In this letter

- The inherited picture of heaven as escape

- What the Bible actually teaches — bodily resurrection, renewed earth, descended city

- 1 Corinthians 15:58 — your labor is not in vain

- Living like resurrection people

- The continuity between this life and the next

- The honest question — what are you walking toward?

- The wiping of tears as God's intimate, hands-on response to grief

Scripture

- Revelation 21:1-5

- Revelation 21:24 (the nations bringing their glory into the city)

- 1 Corinthians 15:58

The question to sit with

How would your life change if you really believed that what you do here is being taken up into what comes? Where have you been living like this world does not matter, because heaven is somewhere else?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter. The closing of Season One.

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In this letter

- Verses 1-8 walked slow

- The sea as the image of chaos in the ancient Near East

- The bride and the wedding imagery

- Skēnē (G4633) — the tabernacle word

- The thread from Exodus 25 through John 1:14 to Revelation 21:3

- The wiping of every tear — what the image implies

- Kainos (G2537) — new in kind, not just in time

- It is done — the Greek perfect tense

- The Alpha and the Omega

- The water of life freely given

Scripture

- Revelation 21:1-8

- Exodus 25:8-9 (the tabernacle, referenced)

- John 1:14 (referenced)

- 1 Corinthians 6:19 (we are the temple, referenced)

Greek word studies

- skēnē (σκηνή, Strong's G4633) — tabernacle, tent, dwelling. The noun form of skēnoō (carried from Week 7).

- kainos (καινός, G2537) — new in kind, new in quality

Coming tomorrow | The Address. The destination is not escape.

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In this letter

- John in his old age — the last apostle alive

- The persecution under Domitian

- The exile to Patmos

- The genre of apocalyptic literature

- The structure of Revelation — seven churches, throne vision, judgments, resolution

- The seven churches of Asia Minor

- Why the destination matters to a persecuted church

Scripture

- Revelation 1:9

- Revelation 2-3 (the seven churches, referenced)

- Revelation 21:1-8

Coming tomorrow | The Story. Walking the vision slow.

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In this letter

- Where Revelation 21 sits in the Bible — the second-to-last chapter, the destination of the whole story

- The Bible as a journey home, from garden to garden-city

- A slow read of Revelation 21:1-8 (NKJV)

- The direction of the vision — the city coming down, not us going up

- Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men (v.3)

- Behold, I make all things new (v.5)

- The continuity of the new creation — not all new things, but all things new

Scripture

- Revelation 21:1-8

- Genesis 3 (the lost dwelling, referenced)

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. An old apostle on a prison island.

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In this letter

- The closing thunder of Romans 8:31-39

- Hupernikao (G5245) — the compound that gives us more than conquerors

- Huper + nikao — over + to conquer

- The seven-item list (tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword) as Paul's autobiography

- Psalm 44 quoted in v. 36

- The longer list at the close — death, life, angels, principalities, powers, time, space, anything

- A direct pastoral landing for the suffering, the accused, and the doubting

Scripture

- Romans 8:31-39 (full)

- Psalm 44:22 (referenced, quoted by Paul)

- 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (referenced)

Greek word studies

- hupernikao (ὑπερνικάω, Strong's G5245) — to more than conquer, over-conquer. The compound of huper (over, beyond) and nikao (to conquer). A word so strong Paul may have coined it.

- katakrima (G2631) — condemnation (carried from Wednesday)

- huiothesia (G5206) — adoption (carried from Wednesday)

- stenazo (G4727) — to groan (carried from Wednesday)

Next week's letter | Revelation 21 — Home. The closing of Season One.

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In this letter

- The difference between conviction and condemnation

- The accuser in Revelation 12:10

- Paul's courtroom in verses 31-34

- The cost in verse 17 — if indeed we suffer with Him

- Suffering as included in the adoption, not excluded

- The Spirit's intercession for those who cannot find words

Scripture

- Romans 8:1, 17, 33-34

- Revelation 12:10 (referenced)

The question to sit with

Where is the accuser still speaking in your life? And where are you suffering, and have not yet heard that the Spirit is groaning with you?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter.

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In this letter

- Katakrima (G2631) — the legal verdict of condemnation

- The flesh and the Spirit (vv. 5-13)

- Huiothesia (G5206) — adoption as a son, the Roman legal concept

- Abba — the Aramaic word Jesus prayed in Gethsemane

- The three groanings — creation, us, the Spirit

- Stenazo (G4727) — to groan deeply

- All things work together in context — not a bumper sticker

- The chain of vv. 29-30 — foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified

Scripture

- Romans 8:1-30

- Mark 14:36 (*Abba* in Gethsemane)

Greek word studies

- katakrima (κατάκριμα, Strong's G2631) — condemnation, judicial sentence

- huiothesia (υἱοθεσία, G5206) — adoption, the placing as a son

- Abba (ἀββᾶ, G5) — Aramaic for father, the child's word

- stenazo (στενάζω, G4727) — to groan

Coming tomorrow | The Address. Do you believe verse one?

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In this letter

- Paul's background — Saul the Pharisee, the Damascus road

- Paul's missionary career

- Romans written from Corinth, late 50s AD

- The Roman audience and why Paul was writing to them

- The structure of Romans — problem, justification, sin and law, resolution

- Why chapter 8 is the apex of Paul's argument

- 2 Corinthians 11 — Paul's list of sufferings, which makes Romans 8 autobiography

Scripture

- Acts 9:1-19 (Damascus road, referenced)

- Romans 1:1-15 (Paul's introduction)

- 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (Paul's sufferings, referenced)

- Romans 7:24-25 (the lament that leads into Romans 8)

Coming tomorrow | The Story. The structure of the chapter, walked slow.

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In this letter

- A reading of the key sections of Romans 8 (NKJV)

- The therefore at verse 1 and what it points back to

- The Spirit of adoption and Abba

- The Spirit's groans and our prayers

- All things work together for good in context

- The seven-fold and longer lists at the close

- More than conquerors — the apex phrase

Scripture

- Romans 8:1-2, 14-17, 26-28, 31-39

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. Paul at the apex of his most carefully built letter.

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In this letter

- Goel (H1350) — kinsman-redeemer

- The four qualifications of a goel under the law

- The threshing floor as the heart of the book

- Boaz at the city gate as the pattern of Christ on the cross

- The genealogy in Ruth 4 — Obed, Jesse, David

- Matthew 1 and Ruth in the lineage of Jesus

- A direct pastoral landing for outsiders, the empty, the ones who need a redeemer

Scripture

- Ruth 3-4

- Matthew 1:5 (Ruth in the genealogy of Christ)

- Hebrews 2:11 (Jesus not ashamed to call us brothers)

- John 10:18 (referenced)

Hebrew word studies

- goel (גֹּאֵל, Strong's H1350) — kinsman-redeemer. The relative who steps in.

- davaq (H1692) — to cling (carried from Wednesday)

- hesed (H2617) — covenant lovingkindness (carried from Wednesday and from Week 4)

Next week's letter | Romans 8 — More Than.

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In this letter

- Why Orpah is not the villain

- Ruth's choice as the costly one

- Hesed given and received throughout the book

- Loyalty as small, generations-shaping work

- The outsider angle — God's family tree full of outsiders

- The honest question about your own crossroads

Scripture

- Ruth 1:14-17

The question to sit with

Where in your life are you at a crossroads between the reasonable thing and the loyal thing? Where is God asking you to stay?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter.

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In this letter

- Walking the four chapters of Ruth

- Davaq (H1692) — Ruth's clinging, the same Hebrew word as Genesis 2:24

- Bethlehem as house of bread, the irony of the famine

- The gleaning law (Lev 19:9-10, Deut 24:19)

- Boaz's hesed toward Ruth in the field

- Under your wing — Boaz's prayer becomes Ruth's request

- The threshing floor scene, slow

- The redemption at the city gate

- Obed, Jesse, David

Scripture

- Ruth 1-4 (full)

- Genesis 2:24 (the davaq parallel)

- Leviticus 19:9-10 (gleaning law, referenced)

Hebrew word studies

- davaq (דָּבַק, Strong's H1692) — to cling, to be joined. The marriage word.

- hesed (חֶסֶד, H2617) — covenant lovingkindness. Carried from Week 4.

Coming tomorrow | The Address. The crossroads.

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In this letter

- The mystery of authorship — Samuel and the Talmudic tradition

- The period of the judges as historical setting

- Why Moabites were forbidden from the assembly of the Lord (Deut 23:3)

- Ruth in the Hebrew Ketuvim (Writings) and the Megillot (festival scrolls)

- Why Ruth is read at Shavuot / Pentecost

- Matthew 1 and the women in the line of Christ

- The family tree of the Messiah, built from outsiders

Scripture

- Ruth 1:1 (the historical setting)

- Deuteronomy 23:3 (the Moabite exclusion)

- Judges 21:25 (the world Ruth was set in)

- Matthew 1:1-17 (referenced)

Coming tomorrow | The Story. Four chapters, walked slow.

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In this letter

- Setting the book of Ruth — four chapters, the period of the judges

- A slow read of Ruth 1 (NKJV)

- The setup — famine in Bethlehem, the move to Moab, the three deaths

- The dirt road and the kiss goodbye

- The famous vow — Entreat me not to leave you

- Naomi renaming herself Mara (bitter)

Scripture

- Ruth 1

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. The outsider in the family tree of David.

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In this letter

- Logos — the Greek and Hebrew heritage of the Word

- The full walk-through of the prologue

- Verse 14 as the hinge

- Skēnoō — to pitch a tent, to tabernacle (G4637)

- The Hebrew shakhan and Shekinah — the dwelling presence of God

- Doxa — glory (G1391)

- Charis and alētheia — grace and truth

- Charin anti charitos — grace upon grace, grace replacing grace

- Moses, Jesus, law, grace, truth

- Exēgēsato — Jesus as the exegesis of the Father (G1834)

- A direct pastoral landing for those who do not yet see, those who feel distant, and those waiting to receive

Scripture

- John 1:1-18 (full)

- Exodus 33:18-23 (Moses and the glory, referenced)

- John 14:9 (referenced)

Greek word studies

- Logos (λόγος, Strong's G3056) — Word, divine principle, creative utterance

- skēnoō (σκηνόω, G4637) — to pitch a tent, to tabernacle (carried from Wednesday)

- doxa (δόξα, G1391) — glory, visible presence

- charis (χάρις, G5485) — grace

- alētheia (ἀλήθεια, G225) — truth

- monogenēs (μονογενής, G3439) — only begotten, unique

- exēgēsato / exēgeomai (ἐξηγέομαι, G1834) — to explain, to declare, to narrate. The root of the English word exegesis. Jesus as the explanation of the Father.

Next week's letter | The book of Ruth — Where You Go.

> That's this week's letter. We'll see you Monday with another.

---

Letters from Home is a daily Bible teaching podcast with host Hank Garner.

Mail for people still on the road. New letters every weekday.

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In this letter

- The temptation to keep Jesus a concept

- Why the body is what makes Him present

- John's old-man witness — we beheld His glory

- The world that did not know Him, and His own who did not receive Him

- Where in our lives we are still keeping Him at arm's length

- The grace of verse 12 — as many as received Him

Scripture

- John 1:10-14

The question to sit with

Where are you keeping the Word at arm's length? Where is He right in front of you, and you are still seeing past Him?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter.

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In this letter

- The three statements of verse 1 — was, was with God, was God

- Greek pros — face-to-face relationship

- The grammar question of the Word was God

- The double heritage of Logos — Greek philosophy and Hebrew utterance

- Katalambanō — comprehend or overcome (G2638)

- John the Baptist as witness, not light

- The maker rejected by the made

- Verse 14 as the hinge — the Word became flesh

- Skēnoō (G4637) — to pitch a tent, to tabernacle

- The Old Testament tabernacle and the New Testament incarnation

- Doxa — the glory that filled the tabernacle, now in a face

Scripture

- John 1:1-14

- Genesis 1:3 (referenced)

- Exodus 25:8-9 (the tabernacle, referenced)

Greek word studies

- Logos (λόγος, Strong's G3056) — Word, the divine principle, the creative utterance

- skēnoō (σκηνόω, G4637) — to pitch a tent, to tabernacle

- doxa (δόξα, G1391) — glory, visible presence

- monogenēs (μονογενής, G3439) — only begotten, unique, one of a kind

Coming tomorrow | The Address. Do you let Him be flesh?

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In this letter

- John the apostle — son of Zebedee, the beloved disciple

- John at the foot of the cross, given care of Mary

- When and where John wrote — Ephesus, late first century

- Why John wrote a fourth Gospel after Matthew, Mark, and Luke

- The Gnostic context — Jesus only seemed to be human

- The Greek philosophical context of Logos (Stoics, Heraclitus)

- The Hebrew dabar — the creative word of God in Genesis 1

- John 20:30-31 — John's stated purpose for writing

Scripture

- John 19:25-27

- John 20:30-31

- Mark 1:19-20 (the call of John, referenced)

Coming tomorrow | The Story. Walking the prologue, slow.

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In this letter

- How John opens his Gospel differently than Matthew, Mark, and Luke

- Why in the beginning echoes Genesis 1

- A slow read of John 1:1-18 (NKJV)

- Verse 14 as the hinge — the Word became flesh and dwelt among us

- The light-and-darkness motif that runs through John's whole Gospel

Scripture

- John 1:1-18

- Genesis 1:1 (referenced)

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. The fisherman who outlived all the other apostles.

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In this letter

- The opening claim — Exodus 3 is the encounter that started everything

- Moses's first objection — Who am I? — and God's answer (the question is wrong)

- Moses's second question — What is His name? — and God's answer (the question gets answered fully)

- Ehyeh asher Ehyeh — I AM WHO I AM

- The Hebrew verb hayah — to be

- The Tetragrammaton — YHWH, the four-letter name

- Jesus claiming the name in John 8 — before Abraham was, I AM

- Pastoral landing for the wilderness, the unheard, and the questioning

Scripture

- Exodus 3:11-15

- John 8:58 (referenced)

Hebrew word studies

- Ehyeh asher Ehyeh (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה) — I AM WHO I AM. The first person form of hayah.

- hayah (הָיָה, Strong's H1961) — to be, to exist, to become

- YHWH (יהוה) — the four-letter name of God, the Tetragrammaton

Next week's letter | John 1:1-18 — The Word.

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In this letter

- What a burning bush looks like in modern life — interruption, disruption, the thing in your path

- Why the voice waited for Moses to turn, and what that means for us

- The three verbs of divine awareness as comfort for the unheard

- I have seen, I have heard, I know — for everyone who has felt unseen

- Sandals off as bodily response, not just mental agreement

- The honest question — where is God asking for your sandals?

Scripture

- Exodus 3:5-7

The question to sit with

Where do you feel unseen right now? And where in your life does God need your sandals off — not just your mind agreeing, but your body bowing?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter. The name.

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In this letter

- Walking through the encounter slow

- The Hebrew seneh (H5572) — the thorny bramble bush

- The Angel of the Lord, and the question of pre-incarnation Christ

- Moses's choice to turn aside, and why the voice waited

- Hineni (H2009) — Here I am, full availability

- Qodesh (H6944) — holy ground

- The three verbs of divine awareness — raah, shama, yada

- I have come down — the gospel in one sentence

Scripture

- Exodus 3:1-10

Hebrew word studies

- seneh (סְנֶה, Strong's H5572) — the thorny bramble bush

- hineni (הִנֵּנִי, H2009) — Here I am. Available. Ready.

- qodesh (קֹדֶשׁ, H6944) — holy, set apart

- raah (רָאָה, H7200) — to see, perceive

- shama (שָׁמַע, H8085) — to hear, listen responsively

- yada (יָדַע, H3045) — to know intimately

Coming tomorrow | The Address. Are you noticing the bush?

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In this letter

- The traditional Mosaic authorship of the Torah

- Moses the prince of Egypt — the basket in the reeds, Pharaoh's house

- The killing of the Egyptian and the flight to Midian

- Moses the fugitive — forty years tending Jethro's sheep, married, settled, done

- Numbers 12:3 — Moses as anav, the humblest man on earth

- Why God called the eighty-year-old, not the forty-year-old

Scripture

- Exodus 2 (referenced)

- Numbers 12:3

- Acts 7:23-29 (Stephen's retelling, referenced)

Coming tomorrow | The Story. The encounter at the bush, slow.

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In this letter

- Setting the scene — Moses at eighty, tending Jethro's flock in Midian

- A slow read of Exodus 3:1-8 (NKJV)

- The bush — seneh, the scraggly bramble

- Why God put the strange thing in Moses's path and then waited

- The doubled name as summons (Abraham, Samuel, Saul)

- Here I am — Moses's one-word answer

- Sandals off, holy ground

Scripture

- Exodus 3:1-8

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. The man with three lives.

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In this letter

- The opening claim — Luke 15 is one chapter, three parables, one answer

- The party as the point of all three parables

- The Greek splanchnizomai (G4697) — gut-level compassion

- Where else this word shows up in the Gospels — Jesus and the crowds, the widow of Nain, the good Samaritan

- The father runs — and what running meant in the ancient world

- The older brother — the second lost son

- Why the chapter ends without resolution

- A direct word for the prodigal, the older brother, and the one who does not yet know the Father

Scripture

- Luke 15 (full)

- Matthew 9:36, Luke 7:13, Luke 10:33 (other uses of splanchnizomai)

Greek word studies

- splanchnizomai (σπλαγχνίζομαι, Strong's G4697) — to be moved in the bowels, gut-level compassion

- diaskorpizō (διασκορπίζω, G1287) — carried from Wednesday

Next week's letter | Exodus 3 — The Bush That Wouldn't Burn Up.

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In this letter

- The older brother's complaint, line by line

- This son of yours — the language of disowning

- The father's three sentences in response — Son, you are always with me. All that I have is yours. He is your brother.

- The two ways to be lost — by leaving, and by staying

- Why Jesus stops the story mid-conversation

- The Pharisees as the older brother

- The church person as the older brother

Scripture

- Luke 15:25-32

The question to sit with

Are you in the far country, hoping to come home? Or are you in the field, resenting the grace given to people who did not work for it?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter. The Greek word that carries the chapter.

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In this letter

- Why asking for the inheritance early was unthinkable in the ancient Near East

- The Greek diaskorpizō (G1287) — to scatter, squander

- The pigs and what they meant to a Jewish hearer

- Coming to himself — the turning point in the pig pen

- The rehearsed speech

- The father watching, seeing, having compassion, running, kissing

- Splanchnizomai (G4697) — the gut-level compassion

- Why dignified men did not run, and why the father ran anyway

- The robe, the ring, the sandals, the fatted calf — what each one meant culturally

Scripture

- Luke 15:11-24

Greek word studies

- diaskorpizō (διασκορπίζω, Strong's G1287) — to scatter, squander, throw in every direction. What a farmer does with seed, what the prodigal does with his inheritance.

- splanchnizomai (σπλαγχνίζομαι, Strong's G4697) — to be moved in the bowels. Gut-level, body-deep compassion. The deepest physical word for compassion in the New Testament.

Coming tomorrow | The Address. The other son. The brother who stayed.

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In this letter

- Luke the man — physician, Gentile, companion of Paul (Col 4:14, 2 Tim 4:11, Phlm 24)

- The literary care of Luke's Gospel — preface, eyewitnesses, an orderly account

- Theophilus and Luke's intended audience

- Luke's particular concerns — outsiders, the poor, women, Samaritans, tax collectors

- Why all three parables only exist together in Luke

- The setting of Luke 15 — Jesus at the table with tax collectors and sinners

Scripture

- Colossians 4:14

- 2 Timothy 4:11

- Philemon 24

- Luke 1:1-4

- Luke 15:1-3

Coming tomorrow | The Story. The third parable, slow.

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In this letter

- The setup — Luke 15:1-2 and the Pharisees' complaint

- Why sharing a table meant family in the ancient world

- A slow read of all three parables (lost sheep, lost coin, opening of the lost son)

- The shared shape — lost, sought, found, celebrated

- The escalation in math — 1 of 100, 1 of 10, 1 of 2

- Why Jesus answered an accusation with stories instead of arguments

Scripture

- Luke 15:1-13

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. Luke the Gentile physician, the only non-Jewish writer in the New Testament.

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In this letter

- The opening claim — Psalm 23 is about life, not death

- The three movements of the psalm — pastoral, valley, banquet

- Nephesh (the deep word for soul) and what restoration means

- Tsalmaveth and walking through the valley, not around it

- The banquet imagery in verses 5 and 6 — a guest at the table while the enemies watch

- The Hebrew word chesed — the covenant lovingkindness of God

- The verb radaph — and why goodness and mercy follow you is mistranslated as too gentle

- The shepherd who leads from the front and pursues from behind

- A direct word for the pursued, the third-person prayer-er, and the one who does not yet know the voice

Scripture

- Psalm 23 (full)

- John 10:11 (referenced)

Hebrew word studies

- chesed (חֶסֶד, Strong's H2617) — steadfast lovingkindness, covenant love, loyal kindness. The word that runs through the whole Old Testament for God's relationship to His people.

- radaph (רָדַף, Strong's H7291) — to pursue, to chase, to hunt down. What an army does to a retreating enemy. What a hunter does to game. The verb mistranslated as follow.

- nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ, Strong's H5315) — soul, life, self, the whole inner person. What the shepherd restores.

- tsalmaveth (צַלְמָוֶת, H6757) — the valley of deep darkness (carried from Thursday).

- ra'ah (רָעָה, H7462) — to shepherd (carried from Tuesday).

Next week's letter | Luke 15 — The Long Way Home (the prodigal son).

> That's this week's letter. We'll see you Monday with another.

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In this letter

- Why our culture does not bless dependence — and why Psalm 23 cuts against that

- The structural hinge of the psalm in verse 4

- The Hebrew tsalmaveth — the valley of deep darkness, the place where you cannot see

- Why the third person becomes the second person in the valley

- The honest question — where are you still talking about God when you should be talking to Him?

- A pastoral word for the diagnosis, the phone call, the grief, the marriage that is breaking

Scripture

- Psalm 23:1-4

Hebrew word studies

- tsalmaveth (צַלְמָוֶת, Strong's H6757) — shadow of death, deep darkness. The compound of tsel (shadow) and mavet (death). The place where you cannot see, where the road may not continue.

The question to sit with

Where in your life are you still in the third person? Where are you talking about God when you should be talking to Him?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter. The Hebrew verb that changes how you read all six verses.

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In this letter

- 1 Samuel 17:32-37 — David's conversation with Saul before fighting Goliath

- The story of the lion and the bear, told plainly

- Why the shepherd metaphor in the Hebrew Bible is bloody, not sentimental

- A boy with a stick, running after a lion that has a lamb in its mouth

- John 10:11 — Jesus picks up the same metaphor and adds the cost

- What it means that the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep

- The sheep's job, and why we resist it

Scripture

- 1 Samuel 17:32-37

- Psalm 23:1

- John 10:11-18

- Ezekiel 34 (referenced)

Coming tomorrow | The Address. The valley where the language has to change.

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In this letter

- The Psalter and how it works — Tehillim, the book of praises

- 1 Samuel 16 — Samuel comes to Jesse's house and the youngest is keeping the sheep

- David the shepherd before David the king

- Why kings did not write like this in the ancient world

- The Hebrew verb ra'ah and what shepherding actually meant as a job

Scripture

- 1 Samuel 16:1-13

- Psalm 23:1

- Psalm 100:3 (referenced)

Hebrew word studies

- ra'ah (רָעָה, Strong's H7462) — to pasture, tend, feed, lead, keep watch over. The verb behind the noun shepherd. The word from David's own working life.

Coming tomorrow | The Story. The story David told Saul before he fought a giant.

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In this letter

- A slow read of Psalm 23 (NKJV)

- Why this is not a psalm about death — it's a psalm about life

- The verbs of the psalm and who is doing all the work

- The structural hinge in verse 4 where the third person becomes the second person

- The frame for Week 4

Scripture

- Psalm 23

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. A shepherd boy who became a king, and never stopped seeing himself as a sheep.

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In this letter

- The opening claim — God's first covenantal imperative is go

- Lekh lekha and what the doubled Hebrew phrase actually means

- The man before the call — the pagan in Haran

- The triple separation and the five I wills

- The universal scope — Paul's reading in Galatians 3 as the gospel preached to Abraham in advance

- The going — Abram at seventy-five, the altars, the journey south

- The Friday reveal — Genesis 22:2, the second lekh lekha, and the same hidden-destination pattern

- Lekh lekha as the phrase reserved for the moments God asks everything

- The Terah path, and the call to refuse it

- A direct word for the stalled, the afraid, and the one who does not yet know the voice

Scripture

- Genesis 12:1-9

- Genesis 22:2 (the second lekh lekha)

- Galatians 3:6-9 (referenced)

- Genesis 11:31 (Terah)

Hebrew word studies

- lekh lekha (לֶךְ-לְךָ, Strong's H3212) — go for yourself. The doubled imperative God uses only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both times to Abraham, both times asking for total surrender. The phrase reserved for the moments He asks everything.

- barak (בָּרַךְ, H1288) — to bless (carried from Wednesday)

- mishpachot (מִשְׁפָּחֹת, H4940) — families, clans (carried from Wednesday)

Next week's letter | Psalm 23 — The Shepherd.

> That's this week's letter. We'll see you Monday with another.

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In this letter

- The triple separation read internally — country (the values of the culture), family (inherited loyalties), father's house (the deepest stuff our parents handed us)

- Three questions lekh lekha keeps asking us today

- The Terah problem — Genesis 11:31, the father who started and quit

- Why a stalled faith can look like real faith for a long time

- The honest question — what is keeping you halfway?

- The pastoral note — lekh lekha is invitation, not punishment

Scripture

- Genesis 12:1

- Genesis 11:31 (Terah's unfinished journey)

The question to sit with

What is keeping you halfway between where you started and where God called you?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter. The full message, the Hebrew word, and one thing about lekh lekha that changes how you hear the whole call.

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In this letter

- The Hebrew phrase lekh lekha and what the doubling actually means

- The triple separation — country, family, father's house — three concentric circles moving inward

- The five I wills and the global scope of the promise

- Abram at seventy-five, the obedience, the journey to Shechem

- The Canaanites already in the land

- The altars at Shechem and Bethel — markers on the road

Scripture

- Genesis 12:1-9

Hebrew word studies

- lekh lekha (לֶךְ-לְךָ, Strong's H3212) — go for yourself. The doubled imperative carrying intensity and personal address. The going is for Abram, not against him.

- barak (בָּרַךְ, Strong's H1288) — to bless, to kneel. A posture of favor, a downward movement of grace.

- mishpachot (מִשְׁפָּחֹת, Strong's H4940) — families, clans. Every people group, every family unit, everywhere.

Coming tomorrow | The Address. Where lekh lekha rubs against modern life, and the question Terah keeps asking.

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In this letter

- Joshua 24:2 — the verse most people have never heard preached, that names Terah as a worshipper of other gods

- The cultural context of Ur and Haran — moon-god cult, Mesopotamian paganism

- Genesis 11:31 — Terah's unfinished journey to Canaan, the stop in Haran

- Acts 7:2-3 — Stephen's retelling and the call that may have started in Ur

- The universal scope of the promise — all the families of the earth

- Why Abram's obedience was a rescue, not a religious deepening

Scripture

- Joshua 24:2

- Genesis 11:31

- Acts 7:2-3

- Genesis 12:1-3

Coming tomorrow | The Story. The Hebrew phrase that started everything.

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In this letter

- The canonical context — how Genesis 1-11 (universal) sets up Genesis 12 (particular)

- A slow read of Genesis 12:1-9 (NKJV)

- The structure of God's speech — three commands, five promises, one universal scope

- Why the destination is hidden — to a land that I will show you

- The pattern: faith begins with go, not with here is where you will end up

Scripture

- Genesis 12:1-9

- Genesis 1-11 (referenced as primeval history)

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. Who Abram was before the call, and the father who quit halfway.

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In this letter

- Makarios and what it actually means — fully alive, not fortunate

- A walk-through of all eight Beatitudes with Greek behind the key ones

- The vertical-horizontal structure of the list (posture toward God, then others)

- The bookend phrase theirs is the kingdom of heaven that wraps the whole passage

- Jesus's shift from blessed are they to blessed are you in verses 11-12

- The connection back to Hebrews 11 and the family of faith

- A direct word for the empty-handed, the rule-keepers, and the persecuted

Scripture

- Matthew 5:1-12

- Matthew 5:11-12 (the personal blessing)

- Hebrews 11 (referenced)

- Hebrews 12:1 (referenced)

Greek word studies

- makarios (μακάριος, Strong's G3107) — fully alive, in a state of deep well-being. The Greek word the gods were called.

- ptōchós (πτωχός, G4434) — the empty-handed beggar (carried from Wednesday)

- praÿs (πραΰς, G4239) — strength under restraint (carried from Thursday)

- dikaiosúnē (δικαιοσύνη, G1343) — righteousness, things put back in order

- eleḗmōn (ἐλεήμων, G1655) — active mercy-giver

- katharós (καθαρός, G2513) — clean, unmixed, single-minded

- eirēnopoiós (εἰρηνοποιός, G1518) — active maker of peace

Next week's letter | Genesis 12 — Go. The call of Abram, and the first journey in the Bible.

> That's this week's letter. We'll see you Monday with another.

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In this letter

- The cultural mismatch between Beatitude values and what we actually celebrate

- Praÿs — what meekness actually means in Greek (strength under restraint, the trained warhorse)

- Mourning as posture of the blessed, not a problem to be solved

- The honest question to sit with — which of the eight characterizes your life?

- Why the Beatitudes are a door, not a wall

- A direct word for anyone who does not find themselves in the list

Scripture

- Matthew 5:3-12

Greek word studies

- praÿs (πραΰς, Strong's G4239) — meek, gentle. Power under restraint. A trained warhorse, not a weak one.

The question to sit with

Which of the eight characterizes your life? Not which one would you like to. Which one does.

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter. The Greek word that changes everything.

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In this letter

- The story of the rich young ruler from Matthew 19:16-22

- Why he came running, and what he was actually asking

- Jesus's two moves — pushing back on good, then exposing what the man could not put down

- Why this story is Matthew 5:3 in reverse — a portrait of a man with hands too full to receive the kingdom

- The disciples' question and Jesus's answer — with God all things are possible

- An invitation for anyone who has ever felt like the rich young ruler

Scripture

- Matthew 19:16-22

- Matthew 19:23-26

- Matthew 5:3

Greek word studies

- ptōchós (πτωχός, Strong's G4434) — beggar, crushed by poverty, bent over, empty-handed. The word Jesus uses in Matthew 5:3 for the spiritually empty-handed.

Coming tomorrow | The Address. Where Matthew 5 rubs against modern life.

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In this letter

- Matthew the man — tax collector, called in two verses (Matthew 9:9)

- Why Matthew's Gospel exists, and who he was writing to

- The five-block teaching structure of Matthew and the Pentateuch echo

- Sinai underneath Galilee — Jesus as the new lawgiver

- Why Jesus opens His public teaching ministry with blessing, not commandment

- The moment in Jesus's ministry when these words are spoken

Scripture

- Matthew 4:23-25

- Matthew 5:1-2

- Matthew 9:9 (Matthew's call)

- Exodus 19-20 (Sinai parallel)

- John 1:17

Coming tomorrow | The Story. A young man kneels in the dirt and asks Jesus what good thing to do.

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In this letter

- The setting — Jesus on a mountain, crowds from five regions, the disciples gathered close

- Why the mountain matters — Matthew's intentional echo of Moses on Sinai

- A slow read of Matthew 5:1-12 (NKJV)

- Why the Beatitudes are shocking — Jesus blesses the people the world doesn't bless

- The frame for Week 2 connecting back to Hebrews 11

Scripture

- Matthew 4:23-25 (the crowds gather)

- Matthew 5:1-12

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. Matthew the tax collector, and the new Moses on a new mountain.

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One word in Hebrews 11:1 changes the entire chapter. Today we put the whole letter together, and find out what faith actually is — and what it isn't.

In this letter

The Greek word hypóstasis and what it really means — foundation, not feeling

Why this changes how you read Hebrews 11 and how you walk through whatever you are walking through

The full roll call of the faithful from Abel to the prophets

Hebrews 11:13-16 — the prepared city, and the verb that gives it away

Hebrews 11:39-40 — they did not receive the promise, because God was waiting for us

Hebrews 12:1 — the cloud of witnesses, the race set before you

A direct word for the listener carrying something hard

Scripture

Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:13-16

Hebrews 11:39-40

Hebrews 12:1

Greek word studies

hypóstasis (ὑπόστασις, Strong's G5287) — that which stands under. Foundation. The ground that holds your weight while you walk on it.

parepídēmoi (παρεπίδημοι, Strong's G3927) — sojourners, pilgrims, resident aliens. (Carried forward from Wednesday.)

Next week's letter | Matthew 5:1-12 — Blessed Are.

That's this week's letter. We'll see you Monday with another.

Letters from Home is a daily Bible teaching podcast with host Hank Garner.

Mail for people still on the road. New letters every weekday.

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Website: https://hanksbiblestudy.com/

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In this letter

The honest tension between pilgrim identity and settled American life

Hebrews 11:35-38 — the family who were tortured, mocked, scourged, sawn in two, who wandered in caves

Why faith does not promise comfort, and what it promises instead

Hebrews 11:15 — the road home is always open, and that is the danger

The ache as gift, not as enemy

Scripture

Hebrews 11:15

Hebrews 11:35-38

Hebrews 11:39

The question to sit with

What in your life has become a permanent address, when it should be a tent?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter. The full message, distilled.

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Abram was seventy-five. Settled. Comfortable. The big decisions were behind him. Then God spoke, and the world he had known was over.

In this letter

Abram's life in Haran — the half-finished road his father started

A close read of Genesis 12:1 — what is in the command, and what is not

Hebrews 11:8 — he went out, not knowing where he was going

Why Abraham never really arrived — and why that matters

The pattern of faith — leaving without a map

Scripture

Genesis 12:1-9

Hebrews 11:8-10

Hebrews 11:13

1 Peter 2:11

Greek word studies

parepídēmos (παρεπίδημος, Strong's G3927) — sojourner, resident alien, pilgrim. The word Hebrews 11:13 uses for the whole family of faith, picked up again by Peter for the scattered church.

Coming tomorrow | The Address. Where this letter rubs against modern life.

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The letter has no signature. Two thousand years of careful readers, and we still don't know who held the pen. But we know exactly who held the paper, and what they were about to do.

In this letter

• The honest case for and against Pauline authorship — the Greek, the structure, and the Hebrews 2:3 problem
• The historic candidates (Apollos, Barnabas, Priscilla and Aquila, Luke), and why we may never know
• The original audience — Jewish believers in the late first century, tired and tempted to return to the synagogue
• The pastoral situation behind the chapter and why the writer gives his readers a family album

Scripture

• Hebrews 1:1-2
• Hebrews 2:3
• Galatians 1:11-12 (Paul's contrast)

Coming tomorrow | The Story. A man named Abram, who left home at seventy-five and didn't know where he was going.

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The week opens with a chapter you may think you know, and a question you may not have asked. Today we put Hebrews 11 on the table and read it slow. No commentary. Just the letter.

In this letter

• A slow read of Hebrews 11:1-2, 13-16, and 35-40 (NKJV)
• The frame for the whole week — Hebrews 11 is not just the faith chapter. It is the chapter that names who we are.
• Why Letters from Home is starting Season One with this passage.

Scripture

• Hebrews 11:1-2
• Hebrews 11:13-16
• Hebrews 11:35-40

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. Who wrote Hebrews, and why?

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