Luke 11:5-13 

Perseverance in Prayer 

5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

Philippians 1:21-30 

21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet I cannot say which I will choose. 23 I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.

Psalm 145:1-8 

1 I will exalt you, my God and king, 
  and bless your name forever and ever. 
2 Every day will I bless you 
  and praise your name forever and ever. 
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised! 
  There is no end to your greatness. 

Jonah 3:10—4:11 

10 When God saw what [the people of Ninevah] did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. 

John 3:13-17 

[Jesus said:] 13 “No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 

1 Corinthians 1:18-24 

18 The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, 
 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, 
  and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 

Holy Cross Day 

Numbers 21:4b-9 

[From Mount Hor the Israelites set out,] 4b but the people became discouraged on the way. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”