John 1:1-11 - John testifies that Jesus is the Word of God, who was with God in the beginning, and who is, in fact, God. Through Jesus, the Word, everything was created. Jesus is also the life and light of humankind.

Luke 11:1-4 - Jesus taught his followers how to pray. His prayer, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, goes: “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Luke 6:27-31 - Jesus teaches his followers that they must love their enemies, do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, and pray for those who mistreat them. Furthermore, if someone were to slap them on one cheek, they should turn to them the other one too, and if someone were to take their coat, they should give them their shirt too. They should give to anyone who asks and not demand back something that was taken from them. They should do to other what they would have done to them.

Luke 6:17-23 - During his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a list of unexpected blessings — to those who are poor, who are hungry, who weep, and who are hated, excluded or insulted. These people, Jesus says, are blessed and will receive their reward in the kingdom of God.

Luke 20:45-21:4 - Jesus warned his disciples to beware of the teachers of the law who walk around in flowing robes and love being greeted with respect in the marketplace and having the most important seats in the synagogue and at banquets. These people, he said, take advantage of the poor and their religion is all for show. Then Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting gifts into the temple treasury as well as a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. He said to his disciples that this widow had given more than all the others, since the others gave out of their wealth but she, in her poverty, gave everything she had to live on.

Mark 10:17-31 - A rich man came to Jesus asking him about the way to get eternal life. Jesus told him to follow the commandments, to which the man replied that he had done so since he was a child. Jesus then told him that there was one thing missing, he needed to sell all that he had and give to the poor, then come follow Jesus. The man went away sad because he was very rich. Jesus turned to his disciples and told them that is very hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, but that with God all things are possible. Peter spoke up, saying that they had left everything to follow Jesus, and Jesus responded that they would certainly receive a hundred times as much in the present age, and in the age to come eternal life.

Matthew 13:44-46 - Jesus told a parable about the kingdom of heaven being like treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, and went and sold everything he owned in order to buy the field. Likewise, Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a valuable pearl which a merchant found. He then went away, sold everything he had, and bought it.

Luke 16:19-31 - Jesus tells a parable in which there was a rich man who lived in luxury and a poor man named Lazarus who was covered in sores and begged at the rich man’s gate. Eventually, both men died, and while Lazarus was carried to Abraham’s side to be comforted, the rich man was sent to a place of suffering. Although the rich man begged for relief, Abraham replied that in his lifetime he received good things while Lazarus did not. Now their roles were reversed and there was nothing that could be done about it. The rich man asked for Lazarus to be sent to his family to warn them to change their ways before it’s too late, but Abraham said that if they would not listen to Moses and the prophets, they would not listen to him either.

Luke 16:19-31 - Jesus tells a parable in which there was a rich man who lived in luxury and a poor man named Lazarus who was covered in sores and begged at the rich man’s gate. Eventually, both men died, and while Lazarus was carried to Abraham’s side to be comforted, the rich man was sent to a place of suffering. Although the rich man begged for relief, Abraham replied that in his lifetime he received good things while Lazarus did not. Now their roles were reversed and there was nothing that could be done about it. The rich man asked for Lazarus to be sent to his family to warn them to change their ways before it’s too late, but Abraham said that if they would not listen to Moses and the prophets, they would not listen to him either.

Luke 11:5-13 - Jesus tells a parable in which someone knocks on a friend’s door late at night to ask for bread. He says that even though the friend might say no at first, if that person continues to knock and knock, the friend will finally give in and give them bread. Jesus encourages his followers to ask God for things. He compares God to a parent who knows how to give good gifts to their children. All the more will God give good gifts to those who ask.

Luke 8:1-15 - Jesus tells a parable in which a farmer scatters seed on different kinds of ground. Some fell along a path, some on rocky ground, some among thorny bushes, and some onto good soil. He then explains that the seed represents the word of God, and the different kinds of ground represent different conditions of the heart. The good soil represents a heart that hears the word and retains it. This is the kind of heart in which God’s word can grow and produce good results.

Genesis 15:1-6 - God appeared to Abraham and told him not to be afraid for God was his shield and his great reward. Abraham asked what God could possible give him since he was childless and his inheritance would go to a servant in his household. God responded that this would not happen, but that Abraham would have a son who would become his heir. God told Abraham to look up at the sky and try to count the stars, for his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abraham trusted and believed in God’s promise to him.

Genesis 13:1-12 - After Abraham and his family moved to the new land that God had shown them, some quarrelling arose between Abraham’s herders and those of his nephew Lot. The land could not support both of them with all their possessions while they lived together. So Abraham told Lot that he didn’t want there to be quarrelling between them or between their herders. He suggested that in order to live peacefully, they should go separate ways. Lot could choose which part of the land he wanted to live in and Abraham would take the other part. So Lot chose the plain of the Jordan while Abraham lived in Canaan.

Genesis 12:4-9 - Abraham, his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot, and all the people in their household set off together for the land of Canaan where the Lord was bringing them. When they arrived, they traveled throughout the land all the way to the great tree of Moreh at Shechem where God appeared to Abraham to confirm his promise, and Abraham built an altar to the Lord.

Genesis 11:31-12:1 - Terah took his son Abram (or, Abraham), his grandson Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarai (or, Sarah), and traveled with them from Ur of the Chaldeans towards Canaan. On their way, they came to a place called Harran and settled there. They lived there until Terah died. God appeared to Abram and told him to take his family and his entire household, leave their country, and travel to a land that God would show him.

Genesis 4 - After Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden of Eden, they had two sons named Cain and Abel. When the two boys grew up, they both brought an offering to God. Cain brought some of the produce that he had grown, while Abel gave the best parts of the sheep that he had raised. God favoured Abel’s offering over Cain’s, and this lead Cain to become jealous of his brother. One day, Cain snuck up on Abel and attacked him. When confronted about this by God, Cain asked if he was supposed to be his brother’s keeper. Because of what he had done, Cain was sent away to become a restless wanderer on the earth. Cain said that this punishment was too much for him to bear, and that he was afraid someone would attack and harm him. In response, God placed a mark on Cain, promising that he would be protected from harm wherever he went.