1Peter 1: 6-9

1 Peter 1: 6-9

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now 

for a little while you may have had to suffer 

grief in all kinds of trials. 

7 These have come so that the proven 

genuineness of your faith—of greater worth 

than gold, which perishes even though 

refined by fire—may result in praise, glory 

and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 

8 Though you have not seen him, you love 

him; and even though you do not see him 

now, you believe in him and are filled with 

an inexpressible and glorious joy,

9 for you are receiving the end result of your 

faith, the salvation of your souls.

Psalms 14

Psalm 14 

For the director of music. Of David.

1 The fool says in his heart,

    “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;

    there is no one who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven

    on all mankind

to see if there are any who understand,

    any who seek God.

3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;

    there is no one who does good,

    not even one.

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;

    they never call on the Lord.

5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,

    for God is present in the company of the righteous.

6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,

    but the Lord is their refuge.

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

    When the Lord restores his people,

    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Ephesians 6:10-18

Ephesians 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you 

can take your stand against the devil’s 

schemes. 

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the 

authorities,against the powers of this dark 

world and against the spiritual forces of evil 

in the heavenly realms. 

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be 

able to stand your ground, and after you 

have done everything, to stand. 

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth 

buckled around your waist, with the 

breastplate of righteousness in place, 

15 and with your feet fitted with the 

readiness that comes from the gospel of 

peace. 

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the 

flaming arrows of the evil one. 

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of 

God.

Ephesians 1:3-10

Ephesians 1:3-10

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our 

   Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in 

   the heavenly realms with every spiritual 

   blessing in Christ.

4 For he chose us in him 

   before the creation of the world to be holy 

   and blameless in his sight. In love 

5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship 

  through Jesus Christ, in accordance with 

  his pleasure and will— 

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which 

   he has freely given us in the One he loves. 

7 In him we have redemption through his 

   blood, the forgiveness of sins, 

   in accordance with the riches of God’s 

   grace 

8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom 

 and understanding,

9 he made known to us the mystery of his 

  will according to his good pleasure, which 

  he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into 

  effect when the times reach their fulfillment

 —to bring unity to all things in heaven and 

  on earth under Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22

2 Corinthians 1:20-22

20 For no matter how many promises 

     God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. 

     And so through him the “Amen” is 

     spoken by us to the glory of God. 

21 Now it is God who makes both us and 

     you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 

22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put 

     his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, 

     guaranteeing what is to come.

Matthew 12:4-14

Matthew 24:4-14

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 

5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.

6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 

7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 

10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 

11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 

12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 

13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Jeremiah 10:12-16

Jeremiah 10:12-16

12 But God made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom
    and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;
    they have no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.
16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
    for he is the Maker of all things,
including Israel, the people of his inheritance—
    the Lord Almighty is his name.