In the Gospel accounts of Jesus' baptism, we see John the Baptist offer words of warning that lead us back to the question “what gives you hope?” John warned the Pharisees sternly that no family, tradition, or outward practice is sufficient to pay for the consequences of sin. It is only by accepting the grace of God received through faith and repentance that we are saved. That is good news and John the Baptist preached that news!

This week we see that confession of sin is lead by the genuine recognition of the holiness of God. God's people had promised to be faithful, but following their return from exile, the people turned to being unfaithful to God and disobeying His commands. Yet God remained faithful. The people saw the greatness of God which led them to repentance.

Ezra was approached by the nations leaders who shared the negative behaviors and lifestyles of the people. It was as if they had forgotten God. Ezra's response of honest confession before a holy God ought to teach us something about his character and about our need to do likewise. Ezra confessed the sins of the nation to God through prayer and sought forgiveness. Ezra took his sin seriously, asked for repentance and celebrated God's grace .

God is always working in all times and seasons. And though we may wonder about His purpose in certain circumstances, we can trust that they are always ultimately for His glory and our good, even when that is hard to understand or believe. This is what we'll learn about in this weekend's lesson covering 2 Chronicles 36.

The prophet Nahum sought to wake up the people to turn from their wicked ways, and warned of a coming judgment and devastation as a consequence of the people's sins. Through Nahum, God told the people of the urgency to listen to these warnings and to turn to Him for hope, joy, and peace that can only be found by His grace.

The Book of Jonah demonstrates the mercy and grace of God. This grace and mercy is shown to Jonah, but also to a group of people who didn't have a relationship with God. Even though punishment was due, God relented and chose to save. We also may think we are too distant or too far gone to be accepted by God, but He is always there, ready to receive and love those who turn to Him.

This weekend we finish up this unit on King David by reading Psalm 51. King David confessed his sins to God and spoke of His grace and compassion as he asked God to change his own heart. Next week we begin our unit on Solomon!

This final lesson in our Did You Know series, our dbKids will be learning about ducks & chickens, about how Jesus did the unexpected in and after His resurrection, and discussing how God is full of forgiveness and mercy. Our video covering our Did You Know lesson will go live Sunday at 8am.