Click for a PDF version Monday Read Revelation 1:12-18; Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 21:7-11 Happy New Year! Stepping into 2024, we begin our Epiphany series—the Lord’s unveiling in Revelation—considering the One called “Son of man” 82 times throughout the New Testament. Among Jews, the long-awaited Messiah was “the Son of David” (Matthew 21:9), a title...
Click for PDF version Monday Read Isaiah 9:2-6; Micah 5:2-4; Luke 2:1-21 On Sunday the 2023 Advent season commences. Contemporary Christians link Advent to Christmas—gift shopping kicks into hyper-gear, travel plans solidify, lights go up, and trees get decorated in expectation of presents. For most American children, this anticipated season is capped by a...
Click for PDF version Monday Read Matthew 5:38-39; Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21 As we continue the Sermon on the Mount teaching series, this week’s theme is “Re-Forming Our Affections.” It’s important to remember who Jesus is speaking to even as we read the Sermon on theMount with our Western eyes and interpretation....
Click for a PDF version Monday Read Matthew 5:27-37 In Matthew 5, Jesus addresses the topics of adultery, divorce, and oath-making. It can be tempting to see these as three completely separate topics—and while there are things to learn about them individually, these three topics share one important element: covenant. The God of the...
Click for PDF version Monday Read Matthew 5:1-12 Being the Salt of the Earth One distinctive element of Jesus’ teaching was His use of metaphors and similes. Both are figures of speech, but a metaphor identifies one thing, such as “You are the salt of the earth,” whereas a simile likens one thing to...
Click for a PDF version Monday Read Hebrews 11:1-6; Psalm 46 “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. … By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God … Without faith it is impossible to please [God] for whoever would draw...
Click for a PDF version Monday Read 1 John 4:7-21; 2 John 1:3-6 A popular ’90s song asks, “What Is Love?” That same tune follows with dark, pleading lyrics: “Don’t hurt me, no more.” (Haddaway) The Bible answers this post-Christian, rhetorical appeal and its need comprehensively: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Pleasure-seeking...
Click for a PDF version Monday Read Matthew 28:16-20; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you...
Click for a PDF version Monday James 2:14-17; Luke 10:25-37 This week we are going to be focusing around a passage in James about faith and obedience. To explain true faith, James uses the following four different illustrations: the ill-clad and hungry brother or sister; the believing demons; Abraham, the friend of God; and...
Click for a PDF version Monday James 2:1 Brothers and sisters in the church will show no partiality. When he was a student, the famous Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, considered becoming a Christian. He read the Gospels and was moved by them. It seemed to him that Christianity offered a solution to the caste...
