Youth Story

Jacob had made a mess of things. He was a deceiver. That’s what his name meant. He came out of the womb grabbing his twin brother’s ankle, trying to be first. He was competitive and tricky from day one. All this scheming took him to the desert, the dry place. But in the middle of the desert was a well. A resting place. An oasis. And even better, there was a woman, Rachel. He thought she was beautiful. So, in the desert, a man and a woman found each other at the well. It was a place of refreshment, hope, and life. God called Jacob and Rachel to continue the covenant. To bring the river of life into the world. Jacob would know God’s blessing, and he would offer it to others. But he would also continue to make a mess of things. It’s just the way people roll. Jesus changes things. In John 4, we see that Jesus arrived at what many scholars believe is the same well, the well of Jacob. It’s a familiar story to many. A woman came to draw water and Jesus began a conversation with her. Here Jesu

WEEK 1 This is the detailed story of the Eternal God’s singular work in creating all that exists. On the day the heavens and earth were created, there were no plants or vegetation to cover the earth. The fields were barren and empty, because the Eternal God had not sent the rains to nourish the soil or anyone to tend it. In those days, a mist rose up from the ground to blanket the earth, and its vapors irrigated the land. One day the Eternal God scooped dirt out of the ground, sculpted it into the shape we call human, breathed the breath that gives life into the nostrils of the human, and the human became a living soul. The Eternal God planted a garden in the east in Eden—a place of utter delight—and placed the man whom He had sculpted there. In this garden, He made the ground pregnant with life—bursting forth with nourishing food and luxuriant beauty. He created trees, and in the center of this garden of delights stood the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A

  27  When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.   2  We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3  The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.   4  From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.   5  When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.   6  There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.   7  We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.   8  We moved a

  26  Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense:   2  “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,   3  and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4  “The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.   5  They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee.   6  And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today.   7  This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews ar

  Paul’s Trial Before Festus 25  Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,   2  where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.   3  They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.   4  Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.   5  Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.” 6  After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.   7  When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them. 8  Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or ag

  24  Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.   2  When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.   3  Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.   4  But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly. 5  “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect   6  and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.   [7]  [ a ]   8  By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.” 9  The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true. 1

  23  Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”   2  At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.   3  Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4  Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 5  Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ [ a ] ” 6  Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”   7  When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly w