You can have a good, comfortable and even successful life without God, but you can't have the "best life" without God. Psalms 112 is a reminder that there are blessings that come with being obedient to God's word and those blessings will make your life the best it can be.

In 100 years a lot can happen. Such was the case for the Assyrian city of Nineveh. The city repented at the preaching of Jonah, but now Nahum spells out her doom because she regressed back into sin. This prophecy is a "consolation" (the meaning of Nahum's name) for Judah to know God remembers his people and punishes his enemies.

Psalm 111 puts God where he belongs! It reminds us that God deserves our praise. Even though this psalm is poetic, it breaks down nicely into three areas of praise to God, which are highlighted in this lesson.

Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries who preached and prophesied to Judah, the southern kingdom. While being a  "country prophet" Micah argued God's case like a big city lawyer. Three sermons make up the seven chapters of this book. In each sermon, there is "judgment" and "hope." We also highlight the well-know Micah 6:8 passage and explain how it fits into the context of the overall book.

"Man who is born of woman..." - most can complete the verse from Job 14:1 from there. We live in our reality (America) but understand two kingdoms are at odds with each other: the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of Christ. In a world with so many pressing problems (which we highlight briefly in this lesson), Christians need to make sure we respond to this problem in a healthy way. The "challenge" of this lesson is to accept that the Gospel changes things one life at a time and that starts with us!

Jonah is really a book about God! While Jonah is often considered a "hero" in children's literature, he really was the reluctant prophet. The greatness of this story is how God does great things despite Jonah. God is willing to save even when we don't think people are worth saving.

Out with the old and in with the new is a popular New Year resolution. That very description could be given to Paul's instructions in Eph. 4:17-32. According to Paul, the only way to start over is to change the way you think. When we do that we will change how we act.

While God lives in eternity, he drops us into measured time. God has given us three timezones in which we live our lives. We live in the past this is fraught with regret. But the other extreme is a future we depend on. Yet, the only zone in which we can do what God wants is the smallest one—today.

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Yet, its 21 verses contain an important message. The descendants of Esau, the Edomites, made a number of blunders. This book is the judgment of the Lord concerning them and a reminder for us today to learn from them.

At the heart of Philippians is the message "Rejoice in the Lord." Philippians chapter three is really a reminder that Jesus is enough. If you have less than Jesus you don't have enough. If you have more than Jesus you have too much.