CONTENTS
About the Straight to the Heart Series 9
Introduction: Something Far Better Has Come 11
PART ONE - JAMES: A BETTER WAY OF LIVING
Synagogue Sermons (1:1) 16
Better than Solomon (1:2-11) 21
Soap-on-a-Rope (1:12-18) 26
Words of Life and Death (1:18-27) 30
Uncorrupted Religion (1:27) 34
Brothers and Sisters (2:1-7) 38
Law-Breakers (2:8-13) 43
Faith Which Works (2:14-26) 47
Mightier than the Sword (3:1-12) 52
Angels and Demons (3:13-4:3) 57
How to Make God Your Enemy (4:4-17) 62
Prime the Pump (4:7-10) 67
Rich Pickings (4:13-5:6) 71
Oblias (5:7-11) 75
Everyday Church (5:12-16) 79
Camel Knees (5:16-20) 84
PART TWO - HEBREWS 1-7: A BETTER GLIMPSE OF GOD
Twenty Years Later (1:1) 90
Better than Angels (1:1-14) 94
What Jesus Hates (1:9) 99
Warning Sirens (2:1-4) 103
Down and Up (2:5-18) 108
In Our Shoes (2:5-18) 112
Better than Moses (3:1-6) 116
Don't Miss the Point (3:7-19) 120
God's Detonator (4:1-2) 125
Take a Rest (4:1-13) 129
The Ultimate Hero (4:8) 133
A Threat and a Promise (4:12-13) 137
Wartime Letter (4:14-5:10) 142
The Temptation of Christ (4:15) 146
Why Doesn't God Always Heal? (5:7) 150
Third Warning (5:11-6:12) 154
Basic Christianity (6:1-2) 158
Justice (6:10) 162
The Patience of a Saint (6:11-20) 166
The Priest Who Was King (7:1-28) 170
What Is Jesus Doing Now? (7:25) 174
PART THREE - HEBREWS 8-10: A BETTER WAY TO KNOW GOD
All Change (8:1-13) 180
No More Camping (9:1-12) 184
Men Who Stare at Goats (9:13-28) 188
There Will Be Blood (9:22) 192
The Final Taboo (9:26-28) 196
Blood Donor (10:1-18) 200
Real Worship (10:19-25) 204
Blood Diamond (10:26-39) 208
PART FOUR - HEBREWS 11-13: BETTER REASONS TO BELIEVE
Better Reasons to Believe (11:1-3) 214
Before the Flood (11:4-7) 218
Faith Without a Home (11:8-22) 222
None Received (11:23-40) 226
Keep on Running (12:1-13) 230
Final Warning (12:14-29) 234
Tragic Figure (12:15-17) 238
Zion Has Not Fallen (12:22-24) 242
Preaching Class (12:26-29) 246
Inside-Out Love (13:1-3) 250
Pure Sex (13:4) 254
The Golden Idol (13:5-6) 258
Jesus Hasn't Changed (13:7-25) 262
Conclusion: Something Far Better Has Come 267