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James 1 - The Mirror Doesn't Lie!

Click Here to Get an Overview of the Themes and Purpose of James Click Here to Read or Listen to James 1 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. Today we start reading the letter of James. James is the half-brother of Jesus, and leader of the early church in Jerusalem. This letter is very unique in large part due to the fact that it was probably written between 45-49 A.D . This earlier than the four gospels and rest of the New Testament l...
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Hebrews 13 - Is Your Life Worth Imitating?

  Click Here to Listen or Read Hebrews 13 13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you;  never will I forsake you.”  6 So we say with confidence,  “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be car...
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Hebrews 12 - Who Is Going to "High Five" Us At the Finish Line!

  Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,   fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame,and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.   Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 Why I trained to run a marathon what I wore and took with me was important.  On the one hand I didn’t want anything that would unnecessarily weigh me down or be a distraction.  My shirt and shorts were lightweight and breathable.   On the other hand, I did carry a water bottle, which was kind of a hassle, but without it I would be in trouble because I was prone to dehydration. ...
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Hebrews 11 - How Do You Make It Into the Hall of Faith?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 11 1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.  3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.  4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.  5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:1 is probably the best definition of faith in the bible. Faith is about confidence and assurance. We can...
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Hebrews 10 - We Are Being Made Holy By Grace Through Faith!

Hebrews 10 - NIV (Clear Here to Read or Listen) 10 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 8 First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day after day every priest stan...
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Hebrews 9 - The Importance of the Tabernacle Then and Now!

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 9   Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle 9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. 6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ...
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Hebrews 8 - What Was New About the "New Covenant"?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 8 7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said[b]:  “The days are coming, declares the Lord,  when I will make a new covenant  with the people of Israel  and with the people of Judah.  9 It will not be like the covenant  I made with their ancestors  when I took them by the hand  to lead them out of Egypt,  because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,  and I turned away from them,  declares the Lord.  10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel  after that time, declares the Lord.  I will put my laws in their minds  and write them on their hearts.  I will be their God,  and they will be my people.  11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’  because they will all know me,...
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