Now we know faith is the substance of the hope of things to come, giving courage to the pilgrims who go searching for a home. So we need not be discouraged by the conflict of the pain, for we know when we are weary that the promise still remains. By her faith our sister Sarah bore a child in years of age; by their faith the Hebrew children dared escape the Pharaoh's rage. Mary and her sister Martha by their faith saw Lazarus rise, and faith saved an outcast woman who gave welcome to God's spies. We are carrying a treasure in a vessel made of clay; though the storm winds sweep across us, we are never swept away. Although many are against us, we are never left alone, and our hope lives on inside us through no power of our own. Through the witness of these faithful, then let all despair be gone. Like a great cloud they surround us and their spirits lead us on. Jesus, pioneer and savior who in faith died on a cross, for the joy that was before him did not fear to suffer loss.