Romans 1:16-17

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith"

From Background Notes [BN] for December 1^st & 2^nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Paul tells us that the righteousness of God is the power of God, for through the Gospel we learn how it was that God began to make the world right.

Matthew 8:17

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases"

From Background Notes [BN] for December 1^st & 2^nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The last century gave the world unimaginable power, the kind that taps the mystery of the atom and lets the genie out of the bottle.

Revelation 19:6

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

From Background Notes [BN] for December 1^st & 2^nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

For God to be Almighty — the God-Warrior who always prevails — means that He never allows His power to get out of control. God is the quintessential Self-Controlled Supreme Being.

Daniel 6:20

When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

From Background Notes [BN] for December 1^st & 2^nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

One main recurring theme of Israelite faith is, simply, “our God is able.”

Jeremiah 33:14-16

The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
 

From Background Notes [BN] for December 1^st & 2^nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

“I will fulfill the promise I made” sets the tone for the first Advent celebration. Promises are hard to keep, and easier to make.

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 24^th & 25^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

If we had asked King Hezekiah who his counselor was, he would have immediately replied, "Isaiah, the prophet, who brings me the word of Yahweh". 

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 24^th & 25^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

While we might admit literary license and hyperbole in its language about Hezekiah, something else remains just below the surface. 

Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 24^th & 25^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The 4th century philosopher, Augustine made an important point about darkness: that in itself it has no separate existence. Darkness is not something, it is the absence of something, namely, light.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 24^th & 25^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Few citizens of Judah, as they reviewed the list in Isaiah 1:1, would have been terribly impressed by the cast of kings in recent memory.

Luke 17:18

Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

From Background Notes [BN] for November 17^th & 18^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

How do we coordinate the meanings of thanksgiving and praise? Jesus understood the tenth leper’s act of gratitude from the vantage point of the Hebrew Bible.

Luke 17:19

Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

From Background Notes [BN] for November 17^th & 18^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

In one sense, faith does not become complete without gratitude. Jesus does not speak those words to the man before he heals him. He speaks them after he heals him.

Luke 17:14

When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 17^th & 18^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

What complicates — and illuminates — this text is the case of “one of them.” He is specifically indentified as “a Samaritan” and “this foreigner.” The question about this one healed leper is: to what priest was he supposed to go?

Luke 17:17-18

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

From Background Notes [BN] for November 17^th & 18^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Here is the ultimate anti-thanksgiving story.

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 10^th & 11^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

What the popular mind may count as a hero, often turns out to be a tragic one. Shakespeare grasped this in several of his plays, including Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear. In each of these there is both a hero and a character that fits the model of “the meek.” Writes Wilbur Dunkel:

Psalm 37:11

But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

 From Background Notes [BN] for November 10^th & 11^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

By citing this text, Jesus directs the mind of his audience to the whole Psalm. What is that Psalm about, and why would Jesus draw one of his beatitudes from it? The main theme is how God’s people should react to those whom the psalm collectively calls “the wicked” or “evil men.”

Matthew 21:5

Say to the Daughter of Zion, “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 10^th & 11^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

When kings ride donkeys, then the political order has been turned upside down. Rarely do kings project this sort of humility in the presence of their subjects. Pomp and circumstance accompany the strutting of monarchs.

Matthew 11:29-30

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 10^th & 11^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Matthew uses a pair of words, “gentle (=meek) and humble,” which come from the Greek praus and tapeinos. Both are joined by the noun “heart,” which, in the Greek, is used as a dative of respect: “meek and humble with respect to the heart.”

 

Luke 6:21b (KJV)

Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 3^rd & 4^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

When the rabbis referred to the Messiah, they called him the “Comforter.”  Mourning, in light of this, means awaiting the coming of Messiah, sometimes impatiently “because of the seeming slowness of God’s justice.”

2 Corinthians 1:7

And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

From Background Notes [BN] for November 3^rd & 4^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

 

Comfort, as the response to mourning, is incarnational. When Jesus declares that comfort brings blessing to the mourners, he is at the same time enlisting the ministry of comfort from the hands of his followers.