Youth BiOY

Psalm 9:7-10, Genesis 30:22, Matthew 11:16-30. Both Joyce Meyer and Sandy Millar are expressing, in different ways, absolute confidence in the sovereignty of God If God is sovereign and ultimately in control, does that mean that you are absolved of responsibility for your actions? Does it mean that you do not have ‘free will'? The Bible teaches both – the ultimate sovereignty of God at the same time as human responsibility and free will

Psalm 9:1–4, Genesis 27:19-24,28:1-16, Matthew 10:32–42. God is the God of acceleration He is able to speed things up at a much faster rate than is humanly possible

Proverbs 1:33, Genesis 26:24, Matthew 10:1–31. The expression ‘*do not be afraid*' is one of the most frequent commands in the Bible Four of the occurrences are in our passages for today

Psalm 8:1-4, Genesis 24:12-19, Matthew 9:18–38. Success is a good thing However, the ministry of Jesus and the message of the Bible *redefine success*

Psalm 7:10-17, Genesis 22:7–12, Matthew 8:23–27,9:1–13. These storms are many and varied Abraham, David and Jesus' disciples all faced storms in their lives

Psalm 7:8–9, Genesis 19:23-29, Matthew 7:24–29,8:5-13. One thing that you can be sure about is that on the last day, when all is revealed, you will see God's perfect judgment – and everyone will say, ‘That is absolutely right ' Each of today's passages tells us something about the fact that, in the end, *God will put things right*

Proverbs 1:10–19, Genesis 17:1-16, Matthew 6:33-34,7:12. 11), then *nothing is too hard for the Lord* In each of the three great challenges we see in today's passages we need to remember that *nothing is too hard for the Lord*

Psalm 6:9, Genesis 15:1–6, Matthew 5:44–47,6:5-6. William Shakespeare captured something of the wonder of mercy in Portia's speech in *The Merchant of Venice*:‘The quality of mercy is not strain'd,It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath: it is *twice blest*;It blesseth him that gives and him that takes '**Act IV Scene I**You are blessed when you receive mercy and you are blessed when you are merciful to others

Psalm 5:3-8, Genesis 12:1–2, Matthew 5:22–42. We don't realise the importance of getting good directions for life If you follow God's directions for life, you will enjoy his blessing and bring blessing to others

Psalm 4:6–8, Genesis 11:1–9, Matthew 5:3–12. you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you ' God is the source of *all good things*

Proverbs 1:1-5, Genesis 7:23–24,8:1,9:1, Matthew 4:1-11. But at the same time he found out that his wife, Kay, had cancer On one track of his life there was great blessing; on the other track there was a massive battle to face

Psalm 3:3, Genesis 5:23–24,6:9, Matthew 3:16–17. This is what Jesus has made possible – for you to *walk as Jesus did* (1 John 2:6) You may stumble from time to time, but one day you will *walk with him* ‘dressed in white' (Revelation 3:4)

Psalm 2:1–2, Genesis 3:1, Matthew 2:1–2. A senior and experienced lawyer was helping me prepare He showed me the significance of a first question

Psalm 1:1–3, Genesis 1:27, Matthew 1:20–23. The first three words in the Bible are, ‘In *the beginning*…' (Genesis 1:1) Each of the passages for today tells us something about new beginnings and new opportunities, and suggests some possible New Year's resolutions

Psalm 150:1-6, Nehemiah 13:22, Revelation 22:1-21. Of course, ‘the End' and ‘the Beginning' appear very different However, there can be significant similarities to both the beginning and the end

Proverbs 31:25–31, Nehemiah 12:43, Revelation 21:1-27. It is used in today's New Testament passage of the church of the future, which comes down out of heaven from God, ‘prepared as *a bride* beautifully dressed for her husband' (Revelation 21:2) This picture of the bride, the new Jerusalem, is prefigured in different ways in both our Old and New Testament passages

Psalm 149:4–5, Nehemiah 9:38,10:39, Revelation 2:1-12. According to the New Testament, every Christian will be crowned and will reign even longer and there will be an even bigger cause for celebration and rejoicing than that of any earthly ruler You will reign *with Christ* (Revelation 20:4,6)

Psalm 148:11-14, Nehemiah 9:6-28, Revelation 19:11-20. The idea of covenant is so important in the Christian Bible that the two parts came to be called the Old and the New *Testaments* (‘*Testamentum'* being the Latin word for *covenant*) Although the new covenant was different from the old one, both covenants come from God's abounding love for you

Psalm 148:1–2, Nehemiah 8:3-6, Revelation 18:21-24,19:1-9. The word ‘Hallelujah' is an invitation to worship – it literally means ‘Praise (Hallal) the Lord' (Yahweh) It occurs twenty-four times in the Old Testament (mainly in the Psalms) and it occurs four times in the New Testament – each of them in our passage for today

Proverbs 31:10-20, Nehemiah 5:1-12, Revelation 18:2-17. Money matters It matters to us and it matters to God

Psalm 147:12–14, Nehemiah 4:6, Revelation 17:3-14. |||Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;|||hail the incarnate Deity,|||pleased as man with man to dwell,|||Jesus, our Emmanuel |||Hark! The herald angels sing,|||‘Glory to the new born King!'In each of today's passages we see the blessings of following this ‘new born King'

Psalm 147:1-11, Nehemiah 1:3-6,2:17-18, Revelation 16:1-17. It is not just a case of looking back, but also looking up Faith looks up

Psalm 146:3–9, Ezra 10:1-3, Revelation 14:14–16,15:1–4. I doubt we really ever will One day we'll know… These are the foundational principles of living in hope

Proverbs 31:8-9, Ezra 8:21–23, Revelation 14:1-13. The two are connected As Pastor Rick Warren has tweeted, ‘In ministry, *private purity* is the source of *public power*

Psalm 145:14-16, Ezra 7:27–28, Revelation 13:1–18. Ezra said, ‘Because *the hand of the Lord my God was on me*, I took courage…' (Ezra 7:28) God's invisible and intangible hand is also on you: leading, guiding, encouraging, protecting, strengthening you and giving you courage

Psalm 145:8–13, Ezra 6:7, Revelation 12:1-11. Life involves many struggles, trials, tests, temptations, difficulties and battles Yet, in Christ you can be an *overcomer*

Psalm 145:1–2, Ezra 5:5, Revelation 11:3-19. It not only refers to kingdom in a political or geographical sense, but it also conveys the notion of activity – the activity of ruling and reigning The *kingdom of God* means ‘*the rule and reign of God*'

Proverbs 30:32–33, Ezra 2:68–69, Revelation 10:1-11. My greatest fear is that I might do or say something that will bring dishonour to his name My deepest longing is to see the name of the Lord honoured again in our society

Psalm 144:11–12, Ezra 1:1–6, Revelation 8:1-13. 3 ***How does this apply to my life*?**To avoid it becoming a mere intellectual exercise, you must think through how it applies to your daily living

Psalm 144:5-7, Malachi 3:1-10, Revelation 7:1-17. ' Steadfast in his stand for Christ, Polycarp refused to compromise his beliefs and was burnt alive at the stake on 22 February AD156 God is described in the Old Testament as ‘the Lord'

Psalm 143:5–8, Malachi 1:2,2:15-16, Revelation 6:1-17. God involves you in his plans God works out his purposes in co-operation with his people

Proverbs 30:11–14, Esther 9:1-22, Revelation 5:1-14. Lewis shows how Jesus can be both ‘the *Lion* of the tribe of Judah' (Revelation 5:5) and ‘a *Lamb [that] had been slain*' (v 6)

Psalm 142:7, Esther 8:11–17, Revelation 4:1-11. When the prodigal son returned to the father, the father said, ‘Let's have a feast and *celebrate*' (Luke 15:23) In our Old Testament passage for today, we read that ‘the city of Susa held a joyous *celebration*' (Esther 8:15) ‘it…exploded with joy' (MSG)

Psalm 141:2-8, Esther 4:13–14, Revelation 3:7-20. I never enjoy being rebuked by someone else, but over time I have come to see the faithful rebuke of a friend as something of great value The Scriptures tell us that the right kind of rebuke is an important way in which God cares for us, and in which we can care for each other

Psalm 140:6-13, Esther 2:8-17, Revelation 2:18-28,3:1-5. At the end of the day, good wins Furthermore, in this struggle between good and evil, you *can* make a difference

Proverbs 30:4, Zechariah 12:10,13:1,14:9, Revelation 2:1-17. Don't inspect the cot and forget to worship the baby In today's passages, we see how Jesus Christ is revealed not only in the New Testament, in the book of Revelation, but also in the Old Testament – in Proverbs and Zechariah

Psalm 140:1-4, Zechariah 9:9-16, Revelation 1:1-18. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is further unveiled We get a clearer disclosure of his great love for us, and his victory over evil

Psalm 139:17–18, Zechariah 7:9–10, 8:23, Jude v.1-25. At other times, I am absolutely desperate for God's presence, his mercy and grace When we find ourselves in this place of desperation, nothing but the presence of God will satisfy

Psalm 139:13–16, Zechariah 1:1-16,3:3-10,4:6, 3 John 1–8. Tozer wrote, ‘God is love and God is sovereign His love disposes Him to desire our everlasting welfare, and His sovereignty enables Him to secure it

Proverbs 29:23-25, Haggai 1:2-14, 2 John 1:1–10. However, spiritual fitness is far more important than physical fitness It also involves balancing a number of areas of your life

Psalm 139:1-10, Daniel 12:1–3, 1 John 5:1-20. In addition, God's *general will* for all of us is revealed in the Bible In the passages for today we see what God wants for you and for everyone

Psalm 138:2-8, Daniel 11:32-33, 1 John 4:7–21. But perfect love drives out fear' (v 18)

Psalm 137:1, Daniel 10:7-19, 1 John 3:11-24. In the spiritual world, it is God-reliance' Supremely, it involves confidence in the presence of God

Proverbs 29:18, Daniel 8:26, 1 John 3:1-9. Vision without action is merely a dream Action without vision is a nightmare! But *vision combined with action* can change the world

Psalm 136:23-26, Daniel 7:1-14, 1 John 2:12-27. Yet you have the powerful spiritual ‘antiseptic' to use against these destructive forces It is vital that you learn to do so

Psalm 136:1, Daniel 6:13-23, 1 John 1:3-9, 2:1-6. You can be real before God and before others The result is a level of authenticity, vulnerability and intimate connection with one another that is best summed up in this beautiful word, ‘fellowship'

Psalm 135:13-14, Daniel 4:37, 2 Peter 3:3-18. ‘We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth' (2 Peter 3:13) God is going to vindicate his people (Psalm 135:14)

Proverbs 29:2-7, Daniel 3:16-28, 2 Peter 2:1-20. Yet in the face of extreme suffering he refused to deny his faith The lives of men and women like this are hugely inspiring, challenging and motivational

Psalm 135:5, Daniel 2:27-45, 2 Peter 1:1-18. There is good reason to put your trust in God You will grow in faith as you study the truth of God's word and boldly proclaim that ‘there is a God' and ‘he is great'

Psalm 134:1-2, Daniel 1:8-15,2:1-20, 1 Peter 5:1-14. He declared: ‘I am a great sinner but Christ is a great Saviour 'In today's New Testament passage, Peter speaks of ‘*the God of all grace*' (1 Peter 5:10)

Psalm 133:1-3, Ezekiel 47:6-12, 1 Peter 4:1-19. Three themes dominate his remarkable ministry: unity, love and the Holy Spirit They are distinct, but closely linked