Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter”
from the version for young people and the reading.

[From the version for young people]

We turn to a letter of St. Paul to a church in ancient Greece, way up in the north on the Aegean Sea.  Like Corinth, it was a busy seaport city with bustling trade going on all the time. 

As often happens in St. Paul’s letters, he begins by praising the church to which he is writing.  Think about it: once there was a community that received this letter for the first time from their dear pastor, Paul.  In place of e-mail and letters to individuals, this letter was read aloud to a community, perhaps gathering in someone’s house to worship and pray to the Lord Jesus. 

Pray about the three great spiritual gifts from God that we call the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love.  Hope is a wonderful extension of faith, being confident that something is really going to happen along the lines of what we believe in.  Love is the very essence of God that is radiating out from God through us. 
So let’s sit down with all those hearing this letter of St. Paul that will be our focus for six autumn Thursdays.

Faith, Hope and Love – from the original version.

Faith, hope and love—familiar virtues that receive a fresh touch from St. Paul as he celebrates and praises a local church in Thessalonica. This was the second major church established in Europe. As Corinth, it was a busy commercial seaport on the Aegean Sea, in the northeast corner of the Grecian peninsula.

Place yourself among those gathered, perhaps in someone’s house by the sea as you listen to this letter for the first time. Are you grounded in faith, hope, and love? Hope is faith’s extension, confident that something of God is going to be accomplished from the faith planted in your heart. Love is the power of God at work radiating from the center of your soul.

1 Thessalonians 1

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Steadfast in faith, hope and love v. 3

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In season of Kingdomtide this year,
we read 1 and 2 Thessalonians; Revelation 4—11.

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 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 Psalm.

TAP HERE for video Meditation on Psalm 82 on YouTube.

[From the original version]

The priorities of the Lord are urged to become our own. True worship increases our love for those who do not worship. These are ones “turned off,” who do not experience justice, perhaps because they have not received hesed, the love, and mercy of the Lord through you.

Keep open. You cannot do it all, but the Lord through you can do all things. Pray this psalm in a personal way, asking the Lord to show you how you are to complete the works of mercy in your own life. Wait. Listen. Believe that the Lord will speak to your heart about the poor ones who are closest to God’s own heart. Jot down notes in your journal; the Lord may become very explicit with you and you will want to remember.

Psalm 82

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: The nations belong to You. v. 8

We follow a reading of the Psalms in numerical order.

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” from the version for young people
and Proverbs 22:1-12.

[From the version for young people]

Have you ever been in front of someone whose name you think you ought to know, but you just can’t remember?  All of a sudden, maybe just before you greet the person, you remember the name.  It’s a very nice feeling; something clicks inside you that was stuck before making the connection.  It feels like a gentle shock way inside.
The sayings from the Book of Proverbs are something like that.  When you think about them in a quiet way, some of them will give you that feeling like suddenly remembering someone’s name.  There is a sense of the truth in them that may strike you inside and make sense in your heart as well as in your mind.  That gentle shock will flow through you as the Holy Spirit makes the truth alive for you.
Take the twelve proverbs in each one of these verses and meditate on them one by one.  That’s the way to really grasp their meaning.  Take verse 6, for example.  If you learn the ways of God at an early age, you’ll want to teach them to your children when you become a parent!

Released by Wisdom – from the Original Version

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. v. 6 Memorize this verse if you are a parent—or will be one day. Meditate carefully on it and let the Holy Spirit teach your soul and sober you with the awesome responsibility that is yours.

Pause often as you prayerfully read these proverbs. Repeat them until they touch that place in your soul where they will rest secure. Look for that gentle shock to your spirit that is the sign from the Lord that the Word is hitting home.

What happens when you finally remember someone’s name that you were forgetting, or you recall something that you need to do and finally remember it? There is a release in your whole body that takes place. This is the way Proverbs can touch and release your spirit.

Proverbs 22

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More…
Example: Humility brings honor. v.4

Tuesdays are dedicated to the Old Testament books of history
and the Hebrew “Writings.”
In this season, Proverbs 22—23; 2 Kings; Ecclesiastes 5—8.

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 introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information