Luke 2:41-52 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) The Boy Jesus in the Temple 41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in…

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Luke 1:39-45 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Mary Visits Elizabeth 39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed…

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Zephaniah 3:14-20 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) A Song of Joy 14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;     shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart,     O daughter Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you,     he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;     you shall fear disaster no…

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Luke 3:1-6 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) The Proclamation of John the Baptist 3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and…

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Luke 21:25-36 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) The Coming of the Son of Man 25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world,…

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“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 There is a novel, Robinson Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe. It is a story about a man shipwrecked on a desert island. After that, he had to lead a…

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