Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and the reading.

The traditional day for the Ascension is last Thursday. The Lord has returned to heaven, completing the Father’s will in dying and rising for us, sitting at the right hand of God. Now the Spirit can come in complete measure.

The Gospel gathers the mystery of the Lord together in the moment of Ascension, also described in the opening chapter of the Book of Acts. There is one final instruction: “Wait in the city till you are clothed with power from on high.”

Luke’s Gospel ends as it began—in the Temple. From the lonely, aged Zechariah in the Holy of Holies, to the New Community raised by Jesus, the Temple is the place of God’s praise and glory. However, what is about to happen in the Holy Spirit is that the community itself becomes the temple, the place of God’s presence. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 24:44–53

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Returning to life in joy v. 52

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.

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 Leviticus 19:1-4;9-18.

Ceremonial and moral laws are considered again, as in Exodus and Deuteronomy. First on the list is honoring of father and mother. Four times Jesus quotes the second half of v. 18 as a summary of all the commandments with respect to our neighbor (Matthew 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27).
The manner of treating strangers is very sacred in the life of a Jew. Respect for them is due because the Jew was a stranger in the land of Egypt. The stranger and the sacred were very much understood together. Benedict, born about 480 A.D., the founder of western monasticism, stated in his Rule: Hospes venit, Christus venit: “A stranger comes, Christ comes.” The spirituality of Leviticus interprets all things as either connected to God, the sacred, or disconnected from God, the profane. Doing the will of God means that all choices are in keeping with what the Lord calls the person to be. Everything is potentially sacred.

Leviticus 19

This is the second of three parts of the Torah Portion Kedoshim (Holy) 
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.

Leviticus 19—20

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Holy, for Your are holy v. 2

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 John 16:16-28.

Verses of great promise are here that we need to commit to memory. “Whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you.”

This will happen because ironically, Jesus is going away. He plays on the notion of a “little while.” He is going to be taken away in the coming crucifixion, but soon after, he is coming again in the Holy Spirit, bringing a joy that no one can take away.

Think of it: no one can take away the joy that Jesus longs to give you in the Holy Spirit! You and I will go through various mood swings from those sinful tendencies of selfishness and fear that still lurk about, but they need not last very long. “In a little while” joy can return. Joy is to be the continual state of our lives as Christians.

John 16:16–33

Create your own Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: None can take my joy away. v. 22

Fridays are dedicated to the Gospels.
In the Seasons of Lent and Easter we read the Gospel of John.

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.