Hope West Nashville

Matthew 8:1-22 (ESV)  When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.  [2]  And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  [3]  And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  [4]  And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”  [5]  When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,  [6]  “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”  [7]  And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”  [8]  But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.  [9]  For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  [10]  When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.  [11]  I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,  [12]  while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  [13]  And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.  [14]  And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.  [15]  He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.  [16]  That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.  [17]  This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”  [18]  Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.  [19]  And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”  [20]  And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  [21]  Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  [22]  And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Nehemiah 13:15-31 (ESV)  In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food.  [16]  Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself!  [17]  Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?  [18]  Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”  [19]  As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day.  [20]  Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.  [21]  But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.  [22]  Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.  [23]  In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.  [24]  And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.  [25]  And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.  [26]  Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.  [27]  Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”  [28]  And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me.  [29]  Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.  [30]  Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work;  [31]  and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

Nehemiah 13:4-14 (ESV)  Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah,  [5]  prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.  [6]  While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king  [7]  and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.  [8]  And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber.  [9]  Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.  [10]  I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field.  [11]  So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations.  [12]  Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses.  [13]  And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers.  [14]  Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.

Nehemiah 12:27-13:3 (ESV)  And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.  [28]  And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites;  [29]  also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem.  [30]  And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.  [31]  Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate.  [32]  And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,  [33]  and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,  [34]  Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,  [35]  and certain of the priests' sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph;  [36]  and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.  [37]  At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.  [38]  The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall,  [39]  and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard.  [40]  So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me;  [41]  and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;  [42]  and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader.  [43]  And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.  [44]  On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.  [45]  And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon.  [46]  For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.  [47]  And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.  [13:1]  On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,  [2]  for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.  [3]  As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.

Genesis 5:1-32 (ESV)  This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.  [2]  Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.  [3]  When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.  [4]  The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters.  [5]  Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.  [6]  When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.  [7]  Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters.  [8]  Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.  [9]  When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan.  [10]  Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters.  [11]  Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.  [12]  When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.  [13]  Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters.  [14]  Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.  [15]  When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.  [16]  Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters.  [17]  Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.  [18]  When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.  [19]  Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters.  [20]  Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.  [21]  When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.  [22]  Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.  [23]  Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.  [24]  Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.  [25]  When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.  [26]  Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters.  [27]  Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.  [28]  When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son  [29]  and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”  [30]  Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters.  [31]  Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.  [32]  After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Nehemiah 11:1-12:26 (ESV)  Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns.  [2]  And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.  [3]  These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants.  [4]  And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;  [5]  and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of the Shilonite.  [6]  All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 valiant men.  [7]  And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah,  [8]  and his brothers, men of valor, 928.  [9]  Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer; and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second over the city.  [10]  Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin,  [11]  Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, ruler of the house of God,  [12]  and their brothers who did the work of the house, 822; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah,  [13]  and his brothers, heads of fathers' houses, 242; and Amashsai, the son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer,  [14]  and their brothers, mighty men of valor, 128; their overseer was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim.  [15]  And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni;  [16]  and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were over the outside work of the house of God;  [17]  and Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who was the leader of the praise, who gave thanks, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.  [18]  All the Levites in the holy city were 284.  [19]  The gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were 172.  [20]  And the rest of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, every one in his inheritance.  [21]  But the temple servants lived on Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.  [22]  The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the work of the house of God.  [23]  For there was a command from the king concerning them, and a fixed provision for the singers, as every day required.  [24]  And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's side in all matters concerning the people.  [25]  And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages,  [26]  and in Jeshua and in Moladah and Beth-pelet,  [27]  in Hazar-shual, in Beersheba and its villages,  [28]  in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages,  [29]  in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth,  [30]  Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. So they encamped from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.  [31]  The people of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages,  [32]  Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,  [33]  Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,  [34]  Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,  [35]  Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.  [36]  And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were assigned to Benjamin.  [12:1]  These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,  [2]  Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,  [3]  Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,  [4]  Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,  [5]  Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,  [6]  Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,  [7]  Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.  [8]  And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.  [9]  And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them in the service.  [10]  And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada,  [11]  Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.  [12]  And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers' houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;  [13]  of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;  [14]  of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;  [15]  of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;  [16]  of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;  [17]  of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;  [18]  of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;  [19]  of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;  [20]  of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;  [21]  of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.  [22]  In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers' houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian.  [23]  As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers' houses were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.  [24]  And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch by watch.  [25]  Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates.  [26]  These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra, the priest and scribe.

Nehemiah 10:28-39 (ESV)  “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding,  [29]  join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes.  [30]  We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.  [31]  And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.  [32]  “We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:  [33]  for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.  [34]  We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law.  [35]  We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the LORD;  [36]  also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks;  [37]  and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor.  [38]  And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.  [39]  For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.”

Nehemiah 9:32-10:27 (ESV)  “Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.  [33]  Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.  [34]  Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them.  [35]  Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works.  [36]  Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves.  [37]  And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.  [38]   “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.  [10:1]   “On the seals are the names of Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah,  [2]  Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,  [3]  Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,  [4]  Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,  [5]  Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,  [6]  Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,  [7]  Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,  [8]  Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests.  [9]  And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;  [10]  and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,  [11]  Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,  [12]  Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,  [13]  Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.  [14]  The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,  [15]  Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,  [16]  Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,  [17]  Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,  [18]  Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,  [19]  Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,  [20]  Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,  [21]  Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,  [22]  Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,  [23]  Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,  [24]  Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,  [25]  Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,  [26]  Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,  [27]  Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

Nehemiah 9:1-31 (ESV)  Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads.  [2]  And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.  [3]  And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.  [4]  On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God.  [5]  Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.  [6]   “You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.  [7]  You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.  [8]  You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.  [9]  “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea,  [10]  and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day.  [11]  And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.  [12]  By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go.  [13]  You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments,  [14]  and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant.  [15]  You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.  [16]  “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments.  [17]  They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.  [18]  Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies,  [19]  you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go.  [20]  You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.  [21]  Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.  [22]  “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan.  [23]  You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess.  [24]  So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.  [25]  And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.  [26]  “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.  [27]  Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies.  [28]  But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies.  [29]  And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey.  [30]  Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.  [31]  Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Nehemiah 7:73-8:18 (ESV)  So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns. And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns.  [8:1]  And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel.  [2]  So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.  [3]  And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.  [4]  And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.  [5]  And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.  [6]  And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.  [7]  Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places.  [8]  They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.  [9]  And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.  [10]  Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  [11]  So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.”  [12]  And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.  [13]  On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law.  [14]  And they found it written in the Law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month,  [15]  and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.”  [16]  So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim.  [17]  And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.  [18]  And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

Nehemiah 7:1-72 (ESV)  Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,  [2]  I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.  [3]  And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.”  [4]  The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.  [5]  Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:  [6]  These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town.  [7]  They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:  [8]  the sons of Parosh, 2,172.  [9]  The sons of Shephatiah, 372.  [10]  The sons of Arah, 652.  [11]  The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818.  [12]  The sons of Elam, 1,254.  [13]  The sons of Zattu, 845.  [14]  The sons of Zaccai, 760.  [15]  The sons of Binnui, 648.  [16]  The sons of Bebai, 628.  [17]  The sons of Azgad, 2,322.  [18]  The sons of Adonikam, 667.  [19]  The sons of Bigvai, 2,067.  [20]  The sons of Adin, 655.  [21]  The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98.  [22]  The sons of Hashum, 328.  [23]  The sons of Bezai, 324.  [24]  The sons of Hariph, 112.  [25]  The sons of Gibeon, 95.  [26]  The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188.  [27]  The men of Anathoth, 128.  [28]  The men of Beth-azmaveth, 42.  [29]  The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743.  [30]  The men of Ramah and Geba, 621.  [31]  The men of Michmas, 122.  [32]  The men of Bethel and Ai, 123.  [33]  The men of the other Nebo, 52.  [34]  The sons of the other Elam, 1,254.  [35]  The sons of Harim, 320.  [36]  The sons of Jericho, 345.  [37]  The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721.  [38]  The sons of Senaah, 3,930.  [39]  The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, 973.  [40]  The sons of Immer, 1,052.  [41]  The sons of Pashhur, 1,247.  [42]  The sons of Harim, 1,017.  [43]  The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the sons of Hodevah, 74.  [44]  The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148.  [45]  The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138.  [46]  The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,  [47]  the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,  [48]  the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai,  [49]  the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,  [50]  the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,  [51]  the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,  [52]  the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim,  [53]  the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,  [54]  the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,  [55]  the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,  [56]  the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.  [57]  The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,  [58]  the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,  [59]  the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon.  [60]  All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants were 392.  [61]  The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers' houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel:  [62]  the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642.  [63]  Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).  [64]  These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.  [65]  The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise.  [66]  The whole assembly together was 42,360,  [67]  besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female.  [68]  Their horses were 736, their mules 245,  [69]  their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.  [70]  Now some of the heads of fathers' houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests' garments and 500 minas of silver.  [71]  And some of the heads of fathers' houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver.  [72]  And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests' garments.

Faith and Work

Nehemiah 6:1-19 (ESV)  Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),  [2]  Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.  [3]  And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”  [4]  And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.  [5]  In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.  [6]  In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king.  [7]  And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.”  [8]  Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.”  [9]  For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.  [10]  Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.”  [11]  But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.”  [12]  And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.  [13]  For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.  [14]  Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.  [15]  So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.  [16]  And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.  [17]  Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them.  [18]  For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife.  [19]  Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

Nehemiah 5:1-19 (ESV)  Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.  [2]  For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.”  [3]  There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”  [4]  And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards.  [5]  Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”  [6]  I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.  [7]  I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them  [8]  and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.  [9]  So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?  [10]  Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest.  [11]  Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.”  [12]  Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.  [13]  I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.  [14]  Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.  [15]  The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.  [16]  I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.  [17]  Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.  [18]  Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.  [19]  Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

1 Peter 2:1-12 (ESV)  So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.  [2]  Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—  [3]  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.  [4]  As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,  [5]  you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  [6]  For 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.”  [7]  So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”  [8]  and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  [9]  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  [10]  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  [11]  Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  [12]  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Nehemiah 4:7-23 (ESV)   But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.  [8]  And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.  [9]  And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.  [10]  In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.”  [11]  And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”  [12]  At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”  [13]  So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.  [14]  And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”  [15]  When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.  [16]  From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah,  [17]  who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.  [18]  And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.  [19]  And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.  [20]  In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”  [21]  So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.  [22]  I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.”  [23]  So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.

Matthew 7:13-29 (ESV)  “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  [14]  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.  [15]  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  [16]  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  [17]  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  [18]  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.  [19]  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  [20]  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.  [21]  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  [22]  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  [23]  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’  [24]  “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  [25]  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  [26]  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  [27]  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”  [28]  And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,  [29]  for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Matthew 7:1-12 (ESV)  “Judge not, that you be not judged.  [2]  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.  [3]  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  [4]  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?  [5]  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.  [6]  “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.  [7]  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  [8]  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  [9]  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  [10]  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  [11]  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!  [12]  “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Nehemiah 3:1-4:6 (ESV)  Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.  [2]  And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.  [3]  The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.  [4]  And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired.  [5]  And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.  [6]  Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.  [7]  And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province Beyond the River.  [8]  Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.  [9]  Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired.  [10]  Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired.  [11]  Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens.  [12]  Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.  [13]  Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.  [14]  Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.  [15]  And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king's garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David.  [16]  After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men.  [17]  After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district.  [18]  After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah.  [19]  Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the buttress.  [20]  After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired another section from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.  [21]  After him Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.  [22]  After him the priests, the men of the surrounding area, repaired.  [23]  After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house.  [24]  After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to the corner.  [25]  Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh  [26]  and the temple servants living on Ophel repaired to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.  [27]  After him the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.  [28]  Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house.  [29]  After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired.  [30]  After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite his chamber.  [31]  After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate, and to the upper chamber of the corner.  [32]  And between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.  [4:1]   Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.  [2]  And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?”  [3]  Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”  [4]  Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.  [5]  Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.  [6]  So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 2:11-20 (ESV)  So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.  [12]  Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.  [13]  I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.  [14]  Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.  [15]  Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.  [16]  And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.  [17]  Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”  [18]  And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.  [19]  But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”  [20]  Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”

Nehemiah 2:1-10 (ESV)  In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.  [2]  And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid.  [3]  I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”  [4]  Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.  [5]  And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.”  [6]  And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.  [7]  And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,  [8]  and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.  [9]  Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.  [10]  But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

Nehemiah 1:4-11 (ESV)  As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.  [5]  And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,  [6]  let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned.  [7]  We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.  [8]  Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,  [9]  but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’  [10]  They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.  [11]  O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah 1:1-4 (ESV) 1  The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2  that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3  And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” 4a  As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept

1 Corinthians 16:1-24 (ESV)  Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.  [2]  On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.  [3]  And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.  [4]  If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.  [5]  I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia,  [6]  and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go.  [7]  For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.  [8]  But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost,  [9]  for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.  [10]  When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.  [11]  So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.  [12]  Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.  [13]  Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  [14]  Let all that you do be done in love.  [15]  Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints—  [16]  be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.  [17]  I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence,  [18]  for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.  [19]  The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.  [20]  All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.  [21]  I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.  [22]  If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!  [23]  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.  [24]  My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Hospitality in Luke's Acts

Genesis 1:1-2:3 (ESV)  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  [2]  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  [3]  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  [4]  And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.  [5]  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.  [6]  And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”  [7]  And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.  [8]  And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.  [9]  And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.  [10]  God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.  [11]  And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.  [12]  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  [13]  And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.  [14]  And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,  [15]  and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.  [16]  And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.  [17]  And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,  [18]  to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.  [19]  And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.  [20]  And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”  [21]  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  [22]  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”  [23]  And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.  [24]  And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.  [25]  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  [26]  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  [27]  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  [28]  And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  [29]  And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.  [30]  And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.  [31]  And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.  [2:1]  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  [2]  And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.  [3]  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

1 Corinthians 15:35-58 (ESV)  But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”  [36]  You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.  [37]  And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.  [38]  But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.  [39]  For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.  [40]  There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.  [41]  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.  [42]  So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.  [43]  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.  [44]  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.  [45]  Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.  [46]  But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.  [47]  The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.  [48]  As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.  [49]  Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.  [50]  I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  [51]  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  [52]  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  [53]  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  [54]  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”  [55]  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”  [56]  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  [57]  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  [58]  Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:12-34 (ESV)  Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  [13]  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  [14]  And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.  [15]  We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.  [16]  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.  [17]  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.  [18]  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  [19]  If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.  [20]  But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  [21]  For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  [22]  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  [23]  But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.  [24]  Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.  [25]  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  [26]  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  [27]  For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.  [28]  When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.  [29]  Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?  [30]  Why are we in danger every hour?  [31]  I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!  [32]  What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”  [33]  Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”  [34]  Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

1 John 2:1-2 (ESV)  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  [2]  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 Corinthians 14:26-40 (ESV)  What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.  [27]  If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret.  [28]  But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.  [29]  Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.  [30]  If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.  [31]  For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,  [32]  and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.  [33]  For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,  [34]  the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.  [35]  If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.  [36]  Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?  [37]  If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.  [38]  If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.  [39]  So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.  [40]  But all things should be done decently and in order.

Matthew 6:19-34 (ESV)  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  [20]  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  [21]  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  [22]  “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,  [23]  but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!  [24]  “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.  [25]  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  [26]  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  [27]  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  [28]  And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  [29]  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  [30]  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  [31]  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  [32]  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  [33]  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  [34]  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:1-21 (ESV)  “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.  [2]  “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  [3]  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  [4]  so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  [5]  “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  [6]  But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  [7]  “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.  [8]  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  [9]  Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  [10]  Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  [11]  Give us this day our daily bread,  [12]  and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  [13]  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  [14]  For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,  [15]  but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  [16]  “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  [17]  But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,  [18]  that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  [19]  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  [20]  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  [21]  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1 Corinthians 14:1-25 (ESV)  Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.  [2]  For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.  [3]  On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.  [4]  The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.  [5]  Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.  [6]  Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?  [7]  If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?  [8]  And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?  [9]  So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.  [10]  There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning,  [11]  but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.  [12]  So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.  [13]  Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.  [14]  For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.  [15]  What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.  [16]  Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?  [17]  For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.  [18]  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  [19]  Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.  [20]  Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.  [21]  In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”  [22]  Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.  [23]  If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?  [24]  But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all,  [25]  the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13 (ESV)  And I will show you a still more excellent way.  [13:1]  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not 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 have not love, I am nothing.  [3]  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.  [4]  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  [5]  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  [6]  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  [7]  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  [8]  Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.  [9]  For we know in part and we prophesy in part,  [10]  but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.  [11]  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  [12]  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.  [13]  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

A brief study on the Spiritual Gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31 (ESV)  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  [13]  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.  [14]  For the body does not consist of one member but of many.  [15]  If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  [16]  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  [17]  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?  [18]  But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.  [19]  If all were a single member, where would the body be?  [20]  As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.  [21]  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”  [22]  On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,  [23]  and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,  [24]  which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,  [25]  that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  [26]  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.  [27]  Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.  [28]  And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.  [29]  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  [30]  Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?  [31]  But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

A brief overview through the books of the Old Testament.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (ESV)  Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.  [2]  You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.  [3]  Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.  [4]  Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;  [5]  and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;  [6]  and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.  [7]  To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  [8]  For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,  [9]  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,  [10]  to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  [11]  All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (ESV)  The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  [7]  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  [8]  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.  [9]  As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”  [10]  He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.  [11]  You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.  [12]  For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.  [13]  By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,  [14]  while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.  [15]  Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

Philippians 2:1-11 (ESV)  So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,  [2]  complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  [3]  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  [4]  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  [5]  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  [6]  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  [7]  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  [8]  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  [9]  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  [10]  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  [11]  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1 Corinthians 11:2-16 (ESV)  Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.  [3]  But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.  [4]  Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head,  [5]  but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.  [6]  For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.  [7]  For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.  [8]  For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.  [9]  Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.  [10]  That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.  [11]  Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman;  [12]  for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.  [13]  Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered?  [14]  Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him,  [15]  but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.  [16]  If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

1 John 1:5-10 (ESV)  This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  [6]  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  [7]  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  [8]  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  [9]  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  [10]  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (ESV)  We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,  [2]  for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.  [3]  For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,  [4]  begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—  [5]  and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.  [6]  Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.  [7]  But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.  [8]  I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.  [9]  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.  [10]  And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it.  [11]  So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.  [12]  For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.  [13]  For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness  [14]  your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.  [15]  As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (ESV)  Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  [15]  What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?  [16]  What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  [17]  Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,  [18]  and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”  [7:1]  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

1 Corinthians 4:1-21 (ESV)  This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  [2]  Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.  [3]  But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.  [4]  For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.  [5]  Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.  [6]  I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.  [7]  For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?  [8]  Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!  [9]  For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.  [10]  We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.  [11]  To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,  [12]  and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;  [13]  when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.  [14]  I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.  [15]  For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  [16]  I urge you, then, be imitators of me.  [17]  That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.  [18]  Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.  [19]  But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.  [20]  For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.  [21]  What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

1 Corinthians 3:1-23 (ESV)  But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  [2]  I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,  [3]  for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?  [4]  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?  [5]  What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.  [6]  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  [7]  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.  [8]  He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.  [9]  For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.  [10]  According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.  [11]  For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  [12]  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—  [13]  each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.  [14]  If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.  [15]  If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.  [16]  Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?  [17]  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.  [18]  Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.  [19]  For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”  [20]  and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”  [21]  So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,  [22]  whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours,  [23]  and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (ESV)  Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.  [7]  But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.  [8]  None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  [9]  But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—  [10]  these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.  [11]  For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  [12]  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.  [13]  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.  [14]  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  [15]  The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.  [16]  “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 (ESV)  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  [19]  For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”  [20]  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  [21]  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.  [22]  For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,  [23]  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,  [24]  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  [25]  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  [26]  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  [27]  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  [28]  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,  [29]  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.  [30]  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,  [31]  so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  [2:1]  And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  [2]  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  [3]  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,  [4]  and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  [5]  so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17 (ESV)  I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.  [11]  For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.  [12]  What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”  [13]  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?  [14]  I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,  [15]  so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.  [16]  (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)  [17]  For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (ESV)  Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,  [2]  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:  [3]  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  [4]  I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,  [5]  that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—  [6]  even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—  [7]  so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,  [8]  who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  [9]  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 (ESV)  Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care.  [10]  The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.  [11]  The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.  [12]  My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.  [13]  The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  [14]  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.