But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must name him John.

He will go before Him in the spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the upright, to make ready for the Lord a people perfectly prepared."

Listen! You will become pregnant and bear a son, and you must name Him Jesus.

Then the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and so your child will be called holy, the Son of God.

He has dethroned monarchs and exalted the poor.

So it was time for Elizabeth to bear a child, and she bore a son.

and she bore her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him up and laid Him in a manger, for there was no room for them at the inn.

and to offer the sacrifice in accordance with what is specified in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons."

Now the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Every tree, then, that fails to bear good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire."

And the devil said to Him, "I will give you all this power and all their splendor, for it has been turned over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.

and, 'They will bear you up on their hands, so that you will never strike your foot against a stone.'"

Then Jesus in the power of the Spirit returned to Galilee, and news of Him spread all over the surrounding country.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has consecrated me to preach the good news to the poor; He has sent me to announce release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to send the downtrodden away in liberty and

and they rose up and drove Him out of town and took Him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, to hurl Him down the cliff.

Now there was a man in the synagogue who was under the power of the spirit of a foul demon, and he screamed with a loud voice,

Amazement then seized them all and they continued to talk it over among themselves, and to say, "What does this message mean? For with authority and power He gives orders to foul spirits, and they come out."

One day as He was teaching, there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Him to cure people.

Now it was in those days that He went up on the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

So all the people were trying to touch Him, because power continued to go forth from Him and to cure them all.

Then He fixed His eyes upon His disciples, and began to speak. "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours!

continue to bless those who curse you, and continue to pray for those who abuse you.

Practice forgiving others, and you will be forgiven. Practice giving to others, and they will give to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, people will pour into your lap. For the measure you use with others they in turn will use with you."

"For there never is a healthy tree that bears poor fruit, nor a sickly tree that bears good fruit.

And so He answered them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind are seeing and the crippled are walking, the lepers are being healed and the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised and the poor are having the good news preached to them.

As soon as He stepped out upon the shore, there met Him a man from town, who was under the power of demons; and for a long time he had worn no clothes, and did not stay in a house but in tombs.

Then they who had seen it told them how the man who had been under the power of demons was cured.

Still Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, for I felt it when the power passed from me."

Then He called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to cure diseases,

Now about eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

So He was saying to them: "The harvest is plentiful, but the reapers are scarce. So pray the Lord of the harvest to send out reapers to His harvest-field.

Listen! I have given you power to tread on snakes and scorpions, and to trample on all the power of the enemy, and nothing at all will ever harm you.

At that very moment, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He exulted and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for concealing these matters from wise and learned men, and for revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, I thank you that your good pleasure made it so.

Once He was praying in a certain place, and when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

So He said to them, "Whenever you pray, say: 'Father, Your name be revered; Your kingdom come;

Just as He was saying this, a woman in the crowd lifted her voice and said, "Blessed is the mother who bore you and nursed you!"

But I will show you whom to fear. Fear Him who, after killing you, has power to hurl you down to the pit; yes, I tell you, fear Him.

But when you give a reception, make it your habit to invite people that are poor, maimed, crippled, or blind.

So the slave returned and reported these answers to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his slave, 'Hurry out into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor, the maimed, the crippled, and the blind.'

Now He told them the following story to show how necessary it is for people always to pray and never to give up:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax-collector.

You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Practice honoring your father and mother.'"

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell everything you have, and distribute the money among the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come back and follow me."

Then Zaccheus got up and said to the Lord, "Listen, Lord! I now give to the poor half of my property, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay him back four times as much."

So they closely watched and sent spies who pretended to be upright men, to catch Him in His conversation, so as to turn Him over to the power and authority of the governor.

"Show me a twenty-cent coin. Whose picture and title does it bear?" They answered, "Caesar's."

Then He saw a poor widow drop in two little coins which make scarcely a cent.

And He said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has dropped in more than all of them;

and you will be continuously hated by everyone, because you bear my name.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud in overwhelming power and splendor.

Now when He reached the spot, He said to them, "Continue to pray that you may not be subjected to temptation."

And He Himself withdrew about a stone's throw from them, and after kneeling down He continued to pray,

While I was among you day after day in the temple, you never laid a hand on me! But this is your opportunity, even the power which darkness gives you!"

And I will send down upon you what my Father has promised. But you, on your part, must stay right here in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."