St. Matthew offers us a little list of seven brief stories about Jesus; each one is no longer than eight verses.  Four of the stories are about Jesus healing others, followed by the account of the call of Matthew,  Jesus’s words about fasting and the new wine.  Finally a few words about how great was Jesus’ compassion. 

As though you are spending the day with Jesus, you might divide the day and evening into seven parts, each one beginning with a meditation from this chapter.   Whatever are the things you need to do today, add each of these stories to your “To-Do” list.  These are your “Appointments with Jesus.” 

Surely even the busiest of days offers moments to read eight verses; it would only take a minute.  If the Lord were to come up to you and ask, “May I have a minute of your time?” What would you say? 

Matthew 9

Visit STUDY THIS on the upper right side of any passage from BibleGateway.
I especially recommend the free resource in Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

In Year A, we continue to read from the Gospel of St. Matthew.

These Firestarters are for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.