The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Classic

Proverbs 27:5–14, Hebrews 9:1–15, Ezekiel 16:1–63 *You* can meet *your* blood donor. Jesus came ‘to *give his life* as a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45). At the last supper, when Jesus took the cup, he said: ‘*This is my blood* of the covenant’ (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24).

Psalm 120:1–7, Hebrews 8:1–13, Ezekiel 13:1–15:8 God created you for community – calling you into a loving relationship with him and with other human beings.

Psalm 119:169–176, Hebrews 7:11–28, Ezekiel 10:1–12:28 Prayer is such an immense privilege.

Psalm 119:161–168, Hebrews 6:13–7:10, Ezekiel 7:1–9:11 God is the God of promise.

Proverbs 26:23–27:4, Hebrews 5:11–6:12, Ezekiel 4:1–6:14 There are many warnings in the Bible and they all stem from God’s love for you.

Psalm 119:153–160, Hebrews 4:14–5:10, Ezekiel 1:1–3:27 How do we approach God? The answer is: through Jesus, our Great High Priest.

Psalm 119:145–152, Hebrews 4:1–13, Joel 2:18–3:21 The great decision is how you respond to God.

Psalm 119:137–144, Hebrews 3:1–19, Joel 1:1–2:17 The themes for today’s passages are trouble and distress, testing times, and trials and tribulations. However, you can see in these same scriptures that the secret to dealing with these is to ‘*fix your thoughts* on Jesus’.

Proverbs 26:13–22, Hebrews 2:1–18, Obadiah 1–21 What are we freed from?

Psalm 119:129–136, Hebrews 1:1–14, Lamentations 3:40–5:22 Your key to life is Jesus.

Psalm 119:121–128, Philemon 1–25, Lamentations 2:7–3:39 How do you refresh your mind, heart and soul?

Psalm 119:113–120, Titus 3:1–15, Lamentations 1:1–2:6 In our society, the term ‘do-gooder’ has become pejorative; it is used as an insult. But doing good should not be seen in this way. Jesus, ‘went around *doing good*’.

Proverbs 26:3–12, Titus 2:1–15, Habakkuk 1:1–3:19 When faced with challenging contradictions: * Seek to harmonise the apparent contradictions within the message of the Bible as a whole. * Avoid artificial means of harmonisation. * Be patient – be prepared to wait and live with unresolved questions.

Psalm 119:105–112, Titus 1:1–16, Jeremiah 52:1–34 Everything will be all right in the end.

Psalm 119:97–104, 2 Timothy 4:1–22, Jeremiah 51:15–64 Without God, our lives make no sense. As we read his word we understand the meaning and purpose of our lives.

Psalm 119:89–96, 2 Timothy 3:1–17, Jeremiah 50:11–51:14 The apostle Paul describes all Scripture as ‘*God-breathed*’ (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is not just inspired in the way that artists, poets, composers and musical performers can be said to be inspired. It actually has God’s breath, his Spirit, in it. Through the Bible, God speaks to you.

Proverbs 25:21-26:2, 2 Timothy 2:1-26, Jeremiah 49:7-50:10 Being ‘useful to the Master’ and ‘instruments for noble purposes’ starts with dedicating your life to him and re-dedicating it regularly to his service.

Psalm 119:81–88, 2 Timothy 1:1–18, Jeremiah 48:1–49:6 The older I get, the more I appreciate the wisdom of the generations before me and the more I realise the responsibility we *all* have to pass the baton on to the next generation.

Psalm 119:73–80, 1 Timothy 6:3–21, Jeremiah 46:1–47:7 Ultimately, contentment only comes from putting your hope in God: ‘godliness with contentment is great gain’.

Psalm 119:65–72, 1 Timothy 5:1–6:2, Jeremiah 43:1–45:5 The Bible is very realistic. We live in a fallen world. Everyone goes through hard times and some people find themselves in circumstances that make life hard all of the time.