Paul's prayer for the Colossians is a beautiful example of the kind of 'big' prayer that we should be praying consistently for one another, a prayer we can only pray in Jesus' name.

To pray in the name of Jesus is to pray, through God's Spirit, to God as "Abba, Father", coming to him in the love and trust that title makes possible.

To pray in Jesus' name is to approach God in the confidence that the justifying work of the Cross makes possible.

As the Teacher in Ecclesiastes considers the problems with human labor, we are forced to ask not only, "Why do we work?", but more importantly, "For whom do we work?"

The promise of "a new you" is not an empty promise, but according to Paul in Romans 6, it is a promise fulfilled through the radical intervention of death and resurrection.

While the Teacher in Ecclesiastes lamented the animal-like behavior of humanity and could not see beyond the veil of death, the cross of Christ describes how Jesus died for animals like us and can raise us with Him through faith.

When it comes to the events and experiences of our existence, randomness does not rule. God does. He is the Sovereign over our seasons. The Teacher reminds us of this fact in Ecclesiastes 3, and the Cross reminds us that God's ordering is for the good of those who believe.

Not only is the Christ hymn of Philippians 2 a powerful picture of the gospel, but it also helps us hear harmony in regard to the nature of God, when often Christians today either worship God as a friend or as an exalted King.

Far from being irrelevant, God's rebuke of idolatry through the prophet Jeremiah is a reminder to us that our idolatry can only be cured when we walk with a vision of God's unique greatness.

As the Teacher wrestles with the meaning of life, he is confronted with the ways in which death changes the way we look at life.