After the reading from the Law of Moses and from the writings of the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message: "Friends, we want you to speak to the people if you have a message of encouragement for them."

Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength.

He went through those regions and encouraged the people with many messages. Then he came to Achaia,

But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort.

Our appeal to you is not based on error or impure motives, nor do we try to trick anyone.

Until I come, give your time and effort to the public reading of the Scriptures and to preaching and teaching.

Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.

I beg you, my friends, to listen patiently to this message of encouragement; for this letter I have written you is not very long.

Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers.

Instead, be generous and lend them as much as they need.

Give to them freely and unselfishly, and the LORD will bless you in everything you do.

I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair

All my life I have taken care of them.

I would give him clothing made of wool that had come from my own flock of sheep. Then he would praise me with all his heart.

He gives generously to the needy, and his kindness never fails; he will be powerful and respected.

Be generous and share your food with the poor. You will be blessed for it.

Invest your money in foreign trade, and one of these days you will make a profit.

Put your investments in several places---many places even---because you never know what kind of bad luck you are going to have in this world.

Do your planting in the morning and in the evening, too. You never know whether it will all grow well or whether one planting will do better than the other.

No one will think that a fool is honorable or say that a scoundrel is honest.

But an honorable person acts honestly and stands firm for what is right.

Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.

When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond. "If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word;

And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never goes dry.

"So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.

Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!'

Jesus looked around and saw rich people dropping their gifts in the Temple treasury,

He said, "I tell you that this poor widow put in more than all the others.

All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one another.

Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts,

With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God poured rich blessings on them all.

and turn it over to the apostles; and the money was distributed according to the needs of the people.

One of them, named Agabus, stood up and by the power of the Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.)

They did this, then, and sent the money to the church elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Our friends, we want you to know what God's grace has accomplished in the churches in Macedonia.

I can assure you that they gave as much as they could, and even more than they could. Of their own free will

It was more than we could have hoped for! First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will they gave themselves to us as well.

You are so rich in all you have: in faith, speech, and knowledge, in your eagerness to help and in your love for us. And so we want you to be generous also in this service of love.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty.

Because of our love for you we were ready to share with you not only the Good News from God but even our own lives. You were so dear to us!

Open your homes to each other without complaining.

Those who preach must preach God's messages; those who serve must serve with the strength that God gives them, so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

We are proud that our conscience assures us that our lives in this world, and especially our relations with you, have been ruled by God-given frankness and sincerity, by the power of God's grace and not by human wisdom.

They have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor.

I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ---in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake's clever lies.

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling; and do it with a sincere heart, as though you were serving Christ.

Slaves, obey your human masters in all things, not only when they are watching you because you want to gain their approval; but do it with a sincere heart because of your reverence for the Lord.

That is also why you pay taxes, because the authorities are working for God when they fulfill their duties.

I have chosen him in order that he may command his sons and his descendants to obey me and to do what is right and just. If they do, I will do everything for him that I have promised."

My song is about loyalty and justice, and I sing it to you, O LORD.

and will never tolerate evil. I hate the actions of those who turn away from God; I will have nothing to do with them.

I will get rid of anyone who whispers evil things about someone else; I will not tolerate anyone who is proud and arrogant.

No liar will live in my palace; no hypocrite will remain in my presence.

When the governor saw what had happened, he believed; for he was greatly amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

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.

In the church God has put all in place: in the first place apostles, in the second place prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.

We beg you, our friends, to pay proper respect to those who work among you, who guide and instruct you in the Christian life.

We urge you, our friends, to warn the idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

he must be able to manage his own family well and make his children obey him with all respect.

For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of the church of God?

The elders who do good work as leaders should be considered worthy of receiving double pay, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

Remember your former leaders, who spoke God's message to you. Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith.

Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over your souls without resting, since they must give to God an account of their service. If you obey them, they will do their work gladly; if not, they will do it with sadness, and that would be of no help to you.

Give our greetings to all your leaders and to all God's people. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.

to be shepherds of the flock that God gave you and to take care of it willingly, as God wants you to, and not unwillingly. Do your work, not for mere pay, but from a real desire to serve.

Do not try to rule over those who have been put in your care, but be examples to the flock.

Work hard at whatever you do, because there will be no action, no thought, no knowledge, no wisdom in the world of the dead---and that is where you are going.

Be joyful in the LORD's presence, together with your children, your servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns. Do this at the one place of worship.

Enjoy it with your children, your servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns.

Honor the LORD your God by celebrating this festival for seven days at the one place of worship. Be joyful, because the LORD has blessed your harvest and your work.

The wicked borrow and never pay back, but good people are generous with their gifts.

You welcome those who find joy in doing what is right, those who remember how you want them to live. You were angry with us, but we went on sinning; in spite of your great anger we have continued to do wrong since ancient times.

You should each give, then, as you have decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly.