Today as we pray through the first candle, hope, may we be reminded of the fulfilled promise of Jesus as the Messiah long awaited by the people of God.

It is always important to look at the context. If we just focus on John 3:16, then we miss out on the whole picture.

Today, we are going to look at Bible verses to help with challenging families this Thanksgiving.

As we prepare for another year of celebration with Thanksgiving, we are going to look at gratitude lived out in Scripture. God gave us His Word so that we could learn from it and be changed by it and the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Today, we are going to learn from grateful people in the Bible.

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Some of the greatest wolves of all times have been some of the most influential and great speakers. They are polished, attractive, and great at winning the hearts of audiences. Not only this, but wolves hunt in packs, so they gather others to get in on the hunt together. We must be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

When we ponder the concept of having the fragrance of Christ, everyone on this earth will have a preference. There are two options: either we love the fragrance of Jesus, or we despise it. It either reminds us of life or death.

It is easy for any of us to be the overcommitted Christian. We think that this helps our witness for Christ, showing that we are a team player, involved, and active. However, it can often hurt our witness if we are shallow, burnt out, and ultimately not loving those within our own homes best.

Jesus is saying we will have reasons in this life to worry, but we can rely on His help to avoid the wasted time and energy that anxiety brings. Jesus addresses our greatest needs of survival by telling us not to worry.

It is never too soon or too late to begin investing Biblical truths in young people. The gospel of Jesus is always the most important message and hope that we can pass on to the next generation. However, every child is different and every experience is unique. We can find ourselves overcomplicating the task of training up young people, or neglecting the most important part of parenting and mentoring.

Today we are going to go deeper on how to encourage Christian disciplines in your kids.

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The Lord calls us in His Word to look out for the needs of the poor. We are to love them well. We are worshiping God when we care for them. We are loving Jesus when we love people who have needs.

The 12 tribes of Israel came from Jacob’s 12 sons. Each tribe was named after one of Jacob’s children or grandchildren.

In a day with no sound systems or microphones, Jesus was able to communicate to many people from a mountain. He shared and revealed that He was the Messiah, and empowered them to follow Him wholeheartedly. This indeed was a powerful sermon.

Jude reminds us that in a time of great confusion and deception, that Jesus is still reigning. Maybe you feel discouraged or are tempted to despair at the news of today. However, Jude reminds those who put their faith in Jesus that they have eternal security and hope in Him.

When we look at the overall theme of the gospel from beginning to end, we can appreciate that Abel’s offering would point to the greater offering of Jesus, who would give His life on behalf of all who believe in Him as the final sacrifice.