This is the story of the Good News about Jesus Christ,
the Son of God.

Long ago God said through  the prophet Isaiah
"I am going to send my messenger before you. He will prepare your way. A voice cries out in the wilderness: prepare a way for the Lord".

And so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness,
proclaiming a baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

As the people were baptized by John in the river Jordan,
they confessed their sins.

John wore a garment of camel skin.
Locusts and wild honey were his food.

He said to the people "Someone is coming who is more important than I am. I am not worthy to kneel down and undo his sandal straps.

I baptize you with water. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit".

Jesus, please help us prepare a way for you like John the Baptist

As soon as Jesus came out of the water, he saw the sky open
and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him.

Then a voice came from heaven
"You are my Son, the Beloved. My favor rests on you".

Straight after this the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days.
During this time Jesus was tempted by Satan.

Holy Spirit, please increase your influence in my life

As he was walking along by the sea of Galilee, he saw two fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew.  Jesus said to them "Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men".  Simon and Andrew then followed Jesus.

Going a little further, Jesus saw two more fishermen James and his brother John. He called them also to follow him.  They left their nets and boat and followed him.

Jesus, please bless all the people who work full time as "fishers of men"

That very day in the prayer hall there was a man possessed by an evil spirit.  The spirit shouted out "Have you come to destroy me, Jesus of Nazareth?  I know who you are: the Holy One of God."

Jesus said strongly "Be quiet! Come out of him!"
The evil spirit threw the man on the ground and with a loud cry went out of him.

The people in the prayer hall were amazed. They said
"Here is a teaching which has authority. Even evil spirits obey him."

Jesus' reputation quickly spread throughout the whole district.

Jesus, Holy One of God, please protect my family from evil

Jesus took her by the hand and helped her up.
The fever left her,  and she began to serve her visitors.

That night all the local sick people were brought to Jesus.
He healed many who were suffering from all kinds of diseases.
He also cast out many devils.

Jesus, please heal (..name..) who is sick

The next morning, long before dawn,
Jesus left the house and went off to a lonely place to pray.

When Simon and the other fishermen found him, they said
"Everyone is looking for you".

Jesus replied "We must go to the nearby towns,
so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came".

Jesus went all through Galilee,
preaching in the prayer halls and casting out devils.

Jesus, may every town on earth welcome you and hear your message

Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand,
touched him and said "Of course I want to heal you. Be healed!"

The leprosy left him at that moment and he was healed.

Jesus told the man not to tell people what had happened
(in case people misunderstood Jesus' spiritual mission and tried to use him politically).  But the man told everyone.

Soon Jesus could not go openly into any town (for fear the crowds would become unruly) so he stayed in remote places.

Even so, people from all around the district would come to him.

Jesus, please heal people who are lepers

After some time Jesus returned to Capernaum.
Crowds quickly gathered at the house where he was staying.

While he was preaching inside the house,
four men carried a paralytic on a stretcher to the front door.

They couldn't get in, because of the crowd, so they went up on the roof, took off some of the roof covering, and lowered the stretcher in front of Jesus.

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic "Your sins are forgiven". Some religious leaders present in the crowd  thought to themselves "Who does this man think he is? Only God can forgive sins".

Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them "Which is easier? To say 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Get up and walk'?

But to show you that I have authority to forgive sins I now say
get up, pick up your stretcher and go home."

The man got up, picked up his stretcher and walked out in front of everyone. The crowd said "We have never seen anything like this".

Jesus, please heal my friend.....(name)....who is a paralytic

Near the sea he saw a tax collector Levi (Matthew) working at the customs house. Jesus said to him "Follow me". He got up and followed him.

Levi gave a dinner in his house for Jesus.
Sitting with Jesus were some tax collectors and "sinners".
In fact Jesus' followers included many tax collectors and "sinners".

Some religious leaders asked Jesus' disciples "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

Jesus himself answered them: "It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners."

Jesus, thank you for being a friend
of people who are rejected and despised

One Sabbath day Jesus and his disciples were walking through a cornfield.  The disciples were hungry.
They picked some ears of corn and ate them.

Picking corn on the Sabbath was regarded as unlawful by the Pharisees.  So the Pharisees said to Jesus
"Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law".

Jesus replied "Don't you remember what King David and his followers once did when they were hungry? They ate the Temple bread which only the priests were allowed to eat.

Go and learn the meaning  of these words
'What I want is mercy, not superficial external offerings'.

The Son of Man  is master of the Sabbath."

Jesus, Son of Man, please help me understand
 that love is more important than law.

The religious leaders were watching Jesus to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, hoping for something to use against him.

Jesus said to the man with the withered hand "Stand in the middle of the hall".  Then he said to the religious leaders "Is it against the law on the Sabbath to do good?"

They remained silent. Grieved that they were so obstinate, Jesus looked angrily round at them, and said to the man "Stretch out your hand".

He stretched it out and it was healed.
The leaders left and began to plot how to get rid of Jesus.

Jesus, don't let my heart become obstinate

Jesus went again to the Sea of Galilee.
Great crowds of people from all over the country went to him.
They had heard what he was doing and wanted to see him.

Large crowds of  sick people pushed forward, trying to touch Jesus.
They had heard how he had healed so many sick people.

Jesus, please heal my friend ....(name)....who is sick

Jesus went up a hill and called  his disciples.
He chose 12 of them to be his special companions.

He commissioned them for preaching.
He gave them power to cast out devils.

The names of the 12:
Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;
James and John the sons of Zebedee.

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus,  Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot
and Judas Iscariot the one who would betray him.

Jesus, please bless and protect all Gospel workers

Jesus went back to Capernaum. Such a crowd gathered that he could not even have a meal 

When his family  heard about such things,
they set out to take care of  him, thinking that he was crazy.

His mother and brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent in a message asking for him.

Jesus was told "Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you".  Jesus replied "Who are my mother and brothers?".

Then looking round at the people sitting in a circle about him, he said
"Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother".

Jesus, please help me to do your will,
even if people sometimes think I'm crazy

One day Jesus told the people this story:

A farmer was planting seeds in his field.
Some seeds fell on the path. Birds ate them.

Some seeds fell on rocky ground.
They became sickly plants, without roots, and died.

Some seeds fell among thorns.
When they became plants, they were choked by the thorns.

Some seeds fell on good soil
and produced a rich harvest.

Jesus explained the story:
People who hear God's word without good will
are like the seeds on the path.
They are easy prey for Satan.

People who hear God's word only superficially
are like the seeds on rocky ground.
As soon as difficulties come, such people easily give up.

People who hear God's word with one ear
but with the other are listening to the call of greed and pleasure
are like the seeds among thorns. Greed kills the word.

People who hear God's word with good will and put it into practice
are like the good seeds which produced a rich harvest.

Jesus, please help me be good seed!

Jesus and his disciples got into a boat
to cross the lake.

Jesus was so tired that he went to sleep in the boat.
A sudden storm caused big waves to lash the boat.

Jesus' friends woke him up  and said
"Save us, Lord, we are sinking".

Jesus stood up, and ordered the wind and sea to be calm.
Straight away the wind and sea were calm.

Jesus' friends said to each other
"Who is this? Even the wind and sea obey him."

Jesus, please calm the storms in my life, my family, our world

She had heard about Jesus. She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. "If I can touch even his clothes, I will be healed" she said to herself.

As soon as she touched Jesus' cloak, the source of the bleeding dried up at once. Aware that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned round and said "Who touched me?"

The woman fell at his feet and told her story.
Jesus said "My daughter, your faith has restored you to health. Go in peace and be free from your illness".

Jesus,  help sick people touch you by prayer

While Jesus was on the way to Jairus' home,  people arrived and told Jairus "Your daughter is dead. No need to trouble the Master any further".

Jesus heard this and said to Jairus "Do not be afraid. Just have faith". Jesus allowed only Peter, James and John to go with him.

At Jairus' home, everyone was weeping and wailing.
Jesus said to them "Why all this crying? The child is not dead, but asleep".  Everyone laughed at him.

So he got them all to leave. Then taking the girl's parents and his 3 companions, he went to the place where the child was lying.

Taking the girl by the hand he said to her "Little girl, I tell you to get up". The little girl got up at once.  She was 12 years old.

Jesus, please give us more faith to pray for the sick
....even for children who have died!

People in the prayer hall were astonished at his teaching.
"Who does he think he is?" they asked. "He is just a carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joset, Jude and Simon. His sisters also are here."   And they would not accept him.

So Jesus said to them 
"A prophet is despised only in his own country "

Because of their lack of faith, Jesus cured only a few sick people there. He was amazed at the lack of faith in Nazareth.

Jesus, please help me be happy about your gifts to others

He told them to take only bare essentials for the journey.
He said "If any place does not welcome you, as you leave that place shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them".

The 12 apostles  preached repentance. They cast out many devils. They anointed sick people with oil and healed them.

Jesus, may every place welcome you and your messengers

Not long after Jesus began traveling and teaching,
King Herod arrested John the Baptist and put him in prison.

This was because John had told Herod he was breaking the Law
by living with Herodias,  his brother's wife.

During a birthday party for Herod,
the daughter of Herodias danced.

Her dancing so pleased Herod
that he said he would give her anything she wanted.

Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a dish.
Herod then had John beheaded.

Jesus, please give the world good leaders,
 and protect people from bad leaders like Herod

Once after Jesus had been healing and teaching many people all afternoon,  his disciples said to him
"It's getting late and the people need to go and eat".

Jesus replied "They don't need to go. You feed them".
The disciples replied "We have only 5 loaves and 2 fish".

Jesus got the people to sit on the grass.
There were about 20,000 of them.
Then he blessed the loaves and fish.

He handed the loaves and fish to his disciples.
His disciples gave them to the crowd.

Everyone had plenty to eat.
They even had 12 baskets of leftovers.

Jesus, please help the starving people of the world

After feeding the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 fish,
Jesus told his disciples to go by boat across the nearby lake.

Jesus stayed to send the crowds away.
Then he went up into the hills to pray.

When it was dark, the boat was far from land,
but battling large waves caused by a strong head-wind.

Jesus then walked on the water towards the boat.
He called out to his disciples "Courage. It is I. Don't be afraid."

Then he got into the boat, and the wind stopped.

Jesus, please give me courage by helping me remember
 that you are in my boat (my life)  

When Jesus got out of the boat on the other side of the lake,
people recognized him and news of his presence spread quickly.
From all around that area, sick people were brought to him.

Wherever he went, to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak.

All those who touched him were healed

Jesus, please heal my sick friends ...(names)... by letting them,
through prayer, touch your clothing

Some religious leaders asked Jesus "Why do your disciples ignore many external practices of our religion?"

Jesus answered, with the words of the prophet Isaiah:
"This people honors me with external lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me."

Jesus also said
"It's not certain foods or lack of washing  that makes a person unclean. It's evil in the  heart that makes a person unclean.

Evil intentions like murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander. These are the things that make a person unclean."

Jesus, please  clean my heart

Jesus said "The children (= Jews)  should be fed first. It's not right to give the children's food to the house dogs (= foreigners)"

She replied "Ah yes, Sir, but the house dogs under the table can eat the children's scraps"

Jesus said to her "For expressing such great faith, you can go home happy. The devil has gone out of your daughter". 

She went home and found the child lying on a bed, and the devil gone

Jesus, please give sick people more faith in you

Jesus took the man aside in private, away from the crowd.
He put his fingers into the man's ears and put spittle on his tongue.

Then he prayed and said "Be opened".
The man's ears were opened and his speech became normal.

The people said "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak".

Jesus,  heal (..name..) who is "deaf and dumb"

Jesus took the man by the hand and led him outside the town.
Jesus put spittle on the man's eyes
and placed his hands on the man's eyes.

"Can you see anything?" asked Jesus. The man was starting to see and replied "I can see people. They look like trees, but they are walking about".

Jesus then placed his hands on the man's eyes again, and he saw clearly. He was healed and could see everything clearly.

Jesus, heal my friend ....(name)...who is blind

One day Jesus asked his disciples
"Who do people say I am?"

The disciples replied
"Some say you are one of the famous prophets".

Jesus then asked them "And who do you say I am?"  Peter answered "You are the Christ".

Jesus then explained to them
how he must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise from the dead.

He also said
"If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself,
take up your own cross, and follow me.

Selfishness will ruin your life.
Self-sacrificing will bless your life.

What use is it to have everything in this world
yet miss out on Heaven?"

Jesus, please help me find my life by losing it in service of others

Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with him. 
Peter said to Jesus "Lord, how good it is for us to be here!"

Then a bright cloud covered them with its shadow.
From the cloud came a voice:
"This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him."

The disciples bowed to the ground.
When they got up, they saw only Jesus in his normal appearance.

Jesus, how good it is to spend time with you

"Master, there is a spirit of dumbness in my son. When it takes hold of him, it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and goes rigid"

They brought the boy. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into convulsions

Jesus asked the father "How long has this been happening?"
He replied "From childhood....please help us!"

Jesus said "Everything is possible if you have faith".
The father cried out "Please increase my faith!"

Jesus rebuked the evil spirit: "Deaf and dumb spirit, 
I command you: come out of him and never enter him again"

The spirit came out, but the boy seemed to have died. 
Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up

Jesus' disciples asked "Why were we unable to expel that spirit?"
Jesus replied "Only prayer can drive out that kind of spirit"

Jesus, please help me prayer better,
so that I can help other people more

One day Jesus heard his disciples arguing 
about which one of them was the most important

So he said to them "If you want to be No. 1, you must become No. 1,000 and a servant of everyone else"

Jesus,  give the world  leaders who care more about their people
 than about themselves

Jesus said "You must not stop him. No one who works a miracle in my name is going to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us
is for us

In fact, even someone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to me,  will be rewarded"

Jesus, please help me stop dividing people into "us and them"

Jesus replied "God created male and female, for the two to become united as one body.  What God has united, no one should separate."

The religious leaders then asked
"But why did Moses allow divorce?"

Jesus replied "Moses allowed divorce because people were so hard of heart.  But divorce was not God's plan.

So I say to you, anyone who walks out on their partner and marries someone else, is guilty of adultery."

Jesus, please help married people stay together

Jesus' disciples told the people to go away and not bother Jesus.
But Jesus said "Don't stop the little children from coming to me". Then he put his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus also said "Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me. But anyone who causes scandal  to one of these little ones,  commits a great crime"

Jesus, please help all children to know you from their earliest days.
Please don't let parents prevent children from coming to you.
Please heal children who have been scandalized  by adults

A young man asked Jesus
"Master, what do I have to do to get to Heaven?"

Jesus replied "Keep the commandments:
do not kill;  do not commit adultery; honor your father and mother;
care for others as much as you care about yourself".

The young man said "I have kept all these commandments.
What else do I need to do?"

Jesus said "If you want to do something really special with your life, go and sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor,
then come and follow me as one of my disciples".

When the young man heard these words he went away sad,
because he was very rich.

Jesus then said to his disciples
"It is hard for a rich person to get to Heaven".

Jesus, please don't let riches endanger my eternal life

On behalf of all the disciples, Peter asked Jesus
"What about us?  We have left everything to follow you."

Jesus replied "You will be leaders in the church on earth.

Anyone who has left home, family or country for the sake of my name, will receive a 100-fold blessing in this life,
and will also receive eternal life in Heaven."

Jesus, please bless all Gospel workers

Jesus said to his cousins James and John
"Only my Father in heaven can allocate seats on my right and left". 

The 10 other disciples were angry at James and John for seeking honor.  So Jesus said to them all  "In most places, people in power like to dominate and control others. But this is not to be your way of exercising authority.

You must exercise authority by serving others, not dominating them,
just as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for the world"

Jesus, please help me want to help and serve other people,
not dominate and control them

Sitting by the road was a man  who had become blind.
His name was Bartimaeus ("son of Timaeus").
When he heard that Jesus was going past,
he called out "Son of David, have pity on me"

Some people tried to stop him from calling out,
but he shouted even more loudly " Son of David, have pity on me"

Jesus stopped and said to him "What do you want me to do for you?"  He replied "Lord, let me see again"

Jesus said to him "Go, your faith has saved you".
Immediately his sight returned, and he followed Jesus along the road

Jesus, please heal my blind friend ....(name)...

Big crowds accompanied Jesus down the hill.
People spread their clothes on the road as a sign of honor.

People cut branches from the trees and waved them singing
"Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest!"

Jesus, may you be warmly welcomed
 by every place and every person in the world

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he went to the Temple.
In the Temple there were money changers and people selling pigeons

Jesus tipped over their tables and drove them out of the Temple.

He said to them "My house is a house of prayer for all the peoples of the world, but you have turned it into a place for robbery"

Jesus, protect  all places of prayer from corruption

In Jerusalem a religious leader asked Jesus
"Which is the most important commandment?"

Jesus replied
"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart.
And you must care as much about others as you care about yourself.

These are the two most important commandments.
All other commandments  depend on  these two."

Jesus, please help me love you with all my heart
and care for others as much as I care about myself

Jesus, help religious leaders to be good people

Many rich people put in a lot of money.
A poor widow put in two small coins

Jesus said to his disciples  "That poor widow has donated more than all the other people, for they put in money they had left over, but she  put in the only money she had"

Jesus, please give make me more generous in helping poor people

At the end of the world, the sun and moon will stop shining.
Stars will fall from the sky

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky
and all peoples will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds
with power and glory

He will send his angels with a loud trumpet
to gather good people from all parts of the earth

Therefore you  should live a good life
and you will have nothing to fear on your last day"

Jesus, please help me live and grow and die in your love...
and not be afraid of death

During these days Jesus had a meal at the home of Simon the leper.
At the meal, a woman put expensive burial oil on Jesus' head.
The woman understood  that Jesus was soon to die

One of Jesus' 12 apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to the religious leaders and offered to help them arrest Jesus at a convenient time

The leaders promised to give Judas money.
Judas looked for an opportunity to arrange the arrest

Jesus,  forgive me for the times
 when I have not been faithful  to you and your teaching

Then Jesus took some bread, blessed it and gave it to his apostles saying " This is my body"

Then he took a cup of wine, blessed it and gave it to them saying
"This is my blood"

Jesus, please help me understand how bread and wine become your body and blood when Christians celebrate the Eucharist

They came to a place with olive trees called Gethsemane.
Jesus asked Peter, James and John to pray with him

Jesus was overcome with sadness and fear.
He said to them "Sadness is filling my heart, as if my heart is dying.
Please support me as I pray"

Then he fell on his face and prayed for about an hour:
"Father, don't let this suffering continue. But your will be done"

He stood up and found that the apostles were asleep.
He said to them "Couldn't you stay awake one hour to support me?"

Three times he prayed the same way.
Three times the apostles went to sleep.

Then he said "Get ready.  The one who is betraying me is coming"

Jesus, please help me give more time to prayer

Judas had told these men "The one I kiss is the man. Take him".
So Judas went  to Jesus and said  "Rabbi" and kissed him.
The men  then seized Jesus

Jesus said to them "Am I a robber that you needed to capture me
with swords and clubs?  Day after day I was openly teaching in the Temple"

All the apostles then deserted him and ran away

Jesus, when  I am being treated unfairly by other people,
please give me strength

The men who arrested Jesus took him to a meeting of the religious leaders. The leaders wanted to condemn Jesus to death,
even if they had to use false evidence

Jesus remained silent before their accusations.
Then the main leader challenged Jesus:
"Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?"

Jesus replied "I am".
The leader then called out "We have heard him claim to be of Divine origin. This is blasphemy"

The rest of the leaders shouted "He should die".
Then they spat in Jesus' face and hit him with their fists

Jesus, thank you for submitting yourself to insult and spittle
for the salvation of the world

Peter went to the place where the religious leaders had Jesus on trial.
A young woman in the courtyard of the place  said to him
"You were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth"

Peter replied "I don't know what you're talking about"

Peter went to the gateway of the place, where the woman saw him again and said to people around her "This man is one of them".
Peter denied it

Not long after this a group of people said to Peter
"You are his friend. We can tell by your Galilean accent".
Then Peter even more strongly replied "I do not know the man"

At that very moment, a rooster crowed.
Peter remembered Jesus' words "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times".   Peter then wept loudly

Jesus, please help me not to deny you.
 Give me courage to say "I am a Christian"

Early in the morning, the religious leaders had Jesus bound with ropes. They took him to Pilate, the Roman governor

The leaders accused Jesus of many crimes.
To the governor's amazement, Jesus remained silent

The leaders persuaded the crowd to demand
the execution of Jesus. They called out to Pilate "Crucify him".

Pilate asked "Why? What has he done wrong?"
The crowd shouted all the louder "Crucify him. Crucify him".

Giving in to the crowd, Pilate then ordered Jesus to be scourged and crucified

Jesus, help people who are condemned to death

They knelt in front of him and mocked him saying "Hail, king of the Jews".  They hit his head with a reed, and spat on him

When they had finished making fun of him,
they dressed him  in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him

Jesus, please don't let me hurt other people by making fun of them

Sometime after 9am, Jesus was nailed to the cross. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left

Above Jesus' head was a sign with the charge against him.
The sign said "The King of the Jews".

People passing by that place made fun of Jesus.
So did the religious leaders. They mocked and taunted him.

Jesus on the Cross,
thank you for suffering so much for the salvation of the world

About 3pm Jesus cried out the words of Psalm 22
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

A little while later he again cried out in a loud voice.
Then he died. At that moment the holy curtain in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom

The leader of the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus, when he saw how Jesus died, said "Truly this man was a son of God"

Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for the salvation of the world

Joseph from Arimathaea was a rich man who had become a disciple of Jesus. After Jesus died on Friday, he asked Governor Pilate for Jesus' body.

Joseph wrapped the body in a clean burial cloth and put it in a tomb in a rock cave. He then put a large stone at the cave's entrance.

Mary of Magdala and another woman watched Joseph as he put Jesus' body in the tomb

Jesus in the tomb, please give eternal life to everyone who dies today

When they went into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe and they were full of awe. But he said to them  "Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen from the dead. Go and tell his disciples he  will see them in Galilee"

Jesus, when life seems hopeless, like a dead body in a tomb, please
help us remember how you rose from the dead....and you can help us "rise" from any "hopeless" situation

Then he appeared to the 11 apostles. He said to them "Go everywhere in the world. Proclaim the Good News to all creation.
Anyone who believes and is baptized, will be saved.
Anyone who refuses to believe, will be condemned

These are the signs that will be associated with believers:
- in my name they will cast out devils
- they will have the gift of tongues
- they will pick up snakes in their hands
- they will be unharmed if they drink poison
- they will lay their hands on the sick, who will be healed"

And so, the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up to heaven, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming their message by the miracles that accompanied the message

Lord Jesus, may more and more people all over the world
 believe in you