Before diving in, we see the purpose of Hebrews. An unknown author reminds believers not to turn away from the source of their eternal life, and he begins by describing the One we trust through the Seven Perfections of the Son.

As Moses prepared Israel to enter the Promised Land without him, he told them something we would do well to remember. We're responsible, not only for our own obedience to God, but to pass on what we know to the next generation.

Not only did Moses give commands, he gave stakes. God cares about and responds to obedience, disobedience, and repentance, for Israel and for us. In light of that, what place should obedience have in the life of a Christian?

Like layered transparencies with bits of detail written in, our understanding of the Bible is affected when we layer what we already know of God and the Bible. Deuteronomy is one of the more important books for this purpose: the more clearly we understand it, the more the rest of the Bible makes sense.

In Deuteronomy, Moses reminds Israel how their initial intention to obey was not enough to persevere. Today, we'll walk through Moses' three motivations and methods to encourage their--and our--obedience to God.

Deuteronomy is a book of the last words of Moses, one of Israel's greatest leaders, to a nation about to step onto the world stage. This message, we see how God's past actions should spur them to trust and obey Him.

Without Balaam, the reader of Numbers may picture God as frustrated with Israel. Balaam shows God's enduring faithful love for Israel, and the Bronze Snake shows how God saves people from judgment, through judgment--a perfect picture of Christ.

Israel's years wandering in the wilderness wasn't just judgment. God was active training His people to trust and depend on His leadership, which sometimes involved hard lessons. We'll seek to learn from and apply these lessons to us as a church.

Kadesh Barnea is the pivotal moment for Israel, when they stood at the edge of the Promised Land … and refused to trust God, leading to an unavoidable judgment. Believers can face their "Kadesh Barnea" moments as well: we'll see how to recognize them and what to do when they come.

The trip from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea, at the border of the Promised Land, takes 11 days. Before they arrived Israel faced four crises which were symptoms of a deeper problem: mistrust in God.