Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.

Thus says the Lord God:/Lo, I am sending my messenger/ to prepare the way be­fore me;/ And suddenly there will come to the temple/ the Lord whom you seek,/ And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire./ Yes, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts./ But who will endure the day of his coming?/ And who can stand when he appears?/ For he is like the refiner’s fire,/ or like the fuller’s lye./ He will sit refining and purifying silver,/ and he will purify the sons of Levi,/ Refining them like gold or like silver/ that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord./ Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem/ will please the Lord,/ as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son.

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.

In those days, Hannah brought Samuel with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the Lord in Shiloh.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lord spoke to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!