Psalm 84: Life is a journey, but ultimately defined by setting the journey's correct destination. In life, simply the joy of the journey is meaningless without the right end. This psalm guides us to the proper end to desire and also the means to endure the journey.

Matthew 26.57-27.26: We have a longing for a true Judge deep in our hearts. Feelings of injustice well up within us when we notice something off. But as the true Judge came before us, the collective of humanity tried him unjustly and sentenced him to death. But Jesus accepts the unjust trial in order to establish justice into eternity. And in order to face the last judgment, we can have comfort if we are found in him as those who believe and are covered in his righteousness.

Matthew 26.31-46: Jesus enters into the path of isolation as he moves toward the Mt of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane means oil press, which speaks to the pressure that Jesus is experiencing as he is overwhelmed to the point of death. Because he has walked this path of isolation to victory, we can have confidence that he is present in all our sufferings, keeping us from being isolated and alone.

Elder Jasper Hall leads us through considering the gift of Christ as our new and eternal blessing.

Romans 6.1-14: The Christian life involves the constant remembrance of our state as being in Christ. The opposite is the old reality of being in sin. For Paul, sin in this sense is a brutal slave master who desires to bring harm. He can deceive us though into believing that his way is the best way and Christ's path toward righteousness is undesirable. We must trust the shepherd, who will take us down roads that are hard, but it is for our sanctification and growth. We must not be fooled and move back under the 'sin' master, for he desires to take our joy.