Presence is a ministry. Learning to sit with someone in their suffering, without fixing, explaining, or rushing them, may be the most Christ-like thing a pastor, leader, or friend can do.

An overview of the world between Malachi and Matthew, tracing how empires rose and fell, cultures collided, and Israel lived through centuries of upheaval and longing. This session shows how Persian policy, Greek influence, Maccabean revolt, and Roman rule shaped the world Jesus would enter, revealing why the Gospels unfold the way they do and why Israel’s anticipation for a Messiah burned so intensely.