Psalm 103:17-18

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children — with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

Acts 20:24

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace

James 1:19

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 23rd & 24th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Each expression of love, the Spirit's unified fruit, works itself into the spiritual growth of God's people. Fruitbearing is a fitting metaphor, for it emphasizes that the development of Spiritual Life...

1 Corinthians 13:1

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 23rd & 24th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Love is the "ground" of the gifts, the indispensable foundation on which they rest. Consider:

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 23rd & 24th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Clearly the biblical framework for love assumes the initiative of God and the dependency of human beings on that first divine movement, a pattern shared with the other two virtues of faith and hope which ground themselves in the trustworthy and transformative character of God.

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 16th & 17th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Personal determination to see the future as open and rich with possibilities is the essence of Hope! But not just any future will do.

Psalm 33:18-20

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 16th & 17th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Hope, then, is rooted in what God has pledged, under oath, to His people.

Psalm 27:13-14

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD

From Background Notes [BN] for May 16th & 17th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Whenever the biblical writer utters the words “I will” he either speaks with foolish presumption or with confidence nourished by hope.

Jude 1:3

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 9th & 10th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Faith as trust is a central theme of the Bible, starting with Abraham’s faith that was a sign of his right relationship with God (Genesis 15:6).  But there is another meaning for the term “faith.”

 

1 Corinthians 13:2

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 9th & 10th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

However, at times, we are not able to have that direct form of awareness, and are led to a different form of understanding, one which we refer to as “faith” or “belief.” In those cases...

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 9th & 10th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

To be human is, to a considerable degree, to be subject to loss and to the temporary. Aging reminds us of how fragile is our existence in the “flesh” where mortality nips at our heels. Life proves an unstable arrangement, marked by inequity and injustice.

1 Corinthians 15:14-15

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 2nd & 3rd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The statements are largely negative, since Paul addresses the question from a “What if?” perspective: “What if Christ has not been raised? Then what?”