Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Exodus 10:21-29.

The eighth plague envelopes Egypt with locusts so severe, that the land is darkened. Crops are destroyed. Then the sun itself is darkened in the ninth plague. No one can be seen, but miraculously, there is light in the dwellings of the children of Israel.

The Egyptians revered Pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Amon-Ra. The Lord God of the Israelites is again revealed as more powerful than the gods of Egypt. Picture in your mind the total darkness and the lights glowing from the homes of the Israelites. God is with them and with his presence, comes a light that shines.

Jesus is the light of the world. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Come to your center. The light of faith shines within. Trust its glow.

Exodus 10:1—11:3

This is the first of three parts of the Torah Portion Bo (Come)
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 10:1—13:16

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Your light aglow within me 10:23

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 Matthew 4:1-11.

Jesus, the sinless one, is nonetheless tempted. Three major temptations come against Jesus in the desert, occurring between the baptism and the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. He takes upon himself the history of God’s people in the desert. Jesus is faithful where the Israelites were not. Last Sunday’s reference in John’s Gospel to Jesus as “The Lamb of God” is John’s way of seeing Jesus taking the place of the Paschal Lamb sacrificed in remembrance of the Exodus.

After the temptation, Capernaum becomes Jesus’s home-base. Miracles abound; immense crowds follow him. Immerse yourself in Jesus’s ministry. Give Jesus your history and let him transform its meaning, just as he did for our ancestors in the desert.

Matthew 4

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Not by bread, but by Your Word v. 4

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the seasons of Advent to Epiphany this year we read Luke 1 2; Matthew 1 7.

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 Galatians 4:1-7.

As though we are in the middle of a lovely garden, we find ourselves in the center of Paul’s teaching about our salvation through Jesus. Simply put, God has brought us into God’s house and family. You and I can do nothing to qualify us for such adoption. Only Jesus is Son, but in Jesus, we have all the rights and privileges of the first-born son.

Catch the intensity of Paul’s words of love for the churches in Galatia that he urgently wants to be convinced of the truths he expresses. Meditate carefully upon the analogy he makes between Ishmael and Isaac—the former, the child of a slave, the latter, of a free woman. Receive the full impact of being a free child of God in God’s own house.

Galatians 4

Find out all about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Spirit cries: “Abba! Father!” v. 6

Thursdays are dedicated to the letters of Paul, other letters,
the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
In the seasons of Advent to Epiphany this year we read Titus, Philemon, Galatians and Philippians.

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.