Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Genesis 7:1-10.

The highest form of God’s creation, human life, becomes the lowest. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a spiritual sense of the heart of God—the profound divine sadness at human corruption.

However, Noah and his family stand above the rest in perfection. Through him, the human family and all the species of the earth will be spared extinction. The ark is built, symbol of the boundaries of saving grace that would come through the body of Jesus and living in him.Note the time references to this ancient disaster that came upon the earth. In the midst of all the chaos of water defying the boundaries of land, there are time boundaries and the absolute certainty that from the Genesis passages here, to the Revelation chapters of these Thursdays, the Lord is in charge.

Genesis 6:9—8:14

This is the first of three parts of the Torah Portion Noah 
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. 

Genesis 6:9—11:32

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: The Dove of Peace has rested. 8:12

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

Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Luke 22:47-62.

We enter the scene of the betrayal and arrest of Jesus and the poignant denial of Peter. Jesus experiences the loneliness of being abandoned by his intimate friends. Only after the resurrection and the coming of the Spirit will Peter and the other disciples who had deserted Jesus surround the Lamb once again, as promised in 17:14 from yesterday’s reading. The blasphemies described in that reading are present on the lips of Jesus’s persecutors. What irony: after such atrocious behavior before the Lamb, Jesus’s persecutors accuse him of blasphemy!

Be present as a silent, faithful witness of Jesus’s sufferings. Feel every word and turn of events. Slow down the movement of Jesus’s suffering so that you can receive each one as so many drops of his blood filling your life-cup with the sacrament of his presence.

Luke 22:47–71

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Jesus, you’re the Son of God. v. 70

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the season of Kingdomtide this year we read Luke 19:28 to 24:53.

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 Revelation 17:9-18.

With powerful images of evil, John portrays the arrogance and idolatry of the Roman Empire, great enemy of the early Christians. Recall the words of St. Paul in 1 Cor. 1:27: “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

The Book of Revelation was intended to be a source of strength as Christians endured cruel persecution at the hands of that evil empire. Connecting with the image of the king riding in victory on a donkey in Monday’s reading from Zechariah, the image of the meek and vulnerable Lamb is John’s way of reminding us of the victory of the blood of Jesus over all adversaries.

Picture yourself in the Coliseum in Rome as lions are about to tear your flesh to shreds. The flesh of the Lamb of God was first torn for you, assuring you of the loving, sustaining presence of your Jesus when the flesh of your soul is about to be ripped.

Revelation 17

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Lord of lords and King of kings. v. 14

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In the season of Kingdomtide this year we read 2 Timothy and Revelation 12—22.

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.