We look at the very dramatic Psalm 137. It tells of the fall of Babylon and the longing that the exiles have for their holy city and destroyed Temple. We consider two people I met who reacted in very different ways to the feeling they had been harmed by others. We look at why the Babylonian invasion is such a major cornerstone in the history of the Israelites. We consider its use as a metaphor in both the Old and New Testaments. We consider today - and how we should react to betrayal and loss.

We look at the spaghetti and butter sandwiches that I ate as a kid in grammar school. We consider Grace. We look at three issues: first, whether it is a real thing or something invented by us or by New Testament writers; second, different variations or applications of Grace in our lives, and 3, how to measure Grace. We see that this last issue has a lot to do with the butter in those sandwiches.

A student once asked me for advice on how he should react to his family, especially his father, who did not approve of him being baptized a Christian. I gave him a lesson that I learned from Acts. In this book, we see "the Way" spread to Jews in Jerusalem and then to Gentiles outward in the Roman Empire. There is a turning point midway through Acts that is carefully engineered by God when the first Gentile, Cornelius the Centurion, is converted. We learn from this what a great gift it is to have faith...