Weekly Readings

The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to choose something to give me as a special contribution. You must accept whatever contribution each person freely gives. 3 This is the kind of contribution you will accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4 violet, purple, and bright red yarn, fine linen, goats’ hair, 5 rams’ skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, 6 olive oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense, 7 onyx stones, and other precious stones to be set in the chief priest’s ephod  and his breastplate.

8 “Then have them make a holy place for me, and I will live among them.

In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about what Jesus began to do and teach. This included everything from the beginning of his life 2 until the day he was taken to heaven. Before he was taken to heaven, he gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, whom he had chosen.

3 After his death Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about God’s kingdom.

4 Once, while he was meeting with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised. Jesus said to them, “I’ve told you what the Father promises: 5 John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

6 So when the apostles came together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him.

10 They were staring into the sky as he departed. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood near them. 11 They asked, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking at the sky? Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”

14 The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness  and truth.

15 (John declared the truth about him when he said loudly, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ ”)

16 Each of us has received one gift after another because of all that the Word is. 17 Laws were given through Moses, but kindness and truth came into existence through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. God’s only Son, the one who is closest to the Father’s heart, has made him known.