Shall We Still Dare to Hope?

Scripture – Isaiah 2:1-5

1
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2
In the last days
the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
5 Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.

The Enemy of Love: Self Control and Lust

Scripture – Genesis 39:4-21

4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his
household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in
charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the
Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in
the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge,
he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built
and handsome, 7 and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed
with me!"
8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with
anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this
house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.
How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" 10 And though she spoke to
Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was
inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in
her hand and ran out of the house.
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called
her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make
sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for
help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
16
She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: "That
Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for
help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me,"
he burned with anger. 20 Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the
king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was
with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

Burning a Hole In Our Pocket: Self Control and Money

Scripture – Mark 10:17-31
17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good
teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. 19You know
the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false
testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"
20"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you
have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom
of God!"
24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter
the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter the kingdom of God."
26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"
27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are
possible with God."
28Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"
29"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother
or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much
in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them,
persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the
last first."

Fire In Our Mouths: Self Control and the Tongue

Scripture – James 3:1-12

1
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who
teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in
what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole
animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds,
they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a
small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a
small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the
whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been
tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made
in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not
be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree
bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.