Abraham’s Two Children (Galatians 4:21-31) NLT

21  Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 

22  The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 

23  The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

24  These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.
25  And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law.
26  But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother.
27  For it is written,  “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth!  Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor!  For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!”

28  And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. 

29  But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

30  But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
31  So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.

Great is the Lord! (Psalms 145) NLT

1    I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever.
2    I will praise you every day;  yes, I will praise you forever.
3    Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!  No one can measure his greatness.

4    Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.
5    I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.
6    Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness.
7    Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

8    The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9    The Lord is good to everyone.  He showers compassion on all his creation.
10  All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you.
11  They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;  they will give examples of your power.
12  They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
13   For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.  You rule throughout all generations.  The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.

14   The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.
15   The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it.
16   When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
17   The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.
18   The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
19   He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
20   The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked.

21   I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 145:1 This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each verse (including 13b) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
2. Psalm 145:5 Some manuscripts read They will speak.
3. Psalm 145:13 The last two lines of 145:13 are not found in many of the ancient manuscripts.

Salvation Is for Everyone (Romans 10:5-18)NLT

5   For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 

6    But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). 

7    And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” 

8    In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”  And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 

9    If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

10  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 

11  As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 

12  Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 

13  For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14  But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
15  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
16  But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?”
17  So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
18  But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have:  “The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.”

Christ was Designated by God to be High Priest (Hebrews 5:4-10) NLT

4    And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was.
5    That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, “You are my Son.  Today I have become your Father.”

6    And in another passage God said to him, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

7    While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 

8    Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 

9    In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. 

10  And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Instructions on Worship (I Timothy 2:1-7) NLT

1  I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.
2  Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
3  This is good and pleases God our Savior,
4  who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
5  For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.
6  He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
7  And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.

The High Priest of a New Covenant (Hebrews 8:1-13)NLT

1    Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. 

2    There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.

3    And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.
4    If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law.
5    They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”
6    But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.
7    If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.
8    But when God found fault with the people, he said:  “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

9    This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt.  They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.
10  But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:  I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.
11  And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’  For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.
12  And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

13  When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

Christ Is Our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) NLT

14  So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.
15  This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
16  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Suffering for Being a Christian (I Peter 4:12-19)NLT

12  Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 

13  Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

14  So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 

15  If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 

16  But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 

17  For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 

18  And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”

19  So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

Everything with a Place and a Purpose (Proverbs 16:1-9) The Message Bible

1  Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.
2  Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.
3  Put God in charge of your work, then what you've planned will take place.
4  God made everything with a place and purpose; even the wicked are included—but for judgment.
5  God can't stomach arrogance or pretense; believe me, he'll put those upstarts in their place.
6  Guilt is banished through love and truth; Fear-of-God deflects evil.
7  When God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.
8  Far better to be right and poor than to be wrong and rich.
9  We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.

A Workman Approved by God (2Timothy 2:14-26) NLT

14  Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.
15  Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 
16  Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. 
17  This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. 
18  They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith.
19  But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.”
20  In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.
21  If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.
22  Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
23  Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.
24  A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.
25  Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.
26  Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

The Day of the Lord (2Peter 3:3-18) NLT

3    Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.
4    They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
5    They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.
6    Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.
7    And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
8    But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
9    The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
10  But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
11  Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,
12  looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.
13  But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
14  And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15  And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—
16  speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
17  I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 
18  Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.

God's Glory (2Corinthians 4:13-18) NIV

13  It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,
14  because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 
15  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 
18  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

As Sure As God is Faithful (2 Corinthians 1:18-22) NLT

18  As surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver between “Yes” and “No.”
19  For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says.
20  For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
21  It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us,
22  and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

Ministers of the New Covenant (2Corinthians 2:14-17) NLT

14  But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. 

15  Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 

16  To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

17  You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.

A Warning against Drifting Away (Hebrews 2:1-4)NLT

1  So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.
2  For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.
3  So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?
4  And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

False Teaching and True Riches (ITimothy 6:3-10) NLT

3    Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. 

4    Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. 

5    These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.

6    Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 

7    After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 

8    So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

9    But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 

10  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

The Law and God’s Promise (Galatians 3:15-25)NLT

15  Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 

16  God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ.
17  This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 

18  For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

19  Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.
20  Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.
21  Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it.
22  But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
23  Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.
24  Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
25  And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

The Law and Faith in Christ (Galatians 3:2-14)NLT

2    Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 

3    How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 

4    Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

5    I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
6    In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
7    The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
8    What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”
9    So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
10  But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”
11  So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
12  This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”
13  But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
14  Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

Now is the Time for God's Favor (2 Corinthians 6:1-2) NIV

1  As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.  

2  For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you."  I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.