A Child's Guide To: Being Followers of Jesus

Thrive: Discovering Joy in the Trenches of Military Life

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1 + 2 Peter | Reading Plan + Study Questions

After the Cross

1 + 2 Thessalonians | Reading Plan + Study Questions

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Peace in a World of Chaos

I Almost Committed Adultery!

Judge Not: Moving From Condemnation to Mercy

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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">1</div><div class="p"> 1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker&#8212; 2also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier&#8212;and to the church that meets in your home:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 3Grace and peace to you#1:3 The Greek is plural; also in verses 22 and 25; elsewhere in this letter &#8220;you&#8221; is singular. from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.</div><div class="s1">Thanksgiving and Prayer</div><div class="p"> 4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord&#8217;s people.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Plea for Onesimus</div><div class="p"> 8Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul&#8212;an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus&#8212; 10that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,#1:10 Onesimus means useful. who became my son while I was in chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.</div><div class="p"> 12I am sending him&#8212;who is my very heart&#8212;back to you. 13I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever&#8212; 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back&#8212;not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.</div><div class="p"> 22And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.</div><div class="p"> 25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">1</div><div class="p"> 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To God&#8217;s holy people in Ephesus,#1:1 Some early manuscripts do not have in Ephesus. the faithful in Christ Jesus:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.</div><div class="s1">Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ</div><div class="p"> 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he#1:4,5 Or sight in love. 5 He predestined us for adoption to sonship#1:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will&#8212; 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God&#8217;s grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9he#1:8,9 Or us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment&#8212;to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.</div><div class="p"> 11In him we were also chosen,#1:11 Or were made heirs having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God&#8217;s possession&#8212;to the praise of his glory.</div><div class="s1">Thanksgiving and Prayer</div><div class="p"> 15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God&#8217;s people, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit#1:17 Or a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.</div>
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 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Made Alive in Christ</div><div class="p"> 1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh#2:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit. and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions&#8212;it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith&#8212;and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God&#8212; 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God&#8217;s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.</div><div class="s1">Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ</div><div class="p"> 11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called &#8220;uncircumcised&#8221; by those who call themselves &#8220;the circumcision&#8221; (which is done in the body by human hands)&#8212; 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.</div><div class="p"> 14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.</div><div class="p"> 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God&#8217;s people and also members of his household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.</div>
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 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">God&#8217;s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles</div><div class="p"> 1For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles&#8212;</div><div class="p"> 2Surely you have heard about the administration of God&#8217;s grace that was given to me for you, 3that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God&#8217;s holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.</div><div class="p"> 7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God&#8217;s grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all the Lord&#8217;s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.</div><div class="s1">A Prayer for the Ephesians</div><div class="p"> 14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom every family#3:15 The Greek for family (patria) is derived from the Greek for father (pater). in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord&#8217;s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge&#8212;that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.</div><div class="p"> 20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.</div>
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 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ</div><div class="p"> 1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.</div><div class="p"> 7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it#4:8 Or God says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;When he ascended on high,</div><div class="q2">he took many captives</div><div class="q2">and gave gifts to his people.&#8221;#4:8 Psalm 68:18</div><div class="m"> 9(What does &#8220;he ascended&#8221; mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions#4:9 Or the depths of the earth? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.</div><div class="p"> 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.</div><div class="s1">Instructions for Christian Living</div><div class="p"> 17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.</div><div class="p"> 20That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.</div><div class="p"> 25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26&#8220;In your anger do not sin&#8221;#4:26 Psalm 4:4 (see Septuagint): Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.</div><div class="p"> 29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.</div>
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 <div class="label">5</div><div class="nb"> 1Follow God&#8217;s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.</div><div class="p"> 3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God&#8217;s holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person&#8212;such a person is an idolater&#8212;has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.#5:5 Or kingdom of the Messiah and God 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God&#8217;s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them.</div><div class="p"> 8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible&#8212;and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14This is why it is said:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Wake up, sleeper,</div><div class="q2">rise from the dead,</div><div class="q2">and Christ will shine on you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Be very careful, then, how you live&#8212;not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord&#8217;s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.</div><div class="s1">Instructions for Christian Households</div><div class="p"> 21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.</div><div class="p"> 22Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.</div><div class="p"> 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing#5:26 Or having cleansed her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church&#8212; 30for we are members of his body. 31&#8220;For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.&#8221;#5:31 Gen. 2:24 32This is a profound mystery&#8212;but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.</div>
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 <div class="label">6</div><div class="p"> 1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2&#8220;Honor your father and mother&#8221;&#8212;which is the first commandment with a promise&#8212; 3&#8220;so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.&#8221;#6:3 Deut. 5:16</div><div class="p"> 4Fathers,#6:4 Or Parents do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.</div><div class="p"> 9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.</div><div class="s1">The Armor of God</div><div class="p"> 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil&#8217;s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.</div><div class="p"> 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord&#8217;s people. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.</div><div class="s1">Final Greetings</div><div class="p"> 21Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.</div><div class="p"> 23Peace to the brothers and sisters,#6:23 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family. and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.#6:24 Or Grace and immortality to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.</div>
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