Week 41 — October 25 – 31, 2026
Meeting: Friday, October 30 #
Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:58 #
1 Corinthians 15:58
- Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Readings #
- Day 1: 1 Thessalonians 3-5
- Day 2: 2 Thessalonians 1-3
- Day 3: Acts 18:18-28; 19
- Day 4: 1 Corinthians 1-2
- Day 5: 1 Corinthians 3-4
Day 1 — 1 Thessalonians 3-5 #
1 Thessalonians 3
- So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens.
- We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
- so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.
- Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.
- For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.
- But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you.
- For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.
- For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.
- How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?
- Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.
- Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.
- And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,
- so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 4
- Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.
- For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
- For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;
- each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
- not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;
- and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
- For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
- Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
- Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
- And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more
- and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
- Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.
- Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.
- For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
- By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
- For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.
- After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
- Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 5
- Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you.
- For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief.
- For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
- So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.
- For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
- But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.
- For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
- Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.
- But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.
- In love, hold them in highest regard because of their work. Live in peace with one another.
- And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.
- Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
- Rejoice at all times.
- Pray without ceasing.
- Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- Do not extinguish the Spirit.
- Do not treat prophecies with contempt,
- but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
- Abstain from every form of evil.
- Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
- Brothers, pray for us as well.
- Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
- I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
- The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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Day 2 — 2 Thessalonians 1-3 #
2 Thessalonians 1
- Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
- Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
- That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.
- All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
- After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
- and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,
- on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.
- To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith,
- so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2
- Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,
- not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come.
- Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.
- He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you?
- And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
- For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.
- And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
- The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
- and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,
- in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.
- But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
- To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.
- Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
- encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.
2 Thessalonians 3
- Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.
- And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not everyone holds to the faith.
- But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
- And we have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.
- May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
- Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.
- For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,
- nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
- Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.
- For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
- For we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives, accomplishing nothing, but being busybodies.
- We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living.
- But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing.
- Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.
- Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
- Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
- This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. This is my mark in every letter; it is the way I write.
- The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
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Day 3 — Acts 18:18-28; 19 #
Acts 18:18-28
- Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.
- When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews.
- When they asked him to stay for a while longer, he declined.
- But as he left, he said, “I will come back to you if God is willing.” And he set sail from Ephesus.
- When Paul had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch.
- After Paul had spent some time in Antioch, he traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
- Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures.
- He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
- And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
- When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
- For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
Acts 19
- While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
- and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
- “Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied.
- Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
- On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
- And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
- There were about twelve men in all.
- Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
- But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
- This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.
- God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,
- so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.
- Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I command you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”
- Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
- But one day the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
- Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.
- This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
- Many who had believed now came forward, confessing and disclosing their deeds.
- And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone. When the value of the books was calculated, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
- So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail.
- After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.”
- He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed for a time in the province of Asia.
- About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.
- It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen.
- Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity.
- And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
- There is danger not only that our business will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and her majesty deposed—she who is worshiped by all the province of Asia and the whole world.”
- When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
- Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
- Paul wanted to go before the assembly, but the disciples would not allow him.
- Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre.
- Meanwhile the assembly was in turmoil. Some were shouting one thing and some another, and most of them did not even know why they were there.
- The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward to explain himself, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people.
- But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
- Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
- Since these things are undeniable, you ought to be calm and not do anything rash.
- For you have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed our temple nor blasphemed our goddess.
- So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.
- But if you are seeking anything beyond this, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
- For we are in jeopardy of being charged with rioting for today’s events, and we have no justification to account for this commotion.”
- After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
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Day 4 — 1 Corinthians 1-2 #
1 Corinthians 1
- Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
- To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
- Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus.
- For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge,
- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
- Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
- I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.
- My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
- What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”
- Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?
- I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
- so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.
- Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else.
- For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
- For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
- Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
- For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
- Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,
- but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
- but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
- For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
- Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,
- so that no one may boast in His presence.
- It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 2
- When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
- For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
- I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
- My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
- so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
- Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
- No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.
- None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
- Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
- But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
- For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
- We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
- And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
- The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.
- “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
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Day 5 — 1 Corinthians 3-4 #
1 Corinthians 3
- Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ.
- I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready,
- for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
- For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
- What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
- I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
- So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
- He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
- For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
- By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.
- For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
- If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,
- his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
- If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward.
- If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.
- Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
- If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
- Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
- Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours,
- whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you,
- and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
1 Corinthians 4
- So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
- Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
- I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
- My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.
- Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
- Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another.
- For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
- Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you!
- For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.
- We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.
- To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.
- We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;
- when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
- I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.
- Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
- Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
- That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.
- Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
- But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have.
- For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
- Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit?
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