Rahab’s story is a beautiful display of God’s mercy and grace. She was a woman who would have been despised amongst her own people as a prostitute and is remembered as “the harlot” when mentioned in Scripture. While this may seem like a demeaning way for her to be remembered, the Bible seeks to honor her. She is remembered one who boldly aligned herself with the purposes of God and chose to protect his witnesses at her own expense. She cried out for mercy and the Lord heard her cries. Her story so brilliantly captures how God takes what is torn and tattered and makes it into something beautiful.

Tamar is the first woman mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. Her story gives us a glimpse of how God worked to bring about redemption in the story of Judah and Joseph and ultimately in Jesus Christ. Tamar’s story is one that’s raw, unfiltered, and often confounding as to why it’s even in the Bible. Yet, when we see her story in light of redemption, it’s no wonder she’s mentioned among the women of Jesus’s genealogy – for God uses the righteous one to humble the proud.

As the people of God we need boldness, yet we don’t often have it. In this passage we see the boldness of the early church and how God moves when his people pray. We want to pray in a way that’s shaped by a Spirit-filled imagination for what God can do and ask him to change us and the world around us.

Jesus prayed with boldness and asked the Father for extraordinary things. What do we ask for in our prayers? Do our requests reflect the power and ability of God or do we settle for what we feel is possible? We want to be a church that prayers with boldness because we know the power of our God.

Just as Jesus prayed for unbelievers, so too should we pray for unbelievers. In Acts 16 we are reminded how the kingdom of God advancing into the lives of those around us is the engine that drives the mission and purpose of the church. We are to be a people devoted to God’s mission which means we too must pray for non-believers.

In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed for unbelievers – this means he prayed for us. We were yet unbelievers, yet he prayed for us. We too are called to pray for unbelievers around us and to have a prayer life that desires the kingdom of God to extend into the lives of our neighbors.

In this passage we see a church that’s devoted to being the people that God calls us to be. They’re devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to prayer, and to fellowship together. It’s a community that’s filled with the life-changing power of the Spirit and one that gives us a glimpse of what our church can be for another and the world around us.

Jesus prayed for us to be holy. We often think of holiness in ways that aren’t helpful or really central to what holiness truly means. Jesus prayed that we would be a people that are set apart and devoted to a life lived unto God. How are we to think about being holy and what does that look like corporately as God’s people?

The unity of the early church in the book of Acts is incredible. In this passage we see what Spirit-filled unity looks like as the people of God are united on mission. They held everything in common with one another and gave the outside world a glimpse of the radical type of community that God creates. It’s a community that exhibits the love and kindness of God in Jesus Christ.

Jesus prayed and asked that the Father would make us one. What is the oneness that Jesus prayed for among his people? Why is our unity something that was on his mind in prayer the night before he died on the cross? Unity is central to who we are as Christians in the family of God.

The Church was born out of prayer. After Jesus ascended into heaven they disciples waited as he told them, but they waited in prayer. And then as they were gathered in corporate prayer in the upper room, the Spirit of God comes down at Pentecost, and the final age of history dawns.

As we enter into a season of prayer, we are going to learn to pray by praying what Jesus prayed. And the first thing we see him pray in this passage, is to be glorified. In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed and asked to be glorified in his crucifixion. What exactly is glory and how was the crucifixion actually glorifying of Jesus?

This begins a new series this fall that we have entitled "Pray God Down." We begin with hearing God's invitation in times of plague and pestilence to recognize his sovereignty and his purposes in Jesus Christ.

In one of the most well-known psalms in the Bible, the psalmist sees God as a gentle shepherd that is leading him to life and blessing. Yet in the midst of life, the psalmist faces troubles and challenges that threaten his life, but the Lord is with him. How do we find comfort in life by allowing the Lord to lead us?

Jesus’s letter to Laodicea was written to a dying church. They were lukewarm in their faith because their wealth had smothered the spark they once had. In their wealth and comfort they had grown stagnant in their faith and no longer did the good works they did at the beginning. Jesus offers them the opportunity to come and store up true wealth and riches in his kingdom.

Jesus’s letter to Philadelphia was written to a struggling church. They were struggling with the persecution they faced, yet they remained faithful. Jesus reassures them of their safety in him and that they will be saved in the judgment that is coming upon the world. Suffering purifies our faith and roots us in Christ.

Jesus’s letter to Sardis was to a dead church. Something went wrong and the church had fallen into the deadness of nominal Christianity. How does this happen to us? What can we learn from Jesus’s letter about he we fall into nominalism and be restored to a vibrant faith?

Jesus’s letter to Thyatira was to a tolerant church. They had allowed Jezebel to operate among them and lead people within the church to sexual immorality. No one addressed her and cast her out. This letter perhaps more than any other, shows how deeply just knows his churches, their struggles, and their sins.

Jesus’s letter to Pergamum was to a church that had compromised. They held fast to the name of Jesus yet they were lax in rooting out false teaching and religion. Jesus calls them to repent and clear pagan rituals from among them and putting a stumbling block before the people.

Jesus’s letter to Smyrna was to a suffering church. They were being persecuted for bearing witness to Jesus Christ and they are commended for their faithfulness in the face of suffering. They certainly weren’t perfect, yet suffering brings about a purity of faith in which Jesus delights.