Attitudes of Faith for 2016

I shall add to these quotes throughout the year.  A blessed new year to all!

Robert Louis Stevenson, author,bedridden most of his life with tuberculosis. One day, his wife heard him hacking away and said, ?I suppose you still believe it is a wonderful day.? Turning toward a window filled with sunlight, Stevenson said, ?I do! I will never let a row of medicine bottles block my horizon.?

A life changing resolution for the new year

Resolution for the New Year  Click Here


As we wrap up 2015 in anticipation of 2016, Pastor Randy Beard delivers a timely resolution for the new year about integrating God's word into our lives.  Reading, meditating and living out the word God is a worthy goal for 2016.  I am asking you to stop the flurry of busyness for a few minutes to LISTEN to the message and digest what it says.  It is a simple step and life changing as we enter the new year.

Mall Incident -A Tear in the Social Fabric

On Saturday night LOUISVILLE area residents experienced first hand a tear in this nation's social fabric, the forces and influences and bind us as the USA.  These forces collectively hold the nation together include family, schools and churches.  Together they must be reaffirmed and strengthened.   Like the harmless feel of an earth tremor this seemingly isolated event cannot be ignored.  The following excerpt DESCRIBES THE MAKE UP OF SOCIAL FABRIC AND THREATS is a good beginning.  I have noted the source at the conclusion for additional references. 


The Breakdown of the Family
From 1901 to 1970, the divorce rate increased by 700%. In 1900 there were 56,000 divorces in America; in 1992 1.2 million, a 700% increase, adjusted for population growth (Insight 6/17/96, p. 14)






From 1970 to 1992, the divorce rate increased 279%; the number of children with a divorced parent increased 352%, the cohabitation population increased 533%, which means 2.7 million unmarried households, 40% of them containing children. (Stanton, pp. 2-3)






Within six months of their marriage, 50% of newlyweds begin to doubt the marriage will last, 39% report "big fights" at least once a week and 4% had already separated for at least one night. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 1994)


"Between 1970 and 1995, . . . the percentage of married couples with children dropped by a third, but single-parent families nearly doubled." (Larry Witham, "New data on American family offer few hopeful signs," WT National Edition, March 11-17, 1996, p. 1)






In 1960, 243,000 children were living with a single parent who had never married; by 1993 this figure had risen to 6.3 million.  1.2 million children per year are born into fatherless homes. America has 1.8 million "latchkey" kids. (Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, p. 118)  20 years ago, 17% of American children grow up without a father; today, 36% do.






In 1960, 8 million children living only with their mother; in 1995, 23 million.  Three fastest growing forms of the family in the US, 1980-95: 1. Single mother families; 2. Blended families (step-parents); 3. Divorced families (the family left over after divorce). (Stanton, p. 1)


Family Breakdown and Society’s Major Problems
Furthermore, research has now established a clear link between the breakdown of the family and the major problems plaguing our society. Consider the following facts:

Divorce is the leading cause of childhood depression. (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

75% of adolescent patients at chemical abuse centers are from single-parent families. (Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA)

63% of youth suicides are single-parent children. (Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA)

70% of teen-age pregnancies are single-parent children. ("Children in Need: Investment Strategies for the Educationally Disadvantaged" - Committee for Economic Development )

75% of juveniles in youth correction facilities are from single-parent families. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1988)

Children of divorce are 5 times more likely to be suspended from school; 3 times as likely to need psychological counseling; 2 times as likely to repeat a grade; are absent from school more, late to school more often; show more health problems.( . Dr. Gene Brody - Study of Competence in Children and Families; Gormely, Newburgh, NY)

Judith S. Wallerstein, in "Children After Divorce: Wounds That Don't Heal" in Perspectives on Marriage reports her findings that:

Twelve to eighteen months after the divorce "we found family after family still in crisis, their wounds wide open. Their symptoms were worse than they had been immediately after the divorce."

After 5 years, 37% of the children had gone downhill: "It would be hard to find any other group of children - except, perhaps, the victims of a natural disaster - who suffered such a rate of sudden serious psychological problems."




After 10 years, 41% of the children of divorce were "worried, underachieving, self-depreciating and sometimes angry young men and women." By ages 19-23, 66% of the female children of divorce found that they were more haunted and scarred by the divorce in their earlier lives than either they or the researchers had realized. 40% of the boys were found to be floundering in their lives. "divorce was the single most important cause of enduring pain and anomie in their lives.




The young people told us time and again how much they needed a family structure, how much they wanted to be protected, and how much they yearned for clear guideline for moral behavior. An alarming number of teen-agers felt abandoned, physically and emotionally.


Family Breakdown: the Root Cause
Dr. Patrick Fagan, a family therapist and former deputy assistant secretary of Health and Human Services who is currently serving as William H. G. FitzGerald Fellow in family issues at The Heritage Foundation has done extensive research on the causes of crime in America.
In brief, Dr. Fagan’s conclusion is:

The root cause of violent crime thus is found in failed intimate relationships of love in marriage and in the family. The breakdown of stable communities … flows directly from this failure. In contrast, addressing the root causes … requires an understanding of the crucial elements of supportive family and community life.

First in importance and influence is the basic marriage commitment. Its vital importance is starkly evident in the catastrophic impact of its absence.

Second is the relationship of love between parents and children, a love expressed primarily in supervision.

Third, stemming from the first and second, is the child's ability to relate to other children.

Fourth, the backbone of strong neighborhoods, is friendship and cooperation between families.

(The Real Root Causes of Violent Crime: the Breakdown of Marriage, Family, and Community by Patrick Fagan, The Heritage Foundation)

The Positive Impact of Faith and Traditional Morals
Dr. Fagan also notes the positive effect of religious faith and practice on morals, character and the formation of strong families and offers this advice:

It is no coincidence that one of the central rules in the traditional moral codes of all communities at all times, in all places, and in all cultures is the prohibition against giving birth to children outside of marriage. Societies all over the world have recognized that this prohibition is essential to social stability and to raising members of each new generation with the proper respect for their community and their peers. Unfortunately, and with disastrous consequences, this prohibition is ignored today in American society at all levels …

Whenever there is too high a concentration of such broken families in any community, that community will disintegrate. Only so many dysfunctional families can be sustained before the moral and social fabric of the community itself breaks down. Re-establishment of the basic community code of children within marriage is necessary both for the future happiness of American families and for a reduction in violent crime.

(The Real Root Causes of Violent Crime: the Breakdown of Marriage, Family, and Community by Patrick Fagan, The Heritage Foundation)

Ideas Have Consequences
Ideas have consequences. People act the way that they do because they think in certain ways, because they hold certain beliefs. This is true for individuals and it is also true for a society or culture. In the modern world, certain institutions - the universities, schools, the media and the entertainment industry - have a major influence in shaping our understanding of ourselves and the world. The ideas and images which are communicated not only influence the actions of individuals; they have a profound influence on public policy which in turn further affects our life and our decisions.



Secular "Modern" Ideas



The following ideas in combination have been particularly harmful:

Man is a highly evolved animal.

There are no absolute standards; values are relative.

The nuclear family is a product of social evolution and is just one of a number of possible forms of social organization.

Societies problems can be solved by technology and the social sciences with a particular emphasis on the role of the state in social engineering. 

There is no doubt that the science has provided incredible benefits for mankind. Transportation and communications are bringing the world together. Technology has created a wealth of material comforts. But what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but loses his soul.


The social sciences in their turn have provided us with a vast amount of information and insight into human nature and valuable techniques with which to study the economy, society, and even the human mind. Yet at the same time the flawed secular and relativist bias of modern secularism has undermined the very principles which are necessary for the maintenance of a stable society.






At the root of such flaws are the notions that God either does not exist or is irrelevant to society, that man is nothing more than a highly evolved animal, and that moral values are all relative.





America Needs a new Faith-Based Perspective
Harvey Cox, the Harvard theologian who in the 1960’s had written The Secular City, published a new book entitled Fire From Heaven in 1995. The book was the result of several years spent traveling across the United States and to four continents studying the growth of the Pentecostal movement. In his introduction Cox states

Nearly three decades ago I wrote a book, The Secular City, in which I tried to work out a theology for the "postreligious" age that many sociologists had confidently assured us was coming. Since then, however, religion… seems to have gained a new lease on life. Today, it is secularity, not spirituality, that may be headed for extinction….

The prognosticators had written that the technological pace and urban bustle of the twentieth century would increasingly shove religion to the margin where, deprived of roots, it would shrivel…

This did not happen. Instead, before the academic forecasters could even draw their pensions, a religious renaissance is under way all over the globe…. We are definitely in a period of renewed religious vitality, another "great awakening" …with all the promise and peril religious revivals always bring with them, but this time on a world scale.

In the concluding chapter of the book, Dr. Cox states

For the past three centuries, two principle contenders - scientific modernity and traditional religion have clashed over the privilege of being the ultimate source of meaning and value. Now like tired boxers who have slugged away too long, the two have reached an exhausted stalemate. As British rock singer Sting laments in one of his most popular songs, many have now lost faith in "science and progress" and in "the holy church." People are still willing to rely on science for the limited things it has proven it can do, but they no longer believe it will answer their deepest questions. They remain vaguely intrigued with the traditional religions, but not with the conventional churches… But the loss of direction Sting sings about also has a positive side. Increasing numbers of people appear ready to move on, and are looking for a more promising map of the life-world.

To provide such a "life-map" is the challenge that faces us as we approach the new millennium. It is our responsibility to articulate an understanding which affirms the sacred truths revealed in the scriptures at the same time that it embraces the proven and useful principles of science.


We need to dispel the fallacies of secularism and empower the conscience of our nation with a clear concept of a healthy society with loving God-centered families as the foundation - a God-centered ideal empowered by a love that transcends race, national origin, denomination, profession, or economic status.




If we are to restore the family we must clarify what a true family is and how it functions in the society. Armed with such an understanding, we can then tackle the task of reversing the destructive social trends which are plaguing our society and work toward the realization of a peaceful and loving society, nation, and world.


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/talks/colvin/secular.htm

God is Redeemer and Ever Present in My Life 1985-2015

It was exactly 30 years ago that I had my first operation.  The medical procedure which was nearly 6 hrs. long involved the removal of my thyroid gland.  I spent a week in the hospital for recovery.  The night before the procedure was sleepless and around 4 am. the cardiologist came in and began asking questions about my heart  It seems they were concerned about my weakened and informed my that I would be on life support during the procedure.


After the doctor left I took out my Bible, read scripture and declared to God, while lying face down on the hospital bed that if it was his will I was ready.  Well the day came to leave the hospital, the air seemed fresh and all was anew.  My post operation visit to the cardiologist revealed that I had made a full recovery. 


So with a broken family situation a set out to begin a new life.  It was a month later that  I met Cindy.  We dated for 5 years where she had just returned from that state of Arizona and began a temporary job in Frankfort.  We were married in December 1991.  Cindy went to be with the Lord in JANUARY 2013.


30 years have passed, I have celebrated a life with beloved Cindy and am facing another health crisis.  I will continue to serve HIM and appreciate life as it unfolds according to GOD'S will.

Kenwood Heights Christian Church TV

 FEBRUARY 29 EDITION

EXPERIENCE BUILT ROCK SOLID

Current Series - Even So

Senior Minister Randy Beard discusses the last in the Book of Judges, Samuel the issues he addressed and his perspective from growing up in a Godly home.
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Senior Minister Randy Beard share another story from the Book of Judges, Samson the 13th Judge.   Chapters 13-16.
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Senior Minister Randy Beard continues the series about the Book of Judges and a most unlikely leader and son of a prostitute, Jephthah found in chapters 10 and 11.
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Senior Minister Randy Beard continues the exploration of the Book of Judges with the evil Abimelech, his rise to power and subsequent fate and how God Accomplishes his objectives.
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Supplemental Material
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Senior Minister Randy Beard continues the series with a discussion of Gideon with his quest of overcoming fear through trusting God.  Judges 6:7
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Judges 4:5 Senior Minister Randy Beard recounts the story of the Old Covenant prophetess Deborah
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Supplemental Material
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WHO WE ARE
Join Your Friends and Neighbors - Celebrating Life at Kenwood Heights Christian Church
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Kenwood Treasures - WWII Recollections of LC Powers
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Family Getaway 2015
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Senior Minister Randy Beard and Staff
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BELIEVER'S TOOLKIT
Showing Compassion for Others
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Discovering Our Purpose
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Giving Thanks When No One Else Will
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Hurting for One Another
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Life - When It's Moving too Fast
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Parenting Skills - How to Develop Boundaries in Your Children's Lives
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Examining our prayer life. . . hot, cold or simply warm?
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Reasons for Hope in a Hopeless World
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Archive
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The Reasons for Prayer - The Blessed Assurances of our Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST

HUMBLENESS


John 13

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet 13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Jesus Predicts His Betrayal 18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned[a] against me.’[b] 19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. 20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” 21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” 22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” 25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial 31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him,[c] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. 33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” 37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!                                       COMFORT John 14 Jesus Comforts His Disciples 14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jesus the Way to the Father 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.                     TRUST John 15   The Vine and the Branches 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other. The World Hates the Disciples 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’[c] The Work of the Holy Spirit 26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning                                        COMMITMENT John 16  16 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy 16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” 19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. 25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 2 8 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” 29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we  can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” 31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”                       ACTIONS OF FAITH John 17  Jesus Prays to Be Glorified 17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Jesus Prays for His Disciples 6 “I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[d] the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. Jesus Prays for All Believers 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”