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

Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and the Gospel.

Clear, straightforward instructions come from Jesus about the dispositions of the heart when we do good deeds, and how the heart itself is to be transformed by prayer. Jesus’s instruction about prayer is a blend of two inseparable aspects. Each person is encouraged to go alone to the inner, secret place of one’s spirit. There is an inward privacy to prayer. However, as The Lord’s Prayer reminds us, there is always a communal dimension. The prayer is “Our Father,” not “My Father.”

Lent is coming soon. What does the Lord suggest to you about growth in prayer as the dark, secret place of winter yields to the open, expansive light of the coming spring?

Ponder the parting warning of Jesus in verse 15.

Matthew 6:1–15

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Will on earth as in heaven v. 10

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the seasons of Advent to Epiphany this year we read Luke 1 2; Matthew 1 7.

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.