On this sacred day of community, ministry, and Holy Communion, ponder these chapters of Paul. Be open to the full activity of the Holy Spirit in your life. Acknowledge the manifold gifts that demonstrate the presence and power of the Spirit as expressed in chapter 14. Experience the movement of Paul’s thought about the resurrection in chapter 15, preparing yourself for the gift of Easter Sunday and its impact upon the way that you live now.

Pause with Paul at those verses where you find his words touching you. Allow yourself to move into those new spiritual places of understanding and love that the Spirit will bring about in you through these powerful words. Dwell on the utter reasonableness of 15:14: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”

1 Corinthians 14—15

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Example: My gifts building up the church 14:12

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In the season of Lent this year we read the Letter of James, and 1 Corinthians 14-15.

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

Jesus arrives at Jerusalem, carried upon a donkey—sign of royalty. The King is taking possession of the Holy City, soon to become the heavenly Jerusalem.

Palm Sunday is a day with mixed emotions. There is the clear joy of the triumphal entry, but soon the crowd’s cry will change from “Hosanna” to “Crucify Him.” How the winds of the public can change!

The contrast of feeling is present in the liturgy of Palm Sunday—the exuberant beginning, then the later sober reading of the Passion. Become present to the two apparently conflicting emotions of joy and sadness. Both are true in our lives, whenever we love greatly.

Spend time Palm Sunday afternoon and evening with the movements of the Passion of Jesus according to Luke.

Luke 22:14—23:56

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Example: Not my will but Yours be done. 22:46

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year C, we generally read from the Gospel of Luke.

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.

While we no longer interpret actual bodily discharges as making us unclean in God’s sight, there are truths in this reading. The key word throughout is “discharge”—what comes out of us.

Picture a fluid polluting an area as a symbol of the discharges of the heart that contaminate. Jesus said, “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man” (Matt. 15:18).

Are there hurtful discharges in words that flow from your mouth? The expression on your face, the tone of your voice, the sound of your breathing, the language of your body: all these discharge either the stench of negativity or the sweet smell of holiness and love. Others can be drawn to God by the way you are.

Leviticus 15:1–33

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Example: Pure love flowing from my heart

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