Themes

God's messengers and heavenly host.

God binding himself to a people by promise — Noah, Abraham, Sinai, David, and the new covenant.

God as maker of all things, and the goodness and order of what he has made.

The life of the age to come, given now in Christ and consummated forever.

Driven out and brought home — a pattern running from Eden to the new creation.

Trusting God and his promises — the means by which we are justified and live.

God's pardon of sin in Christ, and the call to forgive as we have been forgiven.

God's unmerited favor — the engine of salvation from first to last.

God's dwelling and the believer's hope — and the new heavens and new earth.

God's set-apart purity, and the call for his people to be holy as he is holy.

Confident expectation of God's future — resurrection, the return of Christ, and the new creation.

The worship of false gods and the things that take God's place.

Humanity made to reflect God, the glory lost in the fall, and restored in Christ.

Gladness rooted in God that endures beyond circumstances.

God's righteous judgment of sin and the final reckoning.

God's justice, and his call to do justice and love mercy.

A thread from the first day of creation to "the light of the world" — revelation, life, and judgment.

Water that gives life — Eden's river, the rock at Horeb, Ezekiel's temple river, and the Spirit Jesus gives.

Covenant union, household life, and children as a gift.

God's tender compassion toward the weak, the lost, and the guilty.

Wealth, generosity, contentment, and the danger of mammon.

Shalom — wholeness and reconciliation with God and one another.

Speaking with God — petition, praise, lament, and intercession.

God's word through the prophets, fulfilled supremely in Jesus.

God's long work of rescue, climaxing in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.

Turning from sin back to God — the doorway into the kingdom.

Christ raised, and the believer's hope of bodily resurrection.

Blood, substitution, and the once-for-all offering of Christ.

God's rescue of his people — past, present, and future.

The adversary, the powers of darkness, and their defeat through Christ.

Pain, trial, and persecution — and God's purposes within them.

The people of God — the body of Christ, his temple and bride.

The crucifixion of Jesus — atonement, substitution, and the defeat of evil.

How rebellion entered the world and fractured humanity's relationship with God, each other, and creation.

The person and work of the Spirit — creating, empowering, indwelling, and transforming.

God's reign breaking into history — its arrival, its king, and its consummation.

God's instruction (Torah) — its goodness, its purpose, and its fulfillment in Christ.

God's steadfast, covenant love (hesed) for his people, poured out fully at the cross.

God's special care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger.

The promised return of Christ to judge, save, and make all things new.

God as shepherd of his flock, fulfilled in Jesus the good shepherd.

Where God dwells with his people — tabernacle, temple, Christ, and the Spirit.

Scripture and the living Word — God speaking and acting.

The skill of living well in God's world, grounded in the fear of the LORD.

Giving God the honor due his name, in spirit and in truth.