Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Obadiah 1:17-21.

Strife continues through the generations of Esau and Jacob. Then an event of profound sadness, as descendants of Esau, the Edomites take vengeance on Israel, their hated neighbors. The Edomites become allies of the Babylonians in the sack of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in 586 B.C. Sometime around now, Jewish people begin a three-week period of mourning recalling the destruction of the two Temples: the first one, mentioned above, and the second one, in 70 A.D.

This is the shortest book in the Bible–21 verses. The first part reflects human sinfulness that abounds in the Bible; the second part from verse 17 anticipates God’s ultimate victory from the new Mount Zion, the Church, after the ultimate treachery of the murder of the Son of God.

Do impulses of revenge lurk inside you, bending your spirit away from forgiveness?

Obadiah

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Compassion toward everyone v. 12

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the season of Pentecost we read Amos to Nahum with Lamentations 4—5 in the Ninth Week.

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.

“He set his face to go to Jerusalem:” So does St. Luke begin the account of Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem in 9:51. Crowds follow Jesus as he leads the way, his eyes and heart focused relentlessly on the great city from where salvation will flow forth. Into this journey narrative, savings events of teaching and healings occur.

Between Jerusalem and Jesus’s face, the disciples fan out two by two ahead of him. The people along the way are not to miss the moment of saving grace that is about to happen for them. The first faces the people see are the ones of those in love with Jesus—those who believe in him and in his power to bring to life those wallowing in the shadows of death.

The Leader follows the followers! When people see your face and sense your heart, will they know that Jesus is not far behind—but in fact is within you?

Luke 10:1–11; 16–20

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Breathing peace in every place v. 5

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year C, we generally read from the Gospel of St. 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 Numbers 22:15-30.

Complaining continues. Snakes come and torment the people. The Lord tells Moses to make a serpent out of bronze, lifting it high for the people to see, that they might be healed. The consequences of sin become the means of salvation.

So too for the cross. There is no greater sin than to have crucified the son of God. However, God takes the cross, the results of the cruelest evil, and turns it into a source of salvation. St. John has this in mind in his Gospel when he relates the cross to the fiery serpent in 3:14 and 12:32.

Is there any person, place, or thing that has been sin for you? Rather than look away in guilt or shame, let the cross upon which Jesus has suffered in your sin, become a source of healing for you and others. God can turn your greatest sin into a source of grace.

Numbers 22:2—25:9

This is the third of three parts of the Torah Portion Hukkath (Ordinance) 
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. 
Numbers 19:1—22:1

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Forgive me for complaining 21:5

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