34.1 Restoration Under The Messiah

(Zechariah 9:9-12)

Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion!
Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you!
He comes triumphant and victorious,
but humble and riding on a donkey-
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The Lord says, “I will remove the war
chariots from Israel
and take the horses from Jerusalem;
the bows used in battle will be destroyed.
Your king will make peace among the nations;
he will rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.”
The Lord says, “Because of my covenant with you
that was sealed by the blood of sacrifices,
I will set your people free-
free from the waterless pit of exile.
Return, you exiles who now have hope;
return to your place of safety.
Now I tell you that I will repay you twice over
with blessing for all you have suffered.

33.5 The Lord Will Enter; The Pure Can Join

(Psalm 24)

The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord;
the earth and all who live on it are his.
He built it on the deep waters beneath the earth
and laid its foundations in the ocean depths.

Who has the right to go up the Lord’s hill?
Who may enter his holy Temple?
Those who are pure in act and in thought,
who do not worship idols
or make false promises.
The Lord will bless them and save them;
God will declare them innocent.
Such are the people who come to God,
who come into the presence of the God of Jacob.

Fling wide the gates, open the ancient doors,
and the great king will come in.
Who is the great king?
He is the Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, victorious in battle.

Fling wide the gates, open the ancient doors,
and the great king will come in.
Who is this great king?
The triumphant Lord – he is the great king!

33.4 God Will Be Our Light

(Revelation 22:1-5)

The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, and coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb flowing down the middle of the city’s street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. Nothing that is under God’s curse will be found in the city.

The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. There shall be no more night, and they will not need lamps or sunlight, because the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings forever and ever.

33.3 God Will Give The Living Water

(Revelation 21:5-8)

Then the one who sits on the throne said, “And now I make all things new!” He also said to me, “Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.” And he said, “It is done! I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end. To anyone who is thirsty I will give the right to drink from the spring of the water of life without paying for it. Whoever wins the victory will receive this from me: I will be his God, and he will be my son. But cowards, traitors, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars – the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

33.2 The End Of Suffering

(Revelation 21:1-4)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared and the sea vanished. And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: “Now God’s home is with mankind! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared.”

33.1 For the People Without Deceit

(Revelation 14:1-5)

Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion; with him were 144,000 people who have his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven that sounded like a roaring waterfall, like a loud peal of thunder. It sounded like the music made by musicians playing their harps. The 144,000 people stood before the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders; they were singing a new song, which only they could learn. Of all mankind they are the only ones who have been redeemed. They are the men who have kept themselves pure by not having sexual relations with women; they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from the rest of mankind and are the first ones to be offered to God and the Lamb. They have never been known to tell lies; they are faultless.

32.4 God Helps In Our Need

(Psalm 116)

I love the Lord, because he hears me;
he listens to my prayers.
He listens to me every time I call to him.
The danger of death was all around me;
the horrors of the grave closed in on me;
I was filled with fear and anxiety.
Then I called to the Lord,
“I beg you, Lord, save me!”

The Lord is merciful and good;
our God is compassionate.
The Lord protects the helpless;
when I was in danger, he saved me.
Be confident, my heart,
because the Lord has been good to me.

The Lord saved me from death;
he stopped my tears and kept me from defeat.
And so I walk in the presence of the Lord
in the world of the living.
I kept on believing, even when I said,
“I am completely crushed,”
even when I was afraid and said,
“No one can be trusted.”

What can I offer the Lord
for all his goodness to me?
I will bring a wine offering to the Lord,
to thank him for saving me.
In the assembly of all his people
I will give him what I have promised.

How painful it is to the Lord
when one of his people dies!
I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did.
You have saved me from death.
I will give you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and offer my prayer to you.
In the assembly of all your people,
in the sanctuary of your Temple in Jerusalem.
I will give you what I have promised.

Praise the Lord!

32.3 God Gives More Than Needed

(2 Corinthians 9:8-10)

And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause. As the scripture says, “He gives generously to the needy; his kindness lasts forever.”

And God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity.

32.2 God Promises To Care As In The Past

(2 Samuel 7:8-11a)

“So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land, they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again.

32.1 God Will Always Care For Us

(Leviticus 26:3-13)

“If you live according to my laws and obey my commands, I will send you rain at the right time, so that the land will produce crops and the trees will bear fruit. Your crops will be so plentiful that you will still be harvesting grain when it is time to pick grapes; and you will still be picking grapes when it is time to plant grain. You will have all that you want to eat, and you can live in safety in your land.”

“I will give you peace in your land, and you can sleep without being afraid of anyone. I will get rid of the dangerous animals in the land, and there will be no more war there. You will be victorious over your enemies; five of you will be able to defeat a hundred, and a hundred will be able to defeat ten thousand. I will bless you and give you many children; I will keep my part of the covenant that I made with you. Your harvests will be so plentiful that they will last for a year, and even then you will have to throw away what is left of the old harvest to make room for the new. I will live among you in my sacred Tent, and I will never turn away from you. I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. I, the Lord your God, brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves, broke the power that held you down and I let you walk with your head held high.”

31.4 Praise Of God The Creator

(Psalm 104:1-4, 10-18, 27-33, 36)

Praise the Lord, my soul!
O Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
you cover yourself with light.
You spread out the heavens like a tent
and built your home on the waters above.
You use the clouds as your chariot
and ride on the wings of the wind.
You use the winds as your messengers
and flashes of lightning as your servants.

You make springs flow in the valleys,
and rivers run between the hills.
They provide water for the wild animals;
there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
In the trees near by, the birds make their nests
and sing.

From the sky you send rain on the hills,
and the earth is filled with your blessings,
You make grass grow for the cattle
and plants for man to use,
so that he can grow his crops
and produce wine to make him happy,
olive oil to make him cheerful,
and bread to give him strength.

The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain—
the Lord’s own trees, which he planted.
There the birds build their nests;
the storks nest in the fir trees.
The wild goats live in the high mountains,
and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.

All of them depend on you
to give them food when they need it.
You give it to them, and they eat it;
you provide food, and they are satisfied.
When you turn away, they are afraid;
when you take away your breath, they die
and go back to the dust from which they came.
But when you give them breath, they are created;
you give new life to the earth.

May the glory of the Lord last forever!
May the Lord be happy with what he has made!
He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains, and they pour out
smoke.
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.

Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the Lord!

31.3 Let Us Praise Him: With His Power We Can Perform Greatly

(Ephesians 3:20-21)

To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of: to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever! Amen.

31.2 God Keeps Us Into Existence

(Isaiah 40:21-27)

Do you not know? Were you not told long ago?
Have you not heard how the world began?
It was made by the one who sits on his throne
above the earth and beyond the sky;
the people below look as tiny as ants.
He stretched out the sky like a curtain,
like a tent in which to live.

He brings down powerful rulers
and reduces them to nothing.
They are like young plants,
just set out and barely rooted.
When the Lord sends a wind,
they dry up and blow away like straw.

To whom can the holy God be compared?
Is there anyone else like him?
Look up at the sky! Who created the stars you see?
The one who leads them out like an army,
he knows how many there are
and calls each one by name!
His power is so great—
not one of them is ever missing!

Israel, why then do you complain
that the Lord doesn’t know your troubles
or care if you suffer injustice?