Listen to Pastor Nick read the “Firestarter” and Lamentations 3:19-36.

On August 13 of this year, Jewish people celebrate the Ninth of Av, the date in the Jewish calendar, which recalls the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem. It is a day of mourning and sadness for all of us, for the way in which the forces of darkness seek to reduce God’s presence to rubble in the world.

For Christians, the various attempts to eradicate the temple of the living God in the members of Christ’s body, the New Temple, is our way of sharing in the losses of our ancestors. Yet what martyr is celebrated with sadness! They live on in the temple in the heavenly Jerusalem.

The flow of mourning in this chapter is suddenly interrupted by verses 22–23. The late Thomas Chisholm, a former member of The First United Methodist Church in Vineland, N.J. (where I served as pastor from 2000 to 2008), composed the famous hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” He beautifully expresses the profound feelings of the writer of Lamentations.

Lamentations 3

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Mercies new every morning v. 23

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In this season we read Hosea; in the 9th week, we read Lamentations 3.

For the next several weeks, the Firestarters will be from the original version of this program. For these 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 reading.

Here we go again—wilderness and hunger. Does Jesus flash back to the desert and the forty-day fast, tempted by the devil to turn rocks into bread for himself? No, today will be different—no food for himself, but for others; no rocks will be magically turned to bread, but a boy’s small lunch explodes to feed a crowd.

Bring what you have to the Lord. God has made you good; the Lord will multiply your goodness so you too can feed a multitude. However, first nourish your spirit with the Word of the Lord, handing you miracle bread of his life right now. Walk with Jesus on top of the turbulent waters of your life. He will bring you through a new Exodus to life on the other side of anguish and pain.

John 6:1–21

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Bringing what I have to You v. 9

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year B, we read from the Gospel of Mark. However, from today until the last Sunday
in Pentecost, we’ll be following the lectionary which offers these Sundays
from the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John.

For the next several weeks, the Firestarters will be from the original version of this program. For these 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 27:12-23.

The generation of those who rebelled against the Lord in the desert has died. A new generation is prepared; they had no experience of Egypt, since they were born during the Exodus.

The Bible’s first instance of women’s rights is in the account of the five daughters of Zelophehad. This man had no sons; the daughters came to Moses requesting justice for them, so that they could have the inheritance of the family, which usually passed along by the sons alone. They present a delicate balance between assertiveness and yielding to the final decisions left in the hands of the Lord through his servant Moses.

Joshua is selected as the one to lead the people into the Promised Land. 27:14 recalls how the Lord denied entry to Moses, because he complained. Reflect on yourself in this regard.

Numbers 26:52—28:15

This is the second of three parts of the Torah Portion  Pinhas (Phineas)
.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 25:10—30:1

Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Finding my place in God’s plan

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 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.