God is awesome. God knows you. God loves you. Coming to grip with these three facts is the basis of our relationship with the Most High. Reading the Bible and praying daily are important ways to develop your relationship with him over time.

Revelation 4:1-11 God is awesome. We must begin here. God is not the old man in the sky nor is he a vending machine. He is the mighty creator of heaven and earth who receives worship from heavenly creatures. He is “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come”

Matthew 10:29-31 God is neither unaware nor aloof of what is going on in your life. Even minutiae like the death of a sparrow or losing a single hair are known to him.

Psalm 139:1-12 There is nowhere we can go where Yahweh’s presence is absent. He searches you and knows you: how you sit, how you stand, and how you think. He is acquainted with all your ways.

1 John 3:1 Like a good father, God loves you. He sees us as his children.

1 John 4:7-12 God is love. He revealed that love to us in sending his only son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. When you really come to know God, you experience his love and express that to him and others.

1 John 4:16-19 Love-based relationships are the most powerful. Fear will motivate you only so far. But perfect love casts out fear.

To develop your relationship with God, you must spend time with him. Reading the Bible and praying daily are two key ways you can do that.

The Gospel of John records the events of Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. This was the moment the world changed. This not merely history, but a living story you can participate in today. Have you said, “It is finished”?

John 19:16-22 Crucifixion was a routine though grisly part of living under Roman domination. When they crucified Jesus, they put a sign up that identified him as the king of the Jews. It was meant to be ironic.

John 19:26-27 A small crowd gathered around the crosses of Jesus and the others crucified with him. Among them was his mother, his aunt, and three of his followers. Although he was in agony, he had the presence of mind to look after his mother.

John 19:28-30 Jesus’s words, “It is finished,” have multiple meanings. At the surface level, we understand that Jesus’s suffering was complete. His life was over. At a deeper level, we know that Jesus’s death was part of God’s plan that would bring salvation to the world.

John 19:40-42 Joseph and Nicodemus took Jesus down from the cross and prepared his body for burial. They laid him in a new tomb because there was no time to sort out other arrangements. The Sabbath was about to begin, and they needed to finish up for now.

John 20:1-2 Days later, Mary Magdalene came. To her surprise and disappointment, the stone was gone from the tomb, and the body of Jesus had gone missing.

John 20:3-10 Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb and confirmed Mary’s discovery. Then they went home leaving Mary there distraught and weeping.

John 20:11-16 Mary asked the gardener for help. Then the unthinkable happened. He said to her, “Mary,” and when we she turned to look at him, she saw that he was Jesus—alive!

John 20:17-18 “Do not touch me” is also translated “Stop clinging to me.” She had grabbed a hold of him. Can you blame her? His resurrection was the moment the world changed.

The Bible gives more attention to the final week of Jesus’ life than to any other period. Reading of His suffering and crucifixion is difficult because of our love for Him; yet God desires that we both understand and feel the depth of the sacrifice made for our redemption. This teaching offers a brief glimpse into those remarkable days.

Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19

Olivet Discourse – Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21

Judas Agrees to Betray – Matthew 26:14-16; Luke 22:3-6

Last Supper – Matthew 26:17-30; Luke 22:7-38; John 13-17

Jesus Prays – Matthew 26:36-46; Luke 22:39-46

Arrested in Garden – Matthew 26:47-57; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12

Before Annas – John 18:13-24

Before Caiaphas – Matthew 26:57-75; Mark 14:55-72; Luke 22:54-65; John 18:24-27

Before Pilate – Matthew 27:2; Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1-7

Before Herod – Luke 23:7-12

Before Pilate – Matthew 27:11-26; Mark 15:2-15; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:33-19:16

Soldiers Tortured – Matthew 27:26-31; Mark 15:15-20

Led Out to Be Crucified – Matthew 27:32-34; Mark 15:20-23; Luke 23:26-32; John 19:16-17

It Is Finished – Luke 23:46; John 19:30