…let us offer through Jesus
a continual sacrifice of praise to God,
proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
And don’t forget to do good
and to share with those in need.
These are the sacrifices that please God.
(Monemvasia, Greece)
Don’t love money;
be satisfied with what you have.
For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”
So we can say with confidence,
“The LORD is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
(Monemvasia, Greece)
Be careful that you do not refuse to listen
to the One who is speaking.
…we will certainly not escape
if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!
When God spoke from Mount Sinai
his voice shook the earth,
but now he makes another promise:
“Once again I will shake not only the earth
but the heavens also.”
This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed,
so that only unshakable things will remain.
You have not come to a physical mountain,
to a place of flaming fire,
darkness, gloom, and whirlwind,
as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.
No, you have come to Mount Zion,
to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.
…You have come to God himself,
who is the judge over all things.
You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven
who have now been made perfect.
You have come to Jesus…
Therefore,
since we are surrounded
by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,
let us strip off every weight that slows us down,
especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
And let us run with endurance
the race God has set before us.
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus,
the champion who initiates and perfects our faith…
It was by faith that Moses,
when he grew up,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ
than to own the treasures of Egypt,
for he was looking ahead to his great reward.
…He kept right on going because he kept his eyes
on the one who is invisible.
By faith…
Abel…Enoch…Noah…Abraham…Sarah…
All these people died still believing
what God had promised them.
They did not receive what was promised,
but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.
They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads
here on earth.
Obviously people who say such things
are looking forward to a country they can call their own.
If they had longed for a country they came from,
they could have gone back.
But they were looking for a better place,
a heavenly homeland.
That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:3,4,5,7,8,11, 13-16
It was by faith
that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—
“he disappeared,
because God took him.”
For before he was taken up,
he was known as a person who pleased God.
Noah…obeyed God,
who warned him about things
that had never happened before.
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for;
it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
By faith we understand that the entire universe
was formed at God’s command,
that what we now see did not come from anything
that can be seen.
And it is impossible to please God without faith.
Anyone who wants to come to him
must believe that God exists
and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
…better things waiting for you that will last forever.
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord
Remember the great reward it brings you!
“For in just a little while,
the Coming One will come and not delay”
