Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

E100:15.d – The Church is Born

Sharing the Word – Acts 8:26-40 (NLT)

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Acts 8:26  As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”

30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. 33 He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.
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Prayer for Opportunity to Share God’s Word

Lord Jesus: Open a door for me today – an opportunity to share the Good News with a seeker, or a word of encouragement with one of your wounded lambs. Give me wisdom and understanding and enable me to speak with humility and compassion of your great love for us – even to the point of death on the cross.

Holy Spirit: Give me boldness and courage – that I might not flinch when the opportunity that I have asked for comes my way.

Heavenly Father: Bring your lost sheep home – and use me as an instrument to accomplish your purpose in their lives. May you be glorified in all I do or say. Amen.
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“Go Into the World and take His Love “

Closing Sentence

Jesus: “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age”

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!