Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and Jeremiah 38:17-23.

Mondays in Lent each year are dedicated to the prophet Jeremiah. You might pray each of today’s three chapters in the morning, afternoon and evening. Chapter 36 uplifts the theme of repentance. King Jehoiakim tries to destroy the Word of God by throwing Jeremiah’s scrolls into the fire. Recall what King Herod did when he had the Holy Innocents killed in an attempt to do away with Jesus, the infant King. Verse 18 is the only reference to “ink” in the Old Testament.

The treatment of Jeremiah in chapter 37 will remind you of the way Jesus suffered. Just as the patriarch Joseph, Jeremiah was raised from a pit. The Lord saw to it that Jeremiah would not die in the dungeon. As the very body of the prophet rises from the pit, the verse for today (38:20) wells up from the mire of disobedience. “Just obey the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall be spared.”

Jeremiah 36—38

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: My ears open to Your truth

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the season of Lent this year we read Jeremiah 36 to 52.

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.

The beginning of the season of Epiphany saw us contemplating the Baptism of Jesus. Lent opens, with what took place immediately after—the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us. (2 Cor. 5:21)

The wilderness recalls the wanderings of our ancestors, time of temptation and sin for them. They complained about bread, fell into idolatry, and tested the Lord. Jesus confronted the same three temptations. However, Jesus did what our ancestors did not—meet the attacks with the sword of the Spirit, the living Word of God, here found in Deuteronomy 6—8.

Today and everyday, let a word or phrase from the daily passage rise forth that you can use as a weapon against the temptations you face. Come against them with God’s Word, and you will not fall.

Luke 4:1–13

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Serving only the Lord God v. 8

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.

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 30:1-10.

The passage begins with the ritual of priestly ordination of Aaron and his sons. The blood of the ram is applied to the ear, thumb, and toe, organs of receptivity and action. The anointing reminded the priests to hear only the Word of God, to do only what the Lord wants, to go only where the Lord leads.

From the earliest times in the church, symbolic gestures came to be incorporated into the prayer of Christians, such as making the sign of the cross. There developed a variation by making three crosses with the thumb on the forehead, the lips and chest. “Christ in my mind, in my mouth and in my heart.”

The origin of morning and evening prayer is outlined from 29:38. God longs to dwell with you always.

Exodus 29:19—30:10

This is the third of three parts of the Torah Portion Tetzaveh (And You Shall Command) 
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. 27:20—30:10

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Christ in mind, in mouth and 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