New International Version
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
22 And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli
24 The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
25 The son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai
26 The son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josek, the son of Joda
27 The son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri
28 The son of Melki, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
29 The son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi
30 The son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim
31 The son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David
32 The son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon
33 The son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah
34 The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor
35 The son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah
Amplified Bible
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized, and [while He was still] praying, the [visible] heaven was opened
22 And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, saying, You are My Son, My Beloved! In You I am well pleased and find delight! [Ps. 2:7; Isa. 42:1.]
23 Jesus Himself, when He began [His ministry], was about thirty years of age, being the Son, as was supposed, of Joseph, the son of Heli
24 The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
25 The son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai
26 The son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda
27 The son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri
28 The son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
29 The son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi
30 The son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim
31 The son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David
32 The son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon (Sala), the son of Nahshon
33 The son of Aminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah
34 The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor
35 The son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah
King James Version
21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,
25 Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,
26 Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,
27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,
28 Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,
29 Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,
30 Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,
31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
33 Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,
34 Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,
35 Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,
Becoming a Christian
Would you like to experience forgiveness and new life from the God of the Bible, who calls every person to believe that he sent his son Jesus Christ to make this possible?
The Bible explains why everyone needs to receive forgiveness and is called to serve Jesus Christ. The consistency of the Bible story, which was authored by people living thousands of years apart from diverse cultures and even different languages, is often cited as evidence of divine inspiration. Wikipedia has a list of many Biblical prophesies which have come true.
The story of God's plan to restore his relationship with us can be summarised in eight famous Bible verses below.
- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
- All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
- God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
- Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
- If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
- For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8
- But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
- Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
The truth in these verses is simple, yet to embrace it means letting go of all our personal hopes and dreams and embracing God's greater purpose for our lives instead, a purpose far above anything we could dream or imagine.
This is the most important decision you will ever make, because it affects not just the rest of your life here on earth, but what comes after as well. Don't put it off until too late. If you died tonight make the decision to spend eternity with your loving Father in Heaven.
If you're wondering what to do next as a new Christian, check out these helpful suggestions from Mary Fairchild on About.com: