This is the first week of the Advent season.  It is a week in which we celebrate the Hope of His coming.  

Key Bible Verse(s):  Isaiah 9:6-7  

Key Bible Verse:  "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."  Ephesians 2: 8-9

Bible References:  Ephesians 2: 1 - 10

Key Bible Verse:  "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift."  2 Corinthians 9: 15

Key Bible References:  Psalm 136: 1;  2 Chronicles 5: 13; Psalm 34: 8

God made two promises and waited over 400 years to keep them.  When He did, the first was "just another prophet".  

Key Bible Verses:  Malachi 3: 1; 4: 4

Perhaps most Protestant Christians have no idea what this is or even that these books exist.  It can take a huge investment of time to study this subject, long debated among theologians and church leaders for centuries.  Hope this brief snippet of insight helps provide a  cursory level of understanding and stirs you to look deeper.  

The blank space page in your Bible between these two verses spans more than 400 years.  What happened between them?  

Bible References:  Malachi 4: 6 - Matthew 1: 1 

We learned much about the God of the Bible from His character to expectations of His men.  We learned a great deal about many of these men and relationships with God through their successes and failures.  Now we look in the mirror and ask:  What did I learn about myself (my relationship with God)?  

We have completed our time in the Old Testament looking into the lives of more than three dozen men in more than 100 episodes.  What did you learn about their lives and relationships with God through their successes and failures?  

Bible References:  "Then God said..." (Genesis 1);  "Then the Lord God commanded (Adam) saying..." (Genesis 2: 16);  "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets," (Hebrews 1: 1)