gold andfrankincense andmyrrh.12Andbeing warnedin a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Rev. 7:9-12

9After this I looked, and behold,a great multitude that no one could number,from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,clothed in white robes, withpalm branches in their hands,10and crying out with a loud voice,Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders andthe four living creatures, and theyfell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,12saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.

Luke 1:26-33

26In the sixth month the angelGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee namedNazareth,27to a virgin betrothed[a]to a man whose name was Joseph,of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.28And he came to her and said, Greetings,O favored one,the Lord is with you![b]29Butshe was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.30And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, foryou have found favor with God.31And behold,you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, andyou shall call his name Jesus.32He will be great and will be called the Son ofthe Most High. And the Lord Godwill give to him the throne ofhis father David,33and he will reign over the house of Jacobforever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Rev. 22:1-5

22Then the angel[a]showed methe river ofthe water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb2through the middle ofthe street of the city;also, on either side of the river,the tree of life[b]with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree werefor the healing of the nations.3No longer will there be anything accursed, butthe throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, andhis servants will worship him.4They will see his face, andhis name will be on their foreheads.5Andnight will be no more. They will need no light of lampor sun, forthe Lord God will be their light, andthey will reign forever and ever.

46And Mary said,

Mysoulmagnifies the Lord,47and myspirit rejoices inGod my Savior,48forhe has looked on the humble estate of his servant.For behold, from now on all generationswill call me blessed;49forhe who is mightyhas done great things for me,andholy is his name.50Andhis mercy is for those who fear himfrom generation to generation.51He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;52he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate;53he has filledthe hungry with good things,and the richhe has sent away empty.54He hashelpedhis servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy,55as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

19After this I heardwhat seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

Hallelujah!Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,2forhis judgments are true and just;for he has judgedthe great prostitutewho corrupted the earth with her immorality,andhas avenged on her the blood of his servants.

3Once more they cried out,

Hallelujah!The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.

4Andthe twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen. Hallelujah!5And from the throne came a voice saying,

Praise our God,all you his servants,you who fear him,small and great.

6Then I heard what seemed to bethe voice of a great multitude, likethe roar of many waters andlike the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

Hallelujah!For the Lord our Godthe Almightyreigns.7Let us rejoice and exultand give him the glory,forthe marriage of the Lamb has come,andhis Bride has made herself ready;8it was granted her to clothe herselfwith fine linen, bright and pure

for the fine linen isthe righteous deeds of the saints.

9And the angel said[a]to me, Write this:Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me,These are the true words of God.10ThenI fell down at his feet to worship him,but he said to me, You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold tothe testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

11Then I sawheaven opened, and behold,a white horse! The one sitting on it is calledFaithful and True, andin righteousness he judges and makes war.12His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head aremany diadems, and he hasa name written that no one knows but himself.13He is clothed ina robe dipped in[b]blood, and the name by which he is called isThe Word of God.14And the armies of heaven,arrayed in fine linen, white and pure,were following him on white horses.15From his mouth comes a sharp swordwith which to strike down the nations, andhe will rule[c]them with a rod of iron.He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.16On his robe and on his thighhe has a name written,King of kings and Lord of lords.

17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called toall the birds that fly directly overhead,Come, gather forthe great supper of God,18to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,[d]both small and great.19And I sawthe beast and the kings of the earth with their armiesgathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.20And the beast was captured, and with itthe false prophetwho in its presence[e]had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those whoworshiped its image. These two werethrown alive into the lake offire that burns with sulfur.21And the rest were slain by the swordthat came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, andall the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Shepherd the Flock of God

5So I exhort the elders among you,as a fellow elder anda witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:2shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,[a]not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;[b]not for shameful gain, but eagerly;3notdomineering over those in your charge, butbeing examples to the flock.4And whenthe chief Shepherd appears, you will receive theunfadingcrown of glory.5Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, forGod opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

6Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,7casting all your anxieties on him, becausehe cares for you.8Be sober-minded;be watchful. Youradversary the devilprowls aroundlike a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.9Resist him,firm in your faith, knowing thatthe same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.10Andafter you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,who has called you to hiseternal glory in Christ, will himselfrestore,confirm, strengthen, and establish you.11To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

12BySilvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him,I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this isthe true grace of God.Stand firm in it.13She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so doesMark, my son.14Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

19Therefore let those who suffer according to God's willentrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Suffering for Righteousness' Sake

8Finally, all of you,have unity of mind, sympathy,brotherly love,a tender heart, anda humble mind.9Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary,bless, forto this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.10For

Whoever desires to love lifeand see good days,let him keep his tongue from eviland his lips from speaking deceit;11let him turn away from evil and do good;let him seek peace and pursue it.12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and his ears are open to their prayer.But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

13Nowwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?14But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.Have no fear of them,nor be troubled,15butin your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness andrespect,16having a good conscience, so that,when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.17Forit is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.

18For Christ alsosuffered[a]once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,that he might bring us to God, being put to deathin the flesh but made alivein the spirit,19in which[b]he went andproclaimed[c]to the spirits in prison,20because[d]they formerly did not obey,when God's patience waited in the days of Noah,while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is,eight persons, were brought safely through water.21Baptism, which corresponds to this,now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body butas an appeal to God for a good conscience,through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,22who has gone into heaven andis at the right hand of God,with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Wives and Husbands

3Likewise, wives,be subject to your own husbands, so thateven if some do not obey the word,they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,2when they see yourrespectful and pure conduct.3Do not let your adorning be externalthe braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear4but let your adorning bethe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.5For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,6as Sarah obeyed Abraham,calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good anddo not fear anything that is frightening.

7Likewise,husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weakervessel, since they are heirs with you[a]of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Submission to Authority

13Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,[a]whether it be to the emperor[b]as supreme,14or to governors as sent by himto punish those who do evil andto praise those who do good.15For this is the will of God,that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.16Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, butliving as servants[c]of God.17Honor everyone.Love the brotherhood.Fear God. Honor the emperor.

18Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.19For this is a gracious thing, when,mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? Butif when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.21Forto this you have been called,because Christ also suffered for you,leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.22He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten,but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that wemight die to sin andlive to righteousness.By his wounds you have been healed.25Foryou were straying like sheep, but have now returned tothe Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

A Living Stone and a Holy People

2So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.2Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritualmilk, that by it you may grow up into salvation3if indeed you havetasted that the Lord is good.

4As you come to him, a living stonerejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,5you yourselves like living stones are being built up asa spiritual house, to bea holy priesthood,to offer spiritual sacrificesacceptable to God through Jesus Christ.6For it stands in Scripture:

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,a cornerstone chosen and precious,and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

7So the honor is for you whobelieve, but for those whodo not believe,

The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone,[a]

8and

A stone of stumbling,and a rock of offense.

They stumble because they disobey the word,as they were destined to do.

9But you area chosen race,a royalpriesthood,a holy nation,a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called youout of darkness intohis marvelous light.10Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11Beloved, I urge youas sojourners and exilesto abstain from the passions of the flesh,which wage war against your soul.12Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers,they may see your good deeds and glorify God onthe day of visitation.

Called to Be Holy

13Therefore,preparing your minds for action,[a]andbeing sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.14As obedient children,do not be conformed to the passionsof your former ignorance,15butas he who called you is holy, you also be holyin all your conduct,16since it is written,You shall be holy, for I am holy.17And if youcall on him as Father whojudgesimpartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselveswith fear throughout the time of your exile,18knowing that youwere ransomed fromthe futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,19butwith the precious blood of Christ, like that ofa lambwithout blemish or spot.20He was foreknown before the foundation of the world butwas made manifestin the last times for the sake of you21who through him are believers in God,who raised him from the dead andgave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

22Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth fora sincere brotherly love,love one another earnestly from a pure heart,23since you have been born again,not of perishable seed but of imperishable, throughthe living and abiding word of God;24for

All flesh is like grassand all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers,and the flower falls,25but the word of the Lord remains forever.

And this wordis the good news that was preached to you.