Romans 1:1-4; 1:9;
1:16-2:10
Rom. 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle
and set apart for the gospel of God--
Rom 1:2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the
Holy Scriptures
Rom 1:3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a
descendant of David,
Rom 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with
power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Rom 1:9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel
of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
Rom 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel,
because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who
believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Rom 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a
righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is
written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Rom 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all
the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their
wickedness,
Rom 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because
God has made it plain to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible
qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly
seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are
without excuse.
Rom 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as
God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and
their foolish hearts were darkened.
Rom 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made
to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their
hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one
another.
Rom 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a
lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the
Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.
Rom 1:26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even
their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
Rom 1:27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations
with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due
penalty for their perversion.
Rom 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to
retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to
do what ought not to be done.
Rom 1:29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil,
greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit
and malice. They are gossips,
Rom 1:30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful;
they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
Rom 1:31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Rom 1:32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do
such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very
things but also approve of those who practice them.
Rom 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on
someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are
condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same
things.
Rom 2:2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such
things is based on truth.
Rom 2:3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the
same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment?
Rom 2:4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness,
tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you
toward repentance?
Rom 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart,
you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath,
when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Rom 2:6 God "will give to each person according to what he has
done."
Rom 2:7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor
and immortality, he will give eternal life.
Rom 2:8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth
and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
Rom 2:9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who
does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;
Rom 2:10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first
for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Luke 15:10-32
Luke 15:10 "...In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Luke 15:11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons.
Luke 15:12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my
share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
Luke 15:13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he
had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in
wild living.
Luke 15:14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine
in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
Luke 15:15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that
country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
Luke 15:16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs
were eating, but no one gave him anything.
Luke 15:17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my
father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to
death!
Luke 15:18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
Luke 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like
one of your hired men.'
Luke 15:20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was
still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with
compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and
kissed him.
Luke 15:21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son.'
Luke 15:22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the
best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on
his feet.
Luke 15:23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast
and celebrate.
Luke 15:24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was
lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
Luke 15:25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came
near the house, he heard music and dancing.
Luke 15:26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was
going on.
Luke 15:27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has
killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
Luke 15:28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So
his father went out and pleaded with him.
Luke 15:29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've
been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never
gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
Luke 15:30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your
property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for
him!'
Luke 15:31 "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and
everything I have is yours.
Luke 15:32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother
of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"
Hosea 11:1-12
Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I
called my son
Hosea 11:2 But the more I called Israel, the further they went from
me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to
images
Hosea 11:3 It was I who taught Ephriam to walk, taking them by the
arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them
Hosea 11:4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of
love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed
them
Hosea 11:5 "Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule
over them because they refuse to repent?
Hosea 11:6 Swords will flash in their cities, will destroy the bars
of their gates and put an end to their plans
Hosea 11:7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they
call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them
Hosea 11:8 "How can I give you up, Ephriam? How can I hand you over,
Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like
Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is
aroused
Hosea 11:9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and
devastate Ephriam. For I am God, and not man -- the Holy One among
you. I will not come in wrath
Hosea 11:10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When
he roars, his children will come trembling from the west
Hosea 11:11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like
doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes," declares the
Lord
Hosea 11:12 Ephriam has surrounded me with lies, the house of Israel
with deceit. And Judah is unruly against God, even against the
faithful Holy One
Luke 17:11-19
Luke 17:11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the
border between Samaria and Galilee.
Luke 17:12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy
met him. They stood at a distance Luke 17:13 and called out in a loud
voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
Luke 17:14 When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the
priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
Luke 17:15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back,
praising God in a loud voice.
Luke 17:16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he
was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the
other nine?
Luke 17:18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except
this foreigner?"
Luke 17:19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you
well."
Romans 6:12-23
Rom 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that
you obey its evil desires.
Rom 6:13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments
of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have
been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to
him as instruments of righteousness.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under
law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but
under grace? By no means! Rom 6:16 Don't you know that when you offer
yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the
one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to
death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to
sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were
entrusted.
Rom 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness.
Rom 6:19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your
natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in
slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer
them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
Rom 6:20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control
of righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you
are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
Rom 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become
slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result
is eternal life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Acts 17:22-34
Acts 17:22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and
said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very
religious.
Acts 17:23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your
objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO
AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going
to proclaim to you.
Acts 17:24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the
Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by
hands.
Acts 17:25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed
anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and
everything else.
Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should
inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and
the exact places where they should live.
Acts 17:27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach
out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of
us.
Acts 17:28 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some
of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
Acts 17:29 "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not
think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image
made by man's design and skill.
Acts 17:30 In the past God overlooked such
ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Acts 17:31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with
justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to
all men by raising him from the dead."
Acts 17:32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some
of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this
subject."
Acts 17:33 At that, Paul left the Council.
Acts 17:34 A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among
them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named
Damaris, and a number of others.