Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.

Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”  The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed…”

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.