Listen to Pastor Nick read the Firestarter and the Gospel.

Countless numbers of communities across the earth encounter this passage today in worship. As soon as Jesus begins his ministry, he calls others to be with him. Just as the Alphabyte “Ice Dancing,” Jesus chooses not to “skate” alone, but rather to dance with others.

Take a place alongside these simple fishermen as Jesus calls them to be his disciples. Three of them would become his closest friends—Peter, James, and John. Perfect they were not. One would deny Jesus; two would become obsessed by positions of privilege in the new kingdom; all three would sleep during Jesus’s greatest moment of anguish in the garden.

God places a call upon you. Do not deny the call, be self-centered or sleep during it. Jesus will teach you how to dance with him.

Matthew 4:12–23

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…
Example: I leave all and follow You. v. 19

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year A, we generally read from the Gospel of St. Matthew.

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 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.