Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Isaiah 11:1-9.

Intended as Hezekiah, the rod from the stem of Jesse reaches forward in time and touches Jesus. The Lord uses Isaiah for more than the immediate circumstance into which he prophesies. The Holy Spirit, referred as such by Isaiah more times than any other prophet, uses this great man of God for announcing the Messiah. With the addition of “piety,” not mentioned in verse 2, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed.

This chapter and the next conclude the first of five parts in Isaiah. As a symphony raising its themes in sweeping final movements, so do these chapters lift up the ultimate triumph of God in images of reconciliation. Let the Word of the Lord fill all your days “… as the waters cover the sea.”

Isaiah 11

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the seasons of Advent to Epiphany this year we read Isaiah 1-13.

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Knowledge covering the sea v. 9

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information.

Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and the Gospel.

There are moments of suspension and stillness in the movements of ice dancers. The male skater lifts his partner high with outstretched arms. As two statues intertwined, they glide effortlessly across the ice—a time of pause in spinning and dancing.

In the dance of Jesus’s saving grace, the Transfiguration is a moment of suspension and stillness on the heights. All the glory of the dance of salvation is gathered into one moment, a suspension in time that Peter wishes to hold onto forever. The glimpse of eternal glory serves to strengthen the faith of the three disciples, awestruck before three great figures in the history of God’s gracious intervention in human life. Relish the pause, the suspension of time, drinking in the power of Jesus as soon we will descend the mountain into Lent. There the dance goes on, drawing us closer and closer to our Lord who alone lifts us high from the cross and from the grave.

Matthew 17:1–8

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: This, my Son—listen to him.v. 5

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year A, we generally read from the Gospel of St. Matthew.

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information.

Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Exodus 22:21-28.

What must have been the previous mistreatment of others such that these various laws were designed to put some measure of justice into life! We might have come a long way from what is outlined here for a society over three thousand years ago, yet there is something we can miss so easily—the ordering of life has its initiative from the Lord.

Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12). There has been and will continue to be a development, a refinement of how God wants us to respond to one another.

Reflect upon how you treat others. Seek the justice and mercy that God wants to express to others through your very own life.

Exodus 21:1—22:24

This is the first of three parts of the Torah Portion Mishpatim (Laws)
Conservative and Reform Jewish congregations read only this part this year,
as also in this Bible plan.
Here is the entire portion in all three parts.

Exodus 21:1—24:18

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: The pure in heart shall see God. Mt 5:8

The Saturday passages follow the reading list that Jewish people use in their synagogue worship
throughout the world. They are taken from
“The Torah,” the first five books of the Bible from Genesis to Deuteronomy
that are read each year beginning with autumn.

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information