Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and Amos 1:1-5.

From the quiet, prayerful heights of the hills of pasture, Amos hears the word of the Lord in judgment to the nations that lie below.

Take your arm and make a grand sweep in a figure eight, beginning from your upper right to lower left, upper left to lower right. This marks the geographic relation of countries indicted by Amos, crisscrossing from the northeast to southwest, from the northwest to southeast. The cross closes in at the center, as Judah and Israel are included in the judgments.

The energy of the voice of the Lord flowing down the hills through Amos must match the energy of the evils to be requited. Rather than be threatened by a God who punishes, rejoice to know a God who sees to it that pernicious evils will come to an end.

Amos 1—2

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Slow to anger; quick to love

Mondays are dedicated to the reading of the Hebrew Prophets.
In the Pentecost Season this year we read Amos to Nahum; Lamentations 4—5 in the 9th Week.

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 the Gospel.

With the death of Jesus, the veil separating heaven and earth is lifted. Total access to God is restored once again as God makes a new creation in and through the risen Jesus.

The world for John is that autonomous, self-centered, exploitive reality remaining in darkness. The world has constructed a veil once again, obscuring the vision of God. The only vision that the world has is the narcissistic gaze into its own face. No wonder the world cannot receive Jesus … it does not even see him!

On Pentecost, the full release of the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples, freeing them from all connection with the world. No longer manipulated by fear of what the world can do, boldness and expansive joy fill their hearts. Join the crowd of those who receive Jesus in the Holy Spirit today and forever.

John 14:8–17

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: Spirit with us forever

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year C, during the Easter Season, we read from John’s Gospel, with Luke on the Seventh Week.

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 Numbers 7:84-89.

 Go beyond the details of the offerings and the repetitions of the objects offered, to the overall feeling of the passage. These are as the memorials offered when churches are built. The names of the families give a sense that they are part of the sacred building that is now complete and ready for worship.

The first and final verses of this chapter frame the content. Moses anoints the tabernacle and its furnishings, heightening the sense of the sacred. The passage closes with a description of how God communicates with the people—to Moses first, and through him to others. The chapter is about being in touch with God.

You have access to the presence of God through those speaking who are one with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. In Christ, you are greater than Moses!

Numbers 7:1–89

This is the first of three parts of the Torah Portion Naso (Census) 
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 4:21—7:89

Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: Unity in bond of peace Eph 4:3

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