Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and Ezekiel 34:11-16.

Three images are used by the Lord through Ezekiel to focus on the responsibilities of spiritual leadership— watchman, singer, and shepherd. Whether you are pastor or parishioner, listen well to the accountability to the Lord required of each person. Note the power of 33:32. How easy it is for the most anointed of spiritual singers either to awaken one to action and change, or simply be a soothing sound for the ears alone!

Listen to words of judgment and challenge. Rest in the strength of your Father God who takes charge and watches out for you, who becomes your personal shepherd through Christ Jesus, and who sings to your soul through the Holy Spirit.

What personal changes need to take place because of your close praying of God’s Word today?

Ezekiel 33—35

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the season of Easter this year we read Ezekiel 33–48.

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Rescuing the scattered sheep 34:12

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 reading.

Sacred, silent space envelopes the world the day after Jesus’s death. It is the Sabbath, fragrant as no other. The holy women are resting, grieving, and breathing the sweet smell of the spices and fragrant oils they have prepared to give closure to the death of their beloved Master.

Yet openness, not closure, is what they find early the next morning. The tomb is open. They are startled, worried, filled with wonder at the words of the angels.

Where is Mary, mother of Jesus? The tomb is empty, for surely Jesus is filling her with his presence. She, whose empty womb was blessed with the fruit of the Word made flesh, is surely the first to know the fruit of the empty tomb. Ponder all these things in your heart, as Mary so often did.

Luke 24:1–12

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Finding the stone rolled away v. 2

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.

Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Exodus 33:12-17.

The center of the year for the Jewish people is Passover, as Easter is for Christians. The Torah reading unfolds the beauty, the power, and the presence of God. The Lord’s goodness and mercy are described. Be with Moses as the glory of the Lord is revealed to him and to you, through the Holy Spirit.

Learn about the Seder, the supper that recalls the Exodus. There are foods symbolic of the suffering endured such as salt water for the tears shed, and horseradish for the bitterness experienced in suffering so much.

This is a day of solidarity with all those in bondage in one form or another. We intercede for them that the pathways to liberation would become open—that all the “Red Seas” in their lives would split apart so that they can walk on to freedom.

Exodus 33:12—34:26

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: May Your presence go with me. 33:14

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