Living the Gospel

1 John 4:7-19
God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
⁹ God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
¹⁰ In this love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
¹¹ Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
¹³ By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
¹⁵ God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
¹⁶ So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world.
¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13
The Gift of Love

¹ If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
³ If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
⁴ Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant
⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
⁶ it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.
⁹ For our know only in part, and we prophesy only in part;
¹⁰ but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.
¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
¹³ And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Luke 15:11-32
The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother

¹¹ Then Jesus said, 'There was a man who had two sons.
¹² The younger of them said to his father, "Father give me the share of the property that will belong to me." So he divided his property between them.
¹³ A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
¹⁴ When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed his pigs.
¹⁶ He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ But when he came to himself he said, "How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against one of your hired hands.'" 
²⁰ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
²¹ Then the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son."
²² But the father said to his slaves, "Quickly, bring out a robe - the best one - and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
²³ And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!" And they began to celebrate.
²⁵ 'Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
²⁶ He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.
²⁷ He replied "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound." 
²⁸ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and he began to plead with him.
²⁹ But he answered his father, "Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.
³⁰ But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!" 
³¹ Then the father said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found."'

Matthew 25:31-46
The Judgement of the Nations

³¹ 'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
³³ and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
³⁴ Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
³⁶ I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me."
³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
³⁸ And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?
³⁹ And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?
⁴⁰ And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." 
⁴¹ Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
⁴² for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me."
⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?"
⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."
⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.'

Luke 4:16-21
The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

¹⁶ When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
¹⁸  'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'
²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
²¹ Then he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'

Luke 24:13-35
The Walk to Emmaus

¹³ Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
¹⁴ and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,
¹⁶ but their eyes were kept from recognising him.
¹⁷ "And he said to them, 'What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?' They stood still, looking sad.
¹⁸ Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, `Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?'
¹⁹ He asked them, 'What things?' They replied, The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
²⁰ and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.
²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.
²² Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,
²³ and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him'.
²⁵ Then he said to them, 'Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!
²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?'
²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
²⁸ As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.
²⁹ But they urged him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over'. So he went in to stay with them.
³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised him; and he vanished from their sight.
³² They said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?'
³³ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.
³⁴ They were saying, 'The Lord has risen indeed, and he had appeared to Simon!'
³⁵ Then they told what has happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

John 10:10

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Luke 19:1-10
Jesus and Zacchaeus

¹ He entered Jericho and was passing through it.
² A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich.
³ He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.
⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycomore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.
⁵ When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, `Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.'
⁶ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
⁷ All who saw it began to grumble and said, 'He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.'
⁸ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, 'Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.'
⁹ Then Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.
¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.'

Luke 10:30-37

³⁰ Jesus replied, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
³³ But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, "Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend."
³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?'
³⁷ He said, 'The one who showed him mercy.' Jesus said to him, to and do likewise.'

John 15:1-17
Jesus the True Vine

¹ 'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.
² He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
³ You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
⁴ Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
⁶ Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
⁹ As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
¹¹ I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
¹² 'This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
¹³ No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.
¹⁵ I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
¹⁶ You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
¹⁷ I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.