Holy Spirit                                     Holy Spirit                                  Holy Spirit

1,2 Dear friend who loves God: In my first letter I told you about Jesus' life and teachings and how he returned to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions from the Holy Spirit.

3 During the forty days after his crucifixion he appeared to the apostles from time to time, actually alive, and proved to them in many ways that it was really he himself they were seeing. And on these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

Acts 1:1-3 (Living)

Holy Spirit

1 Dear friends in Rome:

1 This letter is from Paul, Jesus Christ's slave, chosen to be a missionary, and sent out to preach God's Good News.

2 This Good News was promised long ago by God's prophets in the Old Testament.

3 It is the Good News about his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who came as a human baby, born into King David's royal family line;

4 and by being raised from the dead he was proved to be the mighty Son of God, with the holy nature of God himself.

Romans 1:1-4 (Living)

17 And now there is one more thing to say before I end this letter. Stay away from those who cause divisions and are upsetting people's faith, teaching things about Christ that are contrary to what you have been taught.

18 Such teachers are not working for our Lord Jesus but only want gain for themselves. They are good speakers, and simple-minded people are often fooled by them.

19 But everyone knows that you stand loyal and true. This makes me very happy. I want you always to remain very clear about what is right and to stay innocent of any wrong.

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The blessings from our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you.

21 Timothy my fellow worker, and Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my relatives, send you their good wishes.

22 I, Tertius, the one who is writing this letter for Paul, send my greetings too, as a Christian brother.

Romans 16:17-22 (Living)

Holy Spirit

1 From: Paul, chosen by God to be Jesus Christ's missionary, and from brother Sosthenes.

2 To: The Christians in Corinth, invited by God to be his people and made acceptable to him by Christ Jesus. And to: All Christians everywhere--whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs.

3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you all of his blessings, and great peace of heart and mind.

4 I can never stop thanking God for all the wonderful gifts he has given you, now that you are Christ's:

5 he has enriched your whole life. He has helped you speak out for him and has given you a full understanding of the truth;

6 what I told you Christ could do for you has happened!

7 Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing his will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Cor 1:1-7 (Living)

21 I will write these final words of this letter with my own hand:

22 if anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed. Lord Jesus, come!

23 May the love and favor of the Lord Jesus Christ rest upon you.

24 My love to all of you, for we all belong to Christ Jesus. Sincerely, Paul

1 Cor 16:21-24 (Living)

Holy Spirit

1 Dear friends: This letter is from me, Paul, appointed by God to be Jesus Christ's messenger; and from our dear brother Timothy. We are writing to all of you Christians there in Corinth and throughout Greece.

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ mightily bless each one of you and give you peace.

3,4 What a wonderful God we have--he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us.

5 You can be sure that the more we undergo sufferings for Christ, the more he will shower us with his comfort and encouragement.

2 Cor 1:1-5 (Living)

2 The only letter I need is you yourselves! By looking at the good change in your hearts, everyone can see that we have done a good work among you.

3 They can see that you are a letter from Christ, written by us. It is not a letter written with pen and ink, but by the Spirit of the living God; not one carved on stone, but in human hearts.

4 We dare to say these good things about ourselves only because of our great trust in God through Christ, that he will help us to be true to what we say,

5 and not because we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success comes from God.

2 Cor 3:2-5 (Living)

11 I close my letter with these last words: Be happy. Grow in Christ. Pay attention to what I have said. Live in harmony and peace. And may the God of love and peace be with you.

12 Greet each other warmly in the Lord.

13 All the Christians here send you their best regards.

14 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. May God's love and the Holy Spirit's friendship be yours. Paul

2 Cor 13:11-14 (Living)

Holy Spirit

1,2 From: Paul the missionary and all the other Christians here. To: The churches of Galatia. I was not called to be a missionary by any group or agency. My call is from Jesus Christ himself and from God the Father who raised him from the dead.

3 May peace and blessing be yours from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 He died for our sins just as God our Father planned, and rescued us from this evil world in which we live.

5 All glory to God through all the ages of eternity. Amen.

Gal 1:1-5 (Living)

1 Dear Christian friends at Ephesus, ever loyal to the Lord: This is Paul writing to you, chosen by God to be Jesus Christ's messenger.

2 May his blessings and peace be yours, sent to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

3 How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every blessing in heaven because we belong to Christ.

Eph 1:1-3 (Living)

1 From: Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus Christ. To: The pastors and deacons and all the Christians in the city of Philippi.

2 May God bless you all. Yes, I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will give each of you his fullest blessings and his peace in your hearts and your lives.

3 All my prayers for you are full of praise to God!

4 When I pray for you, my heart is full of joy

5 because of all your wonderful help in making known the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.

6 And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.

Phil 1:1-6 (Living)

8 And now, brothers, as I close this letter, let me say this one more thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.

9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.

Phil 4:8-9 (Living)

1 From: Paul, chosen by God to be Jesus Christ's messenger, and from Brother Timothy.

2 To: The faithful Christian brothers--God's people--in the city of Colosse. May God our Father shower you with blessings and fill you with his great peace.

3 Whenever we pray for you, we always begin by giving thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Col 1:1-3 (Living)

1 From: Paul, Silas, and Timothy. To: The church at Thessalonica--to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: May blessing and peace of heart be your rich gifts from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 We always thank God for you and pray for you constantly.

1 Thess 1:1-2 (Living)

27 I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the Christians.

28 And may rich blessings from our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, every one. Sincerely, Paul

1 Thess 5:27-28 (Living)

1 From: Paul, Silas, and Timothy. To: The church of Thessalonica--kept safe in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you rich blessings and peace-filled hearts and minds.

3 Dear brothers, giving thanks to God for you is not only the right thing to do, but it is our duty to God because of the really wonderful way your faith has grown and because of your growing love for each other.

2 Thess 1:1-3 (Living)

1 Finally, dear brothers, as I come to the end of this letter, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts everywhere as it did when it came to you.

2 Pray, too, that we will be saved out of the clutches of evil men, for not everyone loves the Lord.

3 But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from satanic attacks of every kind.

4 And we trust the Lord that you are putting into practice the things we taught you, and that you always will.

5 May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and of the patience that comes from Christ.

2 Thess 3:1-5 (Living)

1 From: Paul, a missionary of Jesus Christ, sent out by the direct command of God our Savior and by Jesus Christ our Lord--our only hope.

2 To: Timothy. Timothy, you are like a son to me in the things of the Lord. May God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord show you his kindness and mercy and give you great peace of heart and mind.

1 Tim 1:1-2 (Living)

1 From: Paul, Jesus Christ's missionary, sent out by God to tell men and women everywhere about the eternal life he has promised them through faith in Jesus Christ.

2 To: Timothy, my dear son. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord shower you with his kindness, mercy, and peace.

2 Tim 1:1-2 (Living)

1,2 From: Paul, the slave of God and the messenger of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to bring faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know God's truth--the kind of truth that changes lives--so that they can have eternal life, which God promised them before the world began--and he cannot lie.

3 And now in his own good time he has revealed this Good News and permits me to tell it to everyone. By command of God our Savior, I have been trusted to do this work for him.

4 To: Titus, who is truly my son in the affairs of the Lord. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you his blessings and his peace.

Titus 1:1-4 (Living)

1 From: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To: Jewish Christians scattered everywhere. Greetings!

2 Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy,

3 for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow.

4 So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.

5 If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it.

6 But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind;

7,8 and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way and then that. If you don't ask with faith, don't expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.

James 1:1-7 (Living)

1 From: Peter, Jesus Christ's missionary. To: The Jewish Christians driven out of Jerusalem and scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor, and Bithynia.

2 Dear friends, God the Father chose you long ago and knew you would become his children. And the Holy Spirit has been at work in your hearts, cleansing you with the blood of Jesus Christ and making you to please him. May God bless you richly and grant you increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear.

3 All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God's own family. Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead.

1 Peter 1:1-3 (Living)

1 From: Simon Peter, a servant and missionary of Jesus Christ. To: All of you who have our kind of faith. The faith I speak of is the kind that Jesus Christ our God and Savior gives to us. How precious it is, and how just and good he is to give this same faith to each of us.

2 Do you want more and more of God's kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better.

3 For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us!

4 And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character.

5 But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do.

6 Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you.

7 This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply.

8 The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:1-8 (Living)