40.2 Punishment For Infidelity

(Deuteronomy 29:21-28)

The Lord will make an example of him before all the tribes of Israel and will bring disaster on him in accordance with all the curses listed in the covenant that is written in this book of the Lord’s teachings.

“In future generations your descendant and foreigners from distant lands will see the disasters and sufferings that the Lord has brought on your land. The fields will be a barren waste, covered with sulfur and salt; nothing will be planted, and not even weeds will grow there. Your land will be like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed when he was furiously angry. Then the whole world will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this to their land? What was the reason for his fierce anger?’ And the answer will be, ‘It is because the Lord’s people broke the covenant they had made with him, the God of their ancestors, when he brought them out of Egypt. They served other gods that they had never worshiped before, gods that the Lord had forbidden them to worship. And so the Lord became angry with his people and brought on their land all the disasters written in this book. The Lord became furiously angry, and in his great anger he uprooted them from their land and threw them into a foreign land, and there they are today.”

40.1 Idolatry Is an Infidelity To God

(Deuteronomy 29:15-18a)

He is making it with all of us who stand here in his presence today and also with our descendants who are not yet born.

“You remember what life was like in Egypt and what it was like to travel through the territory of our nations. You saw their disgusting idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. Make sure that no man, woman, family, or tribe standing here today turns from the Lord our God to worship the gods of other nations.

39.4 Desire For God

(Psalm 42:1-7a, 8-11)

A s a deer longs for a stream of cool water,
so I long for you, O God.
I thirst for you, the living God.
When can I go and worship in your presence?
Day and night I cry,
and tears are my only food;
all the time my enemies ask me,
“Where is your God?”

My heart breaks when I remember the past,
when I went with the crowds to the house of God
and led them as they walked along;
a happy crowd, singing and shouting praise to God.
Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled?
I will put my hope in God,
and once again I will praise him,
my savior and my God.

Here in exile my heart is breaking,
and so I turn my thoughts to him.
He has sent waves of sorrow over my soul.
May the Lord show his constant love during the day,
so that I may have song at night,
a prayer to the God of my life.

To God, my defender, I say,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go on suffering
from the cruelty of my enemies?”
I am crushed by their insults,
as they keep on asking me, “Where is your God?”

Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled?
I will put my hope in God,
and once again I will praise him,
my savior and my God.

39.3 What is Needed Is Faith In Jesus Christ

(1 John 5:10-13)

So whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his own heart; but whoever does not believe God, has made a liar of him, because he has not believed what God has said about his Son. The testimony is this: God has given us eternal life, and this life has its source in his Son. Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I am writing this to you so that you may know that you have eternal life—you that believe in the Son of God.

39.2 The Lord’s Coming

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Our brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him.

What we are teaching you now is the Lord’s teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangel’s voice, the sound of God’s trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So then, encourage one another with these words.

39.1 Everybody Can Have Everlasting Life

(Acts 13:44-49)

The next Sabbath nearly everyone in the town came to hear the word of the Lord. Then the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; they disputed what Paul was saying and insulted him. But Paul and Barnabas spoke out even more boldly: “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles. For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us:

“I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that all the world may be saved.’”

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the Lord’s message; and those who had been chosen for eternal life became believers.

The word of the Lord spread everywhere in that region.

38.4 God Will Not Abandon Us

(Psalm 16)

Protect me, O God; I trust in you for safety.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
all the good things I have come from you.”

How excellent are the Lord’s faithful people!
My greatest pleasure is to be with them.

Those who rush to other gods
bring many troubles on themselves.
I will not take part in their sacrifices;
I will not worship their gods.

You, Lord, are all I have,
and you give me all I need;
my future is in your hands.
How wonderful are your gifts to me;
how good they are!

I praise the Lord, because he guides me;
and in the night my conscience warns me.
I am always aware of the Lord’s presence;
he is near, and nothing can shake me.

And so I am thankful and glad,
and I feel completely secure,
because you protect me from the power of death,
and the one you love,
you will not abandon to the world of the dead.

You will show me the path that leads to life;
your presence fills me with joy
and brings me pleasure forever.

38.3 Praise Be God for Our Resurrection

(1Peter 1:3-5)

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope, and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away. They are for you, who through faith are kept safe by God’s power for the salvation which is ready to be revealed at the end of time.

38.2 All Who Believe Have Eternal Life

(John 3:11-15)

I am telling you the truth: we speak of what we know and report what we have seen, yet none of you is willing to accept our message. You do not believe me when I tell you about the things of this world; how will you ever believe me, then, when I tell you about the things of heaven? And no one has ever gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from heaven.”

As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him have eternal life.

38.1 Those Who Believe Will Rise To Eternal Life

(John 11:17-26a)

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been buried four days before. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Judeans had come to see Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother’s death.

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but May stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for.”

“Your brother will rise to life,” Jesus told her.

“I know,’ she replied, “that he will rise to life on the last day.”

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.“

37.5 Prayer of Humble Trust

(Psalm 131)

Lord, I have given up my pride
and turned away from my arrogance.
I am not concerned with great matters
or with subjects too difficult for me.
Instead, I am content and at peace.
As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms,
so my heart is quiet within me.
Israel, trust in the Lord now and forever!

37.4 Mary’s Canticle

(Luke 1:46-55)

Mary said, “My heart praises the Lord;
my soul is glad because of God my Savior,
for he has remembered me, his lowly servant!
From now on all people will call me happy,
because of the great things the Mighty God
has done for me.
His name is holy; from one generation to another
he shows mercy to those who honor him.
He has stretched out his mighty arm
and scattered the proud with all their plans.
He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors,
and has come to the help of his servant Israel.
He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham
and to all his descendants forever!”

37.3 If We Just Do Our Work We Are Useless Servants

(Luke 17:7-10)

“Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal? Of course not! Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’ The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’”