Psalm 8
(A psalm by David)
The Wonderful Name of the LORD

1Our LORD and Ruler, your name is wonderful everywhere on earth! You let your glory be seen in the heavens above. 2With praises from children and from tiny infants, you have built a fortress. It makes your enemies silent, and all who turn against you are left speechless.

3I often think of the heavens your hands have made, and of the moon and stars you put in place. 4Then I ask, "Why do you care about us humans? Why are you concerned for us weaklings?" 5You made us a little lower than you yourself, and you have crowned us with glory and honor.

6You let us rule everything your hands have made. And you put all of it under our power--7the sheep and the cattle, and every wild animal, 8the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and all ocean creatures.

9Our LORD and Ruler, your name is wonderful everywhere on earth!

Psalm 146
Shout Praises to the LORD

1Shout praises to the LORD! With all that I am, I will shout his praises. 2I will sing and praise the LORD God for as long as I live.

3You can't depend on anyone, not even a great leader. 4Once they die and are buried, that will be the end of all their plans.

5The LORD God of Jacob blesses everyone who trusts him and depends on him. 6God made heaven and earth; he created the sea and everything else. God always keeps his word. 7He gives justice to the poor and food to the hungry.

The LORD sets prisoners free 8and heals blind eyes. He gives a helping hand to everyone who falls. The LORD loves good people 9and looks after strangers. He defends the rights of orphans and widows, but destroys the wicked.

10The LORD God of Zion will rule forever! Shout praises to the LORD!

Matthew 7:7-12
Ask, Search, Knock
(Luke 11.9-13)

7Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. 9Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? 10Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? 11As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask. 12Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.

Luke 17:5-6

5The apostles said to the Lord, "Make our faith stronger!"
6Jesus replied:
If you had faith no bigger than a tiny mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree to pull itself up, roots and all, and to plant itself in the ocean. And it would!

John 20:24-31
Jesus and Thomas

24Although Thomas the Twin was one of the twelve disciples, he wasn't with the others when Jesus appeared to them. 25So they told him, "We have seen the Lord!" 
But Thomas said, "First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won't believe unless I do this!"
26A week later the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus came in while the doors were still locked and stood in the middle of the group. He greeted his disciples 27and said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and look at my hands! Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and have faith!"
28Thomas replied, "You are my Lord and my God!"
29Jesus said, "Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!"

Why John Wrote His Book

30Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. 31But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.

Romans 4:13-25
The Promise Is for All Who Have Faith

13God promised Abraham and his descendants that he would give them the world. This promise wasn't made because Abraham had obeyed a law, but because his faith in God made him acceptable. 14If Abraham and his descendants were given this promise because they had obeyed a law, then faith would mean nothing, and the promise would be worthless. 15God becomes angry when his Law is broken. But where there isn't a law, it cannot be broken. 16Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God's promise is assured by his great kindness. This promise isn't only for Abraham's descendants who have the Law. It is for all who are Abraham's descendants because they have faith, just as he did. Abraham is the ancestor of us all. 17The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.

18God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. 19Abraham's faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. 20But Abraham never doubted or questioned God's promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God. 

21Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. 22So God accepted him, 23just as we read in the Scriptures. But these words were not written only for Abraham. 24They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, who raised our Lord Jesus to life. 25God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.

Hebrews 11
The Great Faith of God's People

1Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. 2It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God. 3Because of our faith, we know that the world was made at God's command. We also know that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen. 

4Because Abel had faith, he offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. God was pleased with him and his gift, and even though Abel is now dead, his faith still speaks for him. 

5Enoch had faith and did not die. He pleased God, and God took him up to heaven. That's why his body was never found. 6But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him. 

7Because Noah had faith, he was warned about something that had not yet happened. He obeyed and built a boat that saved him and his family. In this way the people of the world were judged, and Noah was given the blessings that come to everyone who pleases God. 

8Abraham had faith and obeyed God. He was told to go to the land that God had said would be his, and he left for a country he had never seen. 9Because Abraham had faith, he lived as a stranger in the promised land. He lived there in a tent, and so did Isaac and Jacob, who were later given the same promise. 10Abraham did this, because he was waiting for the eternal city that God had planned and built. 

11Even when Sarah was too old to have children, she had faith that God would do what he had promised, and she had a son. 12Her husband Abraham was almost dead, but he became the ancestor of many people. In fact, there are as many of them as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the beach. 

13Every one of those people died. But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised. They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth. 14When people talk this way, it is clear that they are looking for a place to call their own. 15If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time. 16But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven. That's why God wasn't ashamed for them to call him their God. He even built a city for them. 

17-18Abraham had been promised that Isaac, his only son, would continue his family. But when Abraham was tested, he had faith and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, 19because he was sure that God could raise people to life. This was just like getting Isaac back from death. 20Isaac had faith, and he promised blessings to Jacob and Esau. 21Later, when Jacob was about to die, he leaned on his walking stick and worshiped. Then because of his faith he blessed each of Joseph's sons. 22And right before Joseph died, he had faith that God would lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. So he told them to take his bones with them. 

23Because Moses' parents had faith, they kept him hidden until he was three months old. They saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king's orders. 24Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called Pharaoh's grandson. 25He chose to be mistreated with God's people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while. 26Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the Messiah, and he looked forward to his reward. 27Because of his faith, Moses left Egypt. Moses had seen the invisible God and wasn't afraid of the king's anger. 28His faith also made him celebrate Passover. He sprinkled the blood of animals on the doorposts, so that the first-born sons of the people of Israel would not be killed by the destroying angel. 

29Because of their faith, the people walked through the Red Sea on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do it, they were drowned. 30God's people had faith, and when they had walked around the city of Jericho for seven days, its walls fell down. 

31Rahab had been a prostitute, but she had faith and welcomed the spies. So she wasn't killed with the people who disobeyed. 

32What else can I say? There isn't enough time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33Their faith helped them conquer kingdoms, and because they did right, God made promises to them. They closed the jaws of lions 34and put out raging fires and escaped from the swords of their enemies. Although they were weak, they were given the strength and power to chase foreign armies away. 

35Some women received their loved ones back from death. Many of these people were tortured, but they refused to be released. They were sure that they would get a better reward when the dead are raised to life. 36Others were made fun of and beaten with whips, and some were chained in jail. 37Still others were stoned to death or sawed in two or killed with swords. Some had nothing but sheep skins or goat skins to wear. They were poor, mistreated, and tortured. 38The world did not deserve these good people, who had to wander in deserts and on mountains and had to live in caves and holes in the ground. 39All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. 40This was because God had something better in store for us. And he did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us.

1 John 5:13-15

13All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life. 14We are certain that God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him. 15And if we know that God listens when we pray, we are sure that our prayers have already been answered.