Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
It does not demand its own way.
It is not irritable,
and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice
but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up,
never loses faith,
is always hopeful,
and endures through every circumstance.
Jesus replied,
“’You must love the LORD your God
with all your heart,
all your soul,
and all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
A second is equally important.
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
(Golden kiwi blossoms)
Then if my people who are called by my name
will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
I will hear from heaven
and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
Then Jesus told them,
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt,
you can do things like this and much more.
You can even say to this mountain,
‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’
and it will happen.
You can pray for anything, and if you have faith,
you will receive it.”
…Everything we have has come from you,
and we give you only what you first gave us!
We are here for only a moment,
visitors and strangers in the land
as our ancestors were before us.
Our days on earth are like a passing shadow,
gone so soon without a trace.
“I tell you the truth,
unless you turn from your sins
and become like little children,
you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty.
Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD,
and this is your kingdom.
We adore you as the one who is over all things.
Wealth and honor come from you alone,
for you rule over everything.
Power and might are in your hand,
and at your discretion people are made great
and given strength.
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world
but lose your own soul?
Is anything worth more than your soul?
…“Be strong and courageous, and do the work.
Don’t be afraid or discouraged,
for the LORD God, my God, is with you.
He will not fail you or forsake you.
He will see to it that all the work
related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly.
