The Sabbath is not just a day when we stop and rest.

It's also a day meant to remind us why we can stop and rest.

The Bible encourages us to "Keep the Sabbath holy" yet we struggle to stop in our success-driven culture. This week we remember that keeping the Sabbath reminds us we have limits, our value is not based on what we do and God is good.

Jesus told us to expect trouble and crisis of faith while we are in the world, but he invites us to take heart and see our faith grow in such times by remembering that he has overcome the world.

When facing grief we must know that one way to joy is through grief. Jesus is the source of ultimate joy and in Jesus, joy is certain.

John 16:1-15. Jesus tells the disciples to expect opposition as they bear witness to him, but he promises to give them a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to speak to and through them and convict people of their sins and their need for a Savior.

Luke 7:36-40. How we relate to Jesus is determined by what we believe about who he is and how he relates to us.

Luke 24:13-24. Jesus's followers lost hope after his death, and we, too, suffer from a lack of hope. But Jesus reveals his resurrected self to his followers to give them hope, just as he does to us. His resurrection is our ultimate source of hope.

Mark 14:22-25. The Lord's Supper meal communicated the meaning and purpose of Jesus's death when he made the Passover meal about himself, the sacrificial lamb.

Luke 5:27-32. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and he did so by eating and drinking with people. He was happy to share a meal with anyone, and his followers should do the same.

Psalm 103. It's too easy to remember the negatives in life and forget the benefits of God, which is why this Psalm calls us not to forget the God who has loved us without condition.