Graça

8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

4 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!

21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

The Wages of Sin

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!

9 He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.*

God’s Grace Brings Salvation

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone. 12 It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

A Call to Holiness

13 Therefore prepare your minds for action.* Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Benediction and Farewell

10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ,* will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.

6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.*

17 May the favor* of the Lord our God rest upon us;

establish for us the work of our hands—

yes, establish the work of our hands!

Out of the Depths

1 A song of ascents.

Out of the depths

I cry to You, O LORD!

2 O Lord, hear my voice;

let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.

24 ‘May the LORD bless you

and keep you;

25 may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

26 may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you

and give you peace.’

God Will Be Gracious

18 Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you;

therefore He rises to show you compassion,

for the LORD is a just God.

Blessed are all who wait for Him.

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus* be with all the saints.*

Amen.*

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.*

16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

24 But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus — the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only*Or only begotten or unique; also in verse 18 Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

13 He who conceals his sins will not prosper,

but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

Hezekiah Proclaims a Passover

1 Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh inviting them to come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem had decided to keep the Passover in the second month,* 3 since they had been unable to keep it at the regular time, because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not been gathered in Jerusalem.

4 This plan pleased the king and the whole assembly. 5 So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not observed it in great numbers as prescribed.

6 At the command of the king, the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, which read:

"Children of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that He made them an object of horror, as you can see.

8 Now do not stiffen your necks as your fathers did. Submit to the LORD and come to His sanctuary, which He has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that His fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him."

10 And the couriers traveled from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 Moreover, the power of God was on the people in Judah to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and his officials according to the word of the LORD.

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

13 In the second month, a very great assembly gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.* 14 They proceeded to remove the altars in Jerusalem and to take away the incense altars and throw them into the Kidron Valley. 15 And on the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.

16 They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splattered the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 Since there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the LORD.

18 A large number of the people— many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun— had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah interceded for them, saying, "May the LORD, who is good, provide atonement for everyone 19 who sets his heart on seeking God — the LORD, the God of his fathers — even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary."

20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD.* 22 And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers.

23 The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials contributed a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly, and a great number of priests consecrated themselves.

25 Then the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced along with the priests and Levites and the whole assembly that had come from Israel, including the foreigners who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah. 26 So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel.

27 Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven.