In this passage we get a unique behind the scenes look at the heart, motives, and evidences of hypocrisy of the heart. We can put on nice clothes, our happy faces, really make a show of it... Are you serving yourself...or seeking Jesus?

When you walk through a passage like Romans 9:25-33, it would be easy to become side-tracked and miss Paul's intended purpose for referencing the Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel. Let's not miss the road signs in this passage...and let's not miss the wonderful truths that Paul reveals about the pathway to redemption for al mankind!!

In our passage today we see a struggle for authority...the questioning of authority. Jesus...after all that you have done, all the trouble you have stirred up in Galilee..and now you come in here into the temple and disrupt our traditions and our way of doing things...By whose authority do you do this!! The question of authority isn’t just for the pharisees but it is for each of us as well!

The problem with the world’s concept of peace is that If the angel's announcement of peace meant “no war” then this would have been an unfulfilled promise. The world wants peace apart from Jesus...where the angels announced peace through Jesus! In Luke 2 (when we have the announcement of peace, good will toward men) that is a much different idea of peace than the world has. It is the peace that we have with God through knowing his son Jesus Christ.

Hope, Love...the first three gifts that the world received through Jesus Christ. The third gift is joy.. What if I told you there was a recipe for joy...a model that we see in Scripture of a person going through an overwhelming circumstance that kept her eyes on Jehovah! Mary experienced a joy that was almost miraculous in nature...and yet it wasn’t centered around stuff or things...it was a joy that came from deep within...it wasn’t bound by materialism or consumerism. Mary’s Joy recipe is found in a beautiful prayer...a song of praise that we often call “Mary’s Magnificat.” It is in this song of Mary that we find her recipe for joy...start with humility, add in a dash of worship, throw in a helping of reality, and a generous sprinkling of grace and mercy!

Every gift represents a person...a person that cared, that planned, that sacrificed. A thoughtful gift means something...it meets a need and fills a void. There is a void that mankind has that is only filled by Jesus Christ..it is the need in our heart for love....unselfish, unearned, unconditional love!

Our world is longing for hope. We look to elected official to bring hope, sports teams, our jobs, and time spent with family to us hope. Really those are just wishful thinking. They bring hope that vanishes away. Only God can give us true hope...hope that looks beyond the circumstances with steadfast confidence!

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the people used very specific language found in the Psalms that hailed Jesus as King, Messiah, and Savior. How could those same people cry to crucify Jesus just a few days later? This is possible through a case of mistaken identity. They thought they were looking at a political savior and missed the reality that he came to be our spiritual savior...the redeemer of all mankind!

Through a study of Job, Elijah, David, and Saul....we see that many people in the Scriptures suffered from symptoms of what we would call depression today. Is it possible for a Christian to suffer from depression? How can we gain victory over depression? Listen in to part 2 as we uncover the truth about depression.

As Jesus comes into Jerusalem he turns to a barren fig tree and curses it. Days later the disciples see that it is withered to the roots. Why did Jesus give so much attention to a tree that didn't have fruit? What does the fig tree represent? I pray that our study in this passage will be encouraging and challenging to be a tree that bears much fruit!