Acts 8:26–40; Psalm 150; 1 John 4:1–11; John 15:1–8

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
Acts 8:26–40

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

26 Now man angel of the Lord said to Philip, Rise and go toward the south1 to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an nEthiopian, a oeunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, pwho was in charge of all her treasure. qHe had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, Go over and join this chariot. 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, Do you understand what you are reading? 31 And he said, rHow can I, unless someone sguides me? And the invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

uLike a sheep he was led to the slaughter

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he opens not his mouth.

33  In his vhumiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth.

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and wbeginning with this Scripture xhe told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water! yWhat prevents me from being baptized?2 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, zthe Spirit of the Lord acarried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.


Psalm 150

Let Everything Praise the Lord

uPraise the Lord!

Praise God in his msanctuary;

praise him in nhis mighty heavens!1

Praise him for his omighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent pgreatness!

Praise him with qtrumpet sound;

praise him with rlute and rharp!

Praise him with stambourine and sdance;

praise him with tstrings and upipe!

Praise him with sounding vcymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let weverything that has breath praise the Lord!

xPraise the Lord!


1 John 4:1–11

Test the Spirits

Beloved, tdo not believe every spirit, but utest the spirits to see whether they are from God, for vmany wfalse prophets xhave gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: yevery spirit that confesses that zJesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit athat does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and bnow is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for che who is in you is greater than dhe who is in the world. eThey are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and fthe world listens to them. We are from God. gWhoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know hthe Spirit of truth and ithe spirit of error.

God Is Love

Beloved, jlet us love one another, for love is from God, and kwhoever loves has been born of God and knows God. lAnyone who does not love does not know God, because mGod is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that nGod sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, onot that we have loved God nbut that he loved us and sent his Son to be pthe propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.


John 15:1–8

I Am the True Vine

I am the rtrue vine, and my Father is sthe vinedresser. tEvery branch in me that does not bear fruit uhe takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, vthat it may bear more fruit. Already wyou are clean xbecause of the word that I have spoken to you. yAbide zin me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; ayou are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bbears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me che is thrown away like a branch and withers; dand the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If eyou abide in me, and my words abide in you, fask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. gBy this my Father is glorified, that you hbear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.