He came into the very world he created, 

but the world didn’t recognize him. 

He came to his own people, 

and even they rejected him. 

But to all who believed him and accepted him, 

he gave the right to become children of God. 

They are reborn—

not with a physical birth 

resulting from human passion or plan, 

but a birth that comes from God. 

John 1:10-13

You, too, must keep watch! 

For you don’t know 

when the master of the household will return—

in the evening, 

at midnight, 

before dawn, 

or at daybreak. 

Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 

I say to you what I say to everyone: 

Watch for him!”

Mark 13:35

Then everyone will see the Son of Man

coming on the clouds with great power and glory.

And he will send out his angels 

to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—

from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

Mark 13:26-27

Jesus replied, 

“The most important commandment is this: 

‘Listen, 

O Israel! 

The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

all your soul, 

all your mind, 

and all your strength.’

The second is equally important: 

‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark 12:29-31

Blessings of love

Then Jesus said to the disciples, 

“Have faith in God.

I tell you the truth,

you can say to this mountain,

‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’

and it will happen.

But you must really believe it will happen

and have no doubt in your heart.

I tell you,

you can pray for anything,

and if you believe that you’ve received it,

it will be yours.

Mark 11:22-24

These were his instructions to them: 

“The harvest is great, 

but the workers are few. 

So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; 

ask him to send more workers into his fields.

Luke 10:2

Awe gripped the people 

as they saw this majestic display of God’s power. 

While everyone was marveling at everything he was doing, 

Jesus said to his disciples, 

“Listen to me and remember what I say. 

The Son of Man is going to be betrayed 

into the hands of his enemies.” 

But they didn’t know what he meant. 

Its significance was hidden from them, 

so they couldn’t understand it, 

and they were afraid to ask him about it.

Luke 9:43-45

Jesus took Peter, 

John, 

and James up on a mountain to pray. 

And as he was praying, 

the appearance of his face was transformed, 

and his clothes became dazzling white.

Suddenly, 

two men, 

Moses and Elijah, 

appeared and began talking with Jesus. 

They were glorious to see. 

And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, 

which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Then a voice from the cloud said, 

“This is my Son, 

my Chosen One.

Listen to him.”

Luke 9:28-31, 35

If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, 

the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person 

when he returns in his glory 

and in the glory of the Father 

and the holy angels.

Luke 9:26

Then he asked them, 

“But who do you say I am?” 

Peter replied, 

“You are the Messiah sent from God!”

Luke 9:20