Synopsis: Christianity is not just about making it to heaven. More importantly, it’s about God’s work through Jesus to make us fit for heaven.

Synopsis: In his Gospel, John uses the word "believe" almost 100 times, clearly indicating the importance of belief in his narrative. Our passage today is the climax of John's Gospel, giving us in Thomas a living example of our own journey of belief.

Synopsis: As the author concludes this book, he reminds his readers of the abundant resources they have to meet all the challenges of life.

Synopsis: This passage describes Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion as a way of speaking about law and gospel. The strength required for running the Christian race comes from God’s grace, not from God’s law.

Synopsis: This passage describes Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion as a way of speaking about law and gospel. The strength required for running the Christian race comes from God’s grace, not from God’s law.

Synopsis: We see here the power of God to turn our strengths into weaknesses so that our weaknesses truly become our strengths. The Bible shows us again the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God and the way the Kingdom works in this world.
Jacob, who in this passage is renamed Israel, is another of the Bible's shining examples of what the God of love can do through a messed up person. In other words, he's a lot like all of us.

Synopsis: The first half of Hebrews 12 is an extended metaphor comparing the Christian life to a race. The background to this passage is still the suffering being endured by the original readers of this book. They were feeling weak and discouraged as a result of this suffering, and some were on the road leading to apostasy. The race metaphor helps people accept as normal the presence of suffering. No one running a race is surprised that the race involves some suffering. The runner just accepts that as a fact.

Synopsis: Hebrews 11, the well-known “faith chapter,” tells us how we can not only survive our sufferings, but thrive in the midst of them.

Synopsis: Suffering, an inevitable part of the Christian’s life, brings us to a fork in the road, in which we either trust ourselves or trust God. The former, if left unchecked, leads to apostasy, while the latter to life.

Synopsis: Jesus has reopened the door to paradise, a door that was shut when God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden. Three commands are given in this passage that tell us how we are to live in God's paradise.

SYNOPSIS: Paul encourages his readers, who are experiencing trials, suffering, and disappointment, not to lose heart because God has not abandoned them, they are infinitely loved by Christ, they are being perfected by God, and they are an integral part of God’s bigger plan.

Synopsis: This passage is the final section of the author’s doctrinal section. Here, he emphasizes that the gospel is the only way we will ever achieve the perfection for which our souls long.

Synopsis: Old Testament tabernacle worship provides us with a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The author here provides his readers with the medicine of the gospel through the Old Testament practices relating to the Day of Atonement.

Do you ever read the end of a story first? It seems that all the great stories we remember, no matter how dark things get in the middle, turn out well in the end. In Revelation 7, God gives us a living picture of the end of the Story – his great Story of the coming of his Kingdom and all things being made new. Knowing the end gives us courage and hope in the present and keeps us from scrambling to find heaven on earth. Who will be there in the end? What will we be doing? What will it be like? Let’s take a look.

Synopsis: Hebrews 8 continues to explain the significance of Jesus as our great high priest, speaking of the place of his work in the heavenly tabernacle and the promises he gives.

Synopsis: The theme of this chapter is presented in the final verse of the previous chapter. Jesus has “become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” An understanding and acceptance of this truth is what the readers needed in order to go on to maturity, and it is what we need as well.

Synopsis: Today’s passage emphasizes something that appears in our church’s vision statement. We are trusting God to make of us “a community of the coming kingdom, bringing hope to a broken world.” Our broken world is in desperate need of hope. Without such hope, life is dominated by fear and despair. Our author wants his readers to be filled with hope, and God wants the same for us.

Summary: Is the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus merely an amusing story about a short man climbing a tree, or is it something more? Jesus believes it is something far more; in fact, he uses this encounter to show us his reason for coming to earth. By watching the story of Zacchaeus unfold this morning, we see Jesus’ chief mission on earth: “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Synopsis: God has chosen in this passage to warn his people of the danger of apostasy. Let us receive his warning, feel the danger of which he speaks, and flee to him as our only refuge in the face of such danger.

Synopsis: No matter the opposition we face, God’s people always have the option of deciding not to be victims. We have a high priest seated on a throne, and through him we always have access to the God of the universe. Two commands are given here to change us from victims to victors.