Ephesians 6:17-20

17 The covering for your head is that you have been saved from the punishment of sin. Take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. 18 You must pray at all times as the Holy Spirit leads you to pray. Pray for the things that are needed. You must watch and keep on praying. Remember to pray for all Christians. 19 Pray for me also. Pray that I might open my mouth without fear. Pray that I will use the right words to preach that which is hard to understand in the Good News. 20 This is the reason I was sent out. But now I am in chains for preaching the Good News. I want to keep on speaking for Christ without fear the way I should.

2 Timothy 4:1-5

These words are from my heart to you. I say this before God and Jesus Christ. Some day He will judge those who are living and those who are dead. It will be when Christ comes to bring His holy nation. 2 Preach the Word of God. Preach it when it is easy and people want to listen and when it is hard and people do not want to listen. Preach it all the time. Use the Word of God to show people they are wrong. Use the Word of God to help them do right. You must be willing to wait for people to understand what you teach as you teach them. 3 The time will come when people will not listen to the truth. They will look for teachers who will tell them only what they want to hear. 4 They will not listen to the truth. Instead, they will listen to stories made up by men. 5 You must watch for all these things. Do not be afraid to suffer for our Lord. Preach the Good News from place to place. Do all the work you are to do.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Christian brothers, we ask you, because of the Lord Jesus, to keep on living in a way that will please God. I have already told you how to grow in the Christian life. 2 The Lord Jesus gave us the right and the power to tell you what to do. 3 God wants you to be holy. You must keep away from sex sins. 4 God wants each of you to use his body in the right way by keeping it holy and by respecting it. 5 You should not use it to please your own desires like the people who do not know God. 6 No man should do wrong to his Christian brother in anything. The Lord will punish a person who does. I have told you this before. 7 For God has not called us to live in sin. He has called us to live a holy life. 8 The one who turns away from this teaching does not turn away from man, but from God. It is God Who has given us His Holy Spirit. 9 You do not need anyone to write to you about loving your Christian brothers. God has taught you to love each other. 10 You love all the Christians in all the country of Macedonia. But we ask you to love them even more. 11 Do your best to live a quiet life. Learn to do your own work well. We told you about this before. 12 By doing this, you will be respected by those who are not Christians. Then you will not be in need and others will not have to help you.

Ephesians 5:25-32

25 Husbands, love your wives. You must love them as Christ loved the church. He gave His life for it. 26 Christ did this so He could set the church apart for Himself. He made it clean by the washing of water with the Word. 27 Christ did this so the church might stand before Him in shining-greatness. There is to be no sin of any kind in it. It is to be holy and without blame. 28 So men should love their wives as they love their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 No man hates himself. He takes care of his own body. That is the way Christ does. He cares for His body which is the church. 30 We are all a part of His body, the church. 31 For this reason, a man must leave his father and mother when he gets married and be joined to his wife. The two become one. 32 This is hard to understand, but it shows that the church is the body of Christ.

1 Timothy 3:1-7

It is true that if a man wants to be a church leader, he wants to do a good work. 2 A church leader must be a good man. His life must be so no one can say anything against him. He must have only one wife and must be respected for his good living. He must be willing to take people into his home. He must be willing to learn and able to teach the Word of God. 3 He must not get drunk or want to fight. Instead, he must be gentle. He must not have a love for money. 4 He should be a good leader in his own home. His children must obey and respect him. 5 If a man cannot be a good leader in his own home, how can he lead the church? 6 A church leader must not be a new Christian. A new Christian might become proud and fall into sin which is brought on by the devil. 7 A church leader must be respected by people who are not Christians so nothing can be said against him. In that way, he will not be trapped by the devil.

Mark 12:29-34

29 Jesus said to him, “The greatest Law is this, ‘Listen, Jewish people, The Lord our God is one Lord! 30 You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ This is the first Law. 31 “The second Law is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other Law is greater than these.” 32 Then the teacher of the Law said, “Teacher, You have told the truth. There is one God. There is no other God but Him. 33 A man should love Him with all his heart and with all his understanding. He should love Him with all his soul and with all his strength and love his neighbor as himself. This is more important than to bring animals to be burned on the altar or to give God other gifts on the altar in worship.” 34 Jesus saw he had spoken with understanding. He said to him, “You are not far from the holy nation of God.” After that no one thought they could ask Him anything.

Hebrews 13:17

17 Obey your leaders and do what they say. They keep watch over your souls. They have to tell God what they have done. They should have joy in this and not be sad. If they are sad, it is no help to you.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

12 We ask you, Christian brothers, to respect those who work among you. The Lord has placed them over you and they are your teachers. 13 You must think much of them and love them because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 We ask you, Christian brothers, speak to those who do not want to work. Comfort those who feel they cannot keep going on. Help the weak. Understand and be willing to wait for all men. 15 Do not let anyone pay back for the bad he received. But look for ways to do good to each other and to all people. 16 Be full of joy all the time. 17 Never stop praying. 18 In everything give thanks. This is what God wants you to do because of Christ Jesus. 19 Do not try to stop the work of the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not laugh at those who speak for God. 21 Test everything and do not let good things get away from you. 22 Keep away from everything that even looks like sin. 23 May the God of peace set you apart for Himself. May every part of you be set apart for God. May your spirit and your soul and your body be kept complete. May you be without blame when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 The One Who called you is faithful and will do what He promised.

1 Timothy 5:17-22

17 Leaders who do their work well should be given twice as much pay, and for sure, those who work hard preaching and teaching. 18 The Holy Writings say, “When a cow is walking on the grain to break it open, do not stop it from eating some” , and “A person who works should be paid.” 19 Do not listen to what someone says against a church leader unless two or three persons say the same thing. 20 Show those who keep on sinning where they are wrong in front of the whole church. Then others will be afraid of sinning. 21 I tell you from my heart that you must follow these rules without deciding before the truth is known. God and Jesus Christ and the chosen angels know what I am saying. Show favors to no one. 22 Do not be in a hurry about choosing a church leader. You do not want to have any part in other men’s sins. Keep yourself pure.

Jeremiah 3:14-15

14 ‘Return, O sons who are not faithful,’ says the Lord. ‘For you belong to Me. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.’ 15 Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with much learning and understanding.

Ephesians 4:11-16

11 Christ gave gifts to men. He gave to some the gift to be missionaries, some to be preachers, others to be preachers who go from town to town. He gave others the gift to be church leaders and teachers. 12 These gifts help His people work well for Him. And then the church which is the body of Christ will be made strong. 13 All of us are to be as one in the faith and in knowing the Son of God. We are to be full-grown Christians standing as high and complete as Christ is Himself. 14 Then we will not be as children any longer. Children are like boats thrown up and down on big waves. They are blown with the wind. False teaching is like the wind. False teachers try everything possible to make people believe a lie, 15 but we are to hold to the truth with love in our hearts. We are to grow up and be more like Christ. He is the leader of the church. 16 Christ has put each part of the church in its right place. Each part helps other parts. This is what is needed to keep the whole body together. In this way, the whole body grows strong in love.

John 10:11-18

11 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 One who is hired to watch the sheep is not the shepherd. He does not own the sheep. He sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep. He runs away while the wolf gets the sheep and makes them run everywhere. 13 The hired man runs away because he is hired. He does not care about the sheep. 14 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me. 15 I know My Father as My Father knows Me. I give My life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep which are not from this sheep-pen. I must bring them also. They will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock with one shepherd.17 “For this reason My Father loves Me. It is because I give My life that I might take it back again. 18 No one takes my life from Me. I give it by Myself. I have the right and the power to take it back again. My Father has given Me this right and power.”

1 Peter 5:1-4

I want to speak to the church leaders among you. I am a church leader also. I saw Christ suffer and die on a cross. I will also share His shining-greatness when He comes again. 2 Be good shepherds of the flock God has put in your care. Do not care for the flock as if you were made to. Do not care for the flock for money, but do it because you want to. 3 Do not be bosses over the people you lead. Live as you would like to have them live. 4 When the Head Shepherd comes again, you will get the crown of shining-greatness that will not come to an end.

Acts 20:28-36

28 Keep a careful watch over yourselves and over the church. The Holy Spirit has made you its leaders. Feed and care for the church of God. He bought it with His own blood. 29 “Yes, I know that when I am gone, hungry wolves will come in among you. They will try to destroy the church. 30 Also men from your own group will begin to teach things that are not true. They will get men to follow them. 31 I say again, keep watching! Remember that for three years I taught everyone of you night and day, even with tears. 32 “And now, my brothers, I give you over to God and to the word of His love. It is able to make you strong and to give you what you are to have, along with all those who are set apart for God. 33 I have not tried to get anyone’s money or clothes. 34 You all know that these hands worked for what I needed and for what those with me needed. 35 In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we can help those who are weak. We must remember what the Lord Jesus said, ‘We are more happy when we give than when we receive.’ ” 36 As he finished talking, he got down on his knees and prayed with them all.

James 1:25-27

25 But the one who keeps looking into God’s perfect Law and does not forget it will do what it says and be happy as he does it. God’s Word makes men free. 26 If a person thinks he is religious, but does not keep his tongue from speaking bad things, he is fooling himself. His religion is worth nothing. 27 Religion that is pure and good before God the Father is to help children who have no parents and to care for women whose husbands have died who have troubles. Pure religion is also to keep yourself clean from the sinful things of the world.

Hebrews 5:11-14

11 There is much we could say about this, but it is hard to make you understand. It is because you do not want to hear well. 12 By now you should be teachers. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the first things you need to know from God’s Word. You still need milk instead of solid food. 13 Anyone who lives on milk cannot understand the teaching about being right with God. He is a baby. 14 Solid food is for full-grown men. They have learned to use their minds to tell the difference between good and bad.

John 21:15-19

15 When they were finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” Peter answered Jesus, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 Jesus said to Peter the second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He answered Jesus, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Take care of My sheep.” 17 Jesus said to Peter the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter felt bad because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He answered Jesus, “Lord, You know everything. You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 For sure, I tell you, when you were young, you put on your belt and went wherever you wanted to go. When you get old, you will put out your hands and someone else will put on your belt and take you away where you do not want to go.” 19 He said this to tell Peter what kind of death he would die to honor God. After Jesus said this, He said to Peter, “Follow Me.”

Roldan Ortiz Molinares