Well then, the Lord himself will give you a sign: a young woman who is pregnant will have a son and will name him 'Immanuel.'

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God's power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.

This very day in David's town your Savior was born---Christ the Lord!

The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

Certainly not God, who did not even keep back his own Son, but offered him for us all! He gave us his Son---will he not also freely give us all things?

This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.

No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us.

And we have seen and tell others that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

I will put your official robe and belt on him and give him all the authority you have had. He will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah.

I will give him complete authority under the king, the descendant of David. He will have the keys of office; what he opens, no one will shut, and what he shuts, no one will open.

"On Zion, my sacred hill," he says, "I have installed my king."

Ask, and I will give you all the nations; the whole earth will be yours.

Now listen to this warning, you kings; learn this lesson, you rulers of the world:

and bow down to him; or else his anger will be quickly aroused, and you will suddenly die. Happy are all who go to him for protection.

The LORD said to my lord, "Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies under your feet."

On the day you fight your enemies, your people will volunteer. Like the dew of early morning your young men will come to you on the sacred hills.

The LORD says, "The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land.

When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called 'The LORD Our Salvation.'

Tell him that the LORD Almighty says, 'The man who is called The Branch will flourish where he is and rebuild the LORD's Temple.

He is the one who will build it and receive the honor due a king, and he will rule his people. A priest will stand by his throne, and they will work together in peace and harmony.'

Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion! Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you! He comes triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey--- on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The LORD says, "I will remove the war chariots from Israel and take the horses from Jerusalem; the bows used in battle will be destroyed. Your king will make peace among the nations; he will rule from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth."

"My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet.

Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next.

God put all things under Christ's feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things.

On his robe and on his thigh was written the name: "King of kings and Lord of lords."

Well then, the Lord himself will give you a sign: a young woman who is pregnant will have a son and will name him 'Immanuel.'

The angel asked, "Why do you want to know my name? It is a name of wonder."

How long will you hesitate, faithless people? I have created something new and different, as different as a woman protecting a man."

"A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel" (which means, "God is with us").

No one can deny how great is the secret of our religion: He appeared in human form, was shown to be right by the Spirit, and was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, and was taken up to heaven.

All this wisdom comes from the LORD Almighty. The plans God makes are wise, and they always succeed.

He is the one who will build it and receive the honor due a king, and he will rule his people. A priest will stand by his throne, and they will work together in peace and harmony.'

because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say.

Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.

But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God's holy people and are set free.

He is the key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge.

"They will say that only through me are victory and strength to be found; but all who hate me will suffer disgrace.

I, the LORD, will rescue all the descendants of Jacob, and they will give me praise.

Buckle on your sword, mighty king; you are glorious and majestic.

The kingdom that God has given you will last forever and ever. You rule over your people with justice;

The Almighty God, the LORD, speaks; he calls to the whole earth from east to west.

The LORD says, "The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land.

When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called 'The LORD Our Salvation.'

In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

From the very beginning the Word was with God.

So keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he made his own through the blood of his Son.

they are descended from the famous Hebrew ancestors; and Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever! Amen.

as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear.

About the Son, however, God said: "Your kingdom, O God, will last forever and ever! You rule over your people with justice.

We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we know the true God. We live in union with the true God---in union with his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and this is eternal life.

Here I am with the children the LORD has given me. The LORD Almighty, whose throne is on Mount Zion, has sent us as living messages to the people of Israel.

The LORD says, "It was my will that he should suffer; his death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness. And so he will see his descendants; he will live a long life, and through him my purpose will succeed.

I was made in the very beginning, at the first, before the world began.

He also says, "I will put my trust in God." And he also says, "Here I am with the children that God has given me."

Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death,

Wolves and sheep will live together in peace, and leopards will lie down with young goats. Calves and lion cubs will feed together, and little children will take care of them.

Even a baby will not be harmed if it plays near a poisonous snake.

But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received.

May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness.

May righteousness flourish in his lifetime, and may prosperity last as long as the moon gives light.

Love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will embrace.

"Seven times seventy years is the length of time God has set for freeing your people and your holy city from sin and evil. Sin will be forgiven and eternal justice established, so that the vision and the prophecy will come true, and the holy Temple will be rededicated.

Note this and understand it: From the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until God's chosen leader comes, seven times seven years will pass. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, and will stand for seven times sixty-two years, but this will be a time of troubles.

When he comes, he will rule his people with the strength that comes from the LORD and with the majesty of the LORD God himself. His people will live in safety because people all over the earth will acknowledge his greatness,

and he will bring peace. When the Assyrians invade our country and break through our defenses, we will send our strongest leaders to fight them.

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!"

"Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance,

This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us.

It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person.

By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God's anger!

Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends.

For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies.

By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God.

It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father.

Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought.

and Abraham gave him one tenth of all he had taken. (The first meaning of Melchizedek's name is "King of Righteousness"; and because he was king of Salem, his name also means "King of Peace.")

There is no record of Melchizedek's father or mother or of any of his ancestors; no record of his birth or of his death. He is like the Son of God; he remains a priest forever.

God has raised from death our Lord Jesus, who is the Great Shepherd of the sheep as the result of his blood, by which the eternal covenant is sealed. May the God of peace provide you with every good thing you need in order to do his will, and may he, through Jesus Christ, do in us what pleases him. And to Christ be the glory forever and ever! Amen.