In this passage Paul answers two more objections to his preaching, and then shows us what is God's ultimate, cosmic purpose in his plan of salvation -- which is profoundly encouraging.

In this passage Paul uses the way God chose Jacob to be the father of Israel to teach us four truths about how God chooses us for salvation.

Paul uses the story of the births of Isaac and Ishmael to explain that the way we become saved children of promise is by God supernaturally creating faith in our hearts.

Before Paul explains how the promises of Romans 1-8 transform our lives, he has to explain why Israel's unbelief does not raise doubts about the truth of God's promises. That's what's going on in Romans 9-11. And that's where he starts in 9:1-6.

Pastor Steve brings our Prayer Week to a close with a message from Psalm 119:17-24, in which we see the psalmist's devotion to prayer and meditation on God's Word, and learn why these are so crucial.

What does it mean to pray with faith? To answer this question, and strengthen our prayer as we head into prayer week, we look at how Paul prayed about his thorn in the flesh, how Jesus describes prayer in Mark 11:23-24, and what Paul says about the spiritual gift of faith in 1 Cor 13:1-2.

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (Num. 6:24-26).

The story of the wise men gives us eight reasons to trust Christ, which will result in him being the very center of our lives.

The book of Isaiah show a familiar pattern, Israel and Ahaz live against God's good laws, God calls them to repent, they don't, and God allows their sin to be punished. Despite this repeated pattern beginning with Adam, God has always had a plan, and his plan is to save his children through the bruising of his Son.

To be gripped by the wonder of Christ's birth, it's important to understand who Christ was before he was born.