And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades ¹  will not overpower it.

When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. ¹  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

He asked him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.”

Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because ¹  your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors ²  did the same things to the prophets. ³ 

But stay alert at all times, ¹  praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must ²  happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” ¹  So they threw the net, ²  and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish.

When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind ¹  and said, “Master of all, ²  you who made the heaven, the earth, ³  the sea, and everything that is in them,

The ¹  proposal pleased the entire group, so ²  they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with ³  Philip, ⁴  Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism ⁵  from Antioch. ⁶ 

Then ¹  the church throughout Judea, Galilee, ²  and Samaria experienced ³  peace and thus was strengthened. ⁴  Living ⁵  in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church ⁶  increased in numbers.

The God of this people Israel ¹  chose our ancestors ²  and made the people great ³  during their stay as foreigners ⁴  in the country ⁵  of Egypt, and with uplifted arm ⁶  he led them out of it.

They strengthened ¹  the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue ²  in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom ³  of God through many persecutions.” ⁴ 

that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols ¹  and from blood and from what has been strangled ²  and from sexual immorality. ³  If you keep yourselves from doing these things, ⁴  you will do well. Farewell. ⁵ 

And now I entrust ¹  you to God and to the message ²  of his grace. This message ³  is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us – by me and Silvanus ¹  and Timothy – was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him.

But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession ¹  in Christ ²  and who makes known ³  through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place.

For indeed he was crucified by reason of weakness, but he lives because of God’s power. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him, because of God’s power toward you.

My confident hope ¹  is that I will in no way be ashamed ²  but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die. ³ 

I have great joy in the Lord because now at last you have again expressed your concern for me. (Now I know you were concerned before but had no opportunity to do anything.) ¹ 

My goal is that ¹  their hearts, having been knit together ²  in love, may be encouraged, and that ³  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ⁴ 

For though ¹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²  your morale ³  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.