Daily Read: Recent Episodes

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Daily Read is a podcast designed to bring you God’s Word, read aloud, with space to reflect and pray. Join folks from across InterVarsity as we stay connected to Jesus together. Our daily episodes feature a short passage of scripture read a couple of times, with some context and reflection questions to help you along the way.

Acts 20:1-12 (NIV)

Read by: Tammy Eckhart

Have you ever felt stuck spiritually in a place? Have you ever had to return to that place later in life?

In today’s passage we journey with Paul and his companions as they return from their journey to Macedonia to Troas. Traps was the place were they arrived after being blocked by the spirit, they did not know what to do or where to go and they had to wait on God. Then Paul had a dream of a man calling him to come across the sea, and so they went.

But now after having experienced the faithfulness of God they are headed back through this place on their way back but now filled with faith. They are returning to the place where they experienced confusion and ambiguity but now with stories of God’s faithfulness.

Some of us are faced with returning home to the place where we were once stumped in our faith. We have to face people or situations from our past and bring our new increased faith to bear there. Today’s passage gives us an example of that. What would it look like for you to return to a previous context with renewed faith?

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage stood out to you?
How might you relate to Paul and his companions in this story, how might you feel distant from their experience?
What would it look like for God to show up in spaces where you previously experienced spiritual ambiguity and hardship? What dead things would come to life?

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Acts 19:23-41 (NIV)

Do you think the Gospel you’ve heard or live out has the power to disrupt cultural and economic structures that don’t honor God?

Cities today are known for their architecture. Think of iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Empire State Building in New York City, or the Eiffel Tower in Paris. For Ephesus, the building that would have come to mind was the enormous temple to the Goddess Artemis. People from around the region would travel here to worship at her temple seeking fertility in their crops or their business or their families. And not totally unlike we do today, people would take a miniature version of whatever it is they came to ephesus to see home with them.

Metal workers across Ephesus would cash out on the sale of miniature replicas of the Goddess Artemis. But ever since this guy Paul showed up talking about the risen Jesus, fewer and fewer people seem to be interested in buying their replicas. In today’s passage this causes a riot, and it brings into sharp focus the reality that following Jesus has had an impact in society from the very beginning, and it should today too.

----------REFLECT----------

As you listened, and imagined yourself there, what if any emotions came up for you?
The cultural and economic realities of Ephesus were disrupted because people started to follow Jesus. What cultural or economic realities do you think would rightly be disrupted if people began to follow Jesus in your context?
The Gospel Paul preached was indeed to blame for challenging the status quo, but was preached in a way that didn’t allow anyone to hold anything against them. This often isn’t true of us, we’re either not challenging what we say and do, or we say and do things in such a way that people rightly find fault in us. Ask Jesus to help you walk this tension out today.

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Acts 19:13-22 (NIV)

Read by: Ginger Montalvo

Have you ever found yourself trying to use the name and the power of Jesus for your own gain?

In today’s passage, Luke contrasts two groups of people and their response when they recognize the power of Jesus. One one hand we see the seven sons of Sceva, and on the other hand we have the people of Ephesus, particularly a number of people who practiced sorcery. The sons of Sceva are a group of Jewish men who try to cast out a demon by invoking the name of Jesus without actually knowing him or submitting to him. This does not end well for them.

The people in Ephesus and especially those practicing sorcery, were all too familiar with all kinds of magic incantations and pagan practices. As we’ll see in tomorrow’s passage Ephesus was a city that was known for its pagan worship. So, while it may sound strange to us, sorcery in that time was much more normal and less terrifying than it is today. Sorcerers would help people deal with things that they could not control and charge them to do so, albeit by means that did not honor the LORD. But when they recognize the power of Jesus, their reaction can actually teach us a lot about what it means to submit to Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage surprised you? What did you not expect?
The sons of Sceva get whooped because they try to baptize actions that are not actually submitted or empowered by the LORD by saying “in the name of Jesus.” How are you tempted to do this? To associate something you’re doing with Jesus without actually following His leadership?
One drachma is equal to one day’s wages, 50,000 drachmas are equal to 137 years of wages. Those who saw Jesus' power not only confessed and repented, they abandoned that in which they had placed their hope and it cost them a lot. We may not have sorcery scrolls, but we absolutely have things that we place our hope in that pale in comparison to Jesus’ power. What is that for you?

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We'll be back Aug. 15 with the rest of Acts and Season 5!

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Acts 19:1-12 (NIV)

Read by: Theo Leu

As followers of Jesus we were made to live lives that flourish in word, deed, and power.

Today’s episode features a passage from Acts that introduces us to Paul’s work in Ephesus. Now there's a lot that we could say about to open our understanding about the city of Ephesus, but suffice it to say that it was a city of influence both civically and spiritually. Anyone approaching the city as Paul does in today’s reading would have seen the temple of the goddess Artimus, which was one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Divination and idol worship was a mainstay in Ephesus. And the first thing that Luke wants to tell us about this important city is that Paul finds disciples, but they have only received the baptism of John. These disciples haven’t even heard of the Holy Spirit. Imagine, trying to know and follow Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit working in you! Some of you might actually be able to imagine that, because we come from church traditions that don’t emphasize the Holy Spirit, and others can hardly imagine our church experiences without the Holy Spirit.

This passage can cause a lot of debates, but today as you listen I want to ask you to consider the ways in which you are living without the full power of the Spirit. Perhaps you are heavy in word, that is scripture and proclamation of truth, or maybe you’re strong in deed, serving others and fighting for Justice. But what about power?

----------REFLECT----------

What phrase stuck with you as you heard the passage?
The disciples had never even heard of the Holy Spirit, yet they were baptised as people who were trying to follow Jesus. As you think about the ways that you have learned to follow Jesus, are there any areas where you’ve missed large sections of fundamental teaching? Things that you've never heard of?
What areas of your life do you need the power of the Holy Spirit to round out the word and deed portions of your life? How can you make space for God’s spirit to come in and bring life to areas that have not moved? Ask Jesus to lead you in this time.

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Acts 18:18-28 (NIV)

Read by: Christy Gates

When you think about the people who mentored you in the faith, who comes to mind?

One person who I think of, when I think of my early days of following Jesus, is a man by the name of Ken McIntosh. I worked at a law firm while I was taking classes at a community college and serving the church as a fairly new chirstian. Ken was one of the founding partners of the firm and from time to time, even though he was retired, would work out of the office. And he would sit there with me listening mostly, and telling me stories about his life.

Every once in a while, when I was talking about some aspect of faith, he would begin to stand up, which took some time for a person with two knee replacements…. He would literally begin to walk out of the room we were sitting in and drop some questions like, are you sure what that passage means? Or, have you thought about that situation in this way? And he would just leave! I didn’t know it at the time but he was slowly and carefully loosening the misconceptions I had about Jesus and God’s story. He knew where I was coming from and carefully picked at the vanier that would keep me from seeing God clearly. He didn’t finish the job, but he did just enough to make it bother me in the best way.

Today’s episode of Daily read features Pracilla and Aquilla’s discipleship of Apollos. Notice there is a woman who seems to be equally responsible for giving understanding to a leading church planter in the early church.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stood out to you the most?
The text says that Apollos was teaching accurately about Jesus, but that Pracilla and Aquilla explained the way more adequately to him. Consider the difference between accuracy and adequacy. Who in your life has helped you come to know and communicate about Jesus more adequately?
Is there someone that you know who you might be called to care for in the way that Pracilla and Aquilla cared for Apollos, to help them understand more adequately the way of Jesus? Take a moment to think of and perhaps pray for that person.

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Acts 18:1-17 (NIV)

Read by: Javelin Lewis

Sometimes God calls us to leave a place, sometimes he calls us to stay, the key is learning to discern the difference.

Today’s passage in Acts brings us to Paul’s time in Corinth. Now, Corinth was the capital of a Roman province and was extremely steeped in it’s Roman identity if you will. Some said it was more Roman than Rome itself. As notorious as port cities were and are today, ancient Corinth had 2 ports which today are a canal connecting two important bodies of water. And unlike other cities that Paul preaches in, he’s called to stay in Corinth for about 18 months.

Like Paul received a vision to go from Troas to Macedonia, he receives a vision to stay because the LORD has many of his people in this place. A couple of key people are Pricilla and Aquila, two jews who were expelled from Rome by the emperor Claudius. Ancient historians say that Claudius ordered this expulsion because there were riots among the Jews about a man named Christus. Pricilla and Aquila are mentioned fondly in both Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and the Romans. Paul begins to work as a tentmaker along with them as a way of supporting himself, which he likely did before now, but without as much consistency because of how often he was moving from place to place.

Today’s passage also highlights a concession made by the proconsul Gallio who basically decided to not make a decision for the Jews who were angered by Paul. This ends up extending the same rights that the Jews enjoyed from Rome to the followers of Jesus.

One overarching takeaway from today’s passage is that sometimes God says go, and sometimes he says stay. And that often that guidance only comes just in time and is sometimes not super clear.

----------REFLECT----------

What struck you about today’s passage?
The LORD obviously cares about Paul, about Corinth, about the Jews who were expelled, the Jews in Corinth, along with the gentile in Corinth all the way to Gallio. What strikes you about God’s character towards each party in this passage?
Have you ever been in need of the LORD’s guidance in terms of when to leave or when to stay in a situation? For Paul to hear that the LORD’s people were in this place would have come as a huge encouragement to him. Perhaps you can take a moment to ask the LORD for encouragement in regards to the decision you have to make or perhaps the decisions you’re walking out.

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Acts 17:16-34 (NIV)

Read by: Kathy Haug

Do you know anyone who believes there might be a God but we probably can’t know him, or who thinks of the world as spiritual>

On today’s episode of Daily Read, Paul finds himself invited before two groups of greek philosophers that might fall into similar camps. He is waiting in Athens and is shocked at how many idols there are everywhere. So he begins to confront them and goes to the marketplace to do so. And there he runs into a group of epicurean philosophers and the stoic philosophers. And understanding who these folks are is a key to understanding today’s passage and what it means for us today.

First we have to understand that philosophers were much more religious than how we might think of philosophers today. Epicurean philosophers believed that the world and whatever gods exist are very far apart from each other and they don’t really interact. So, we should just get on with our lives in a way that maximizes pleasure from a quiet existence. Today this shows up in what we call the pursuit of happiness. Then the Stoics believed that divinity lay within the present world and within each human being. So, we should pursue virtue as a way of unlocking this inner divine reality. Today this might show up in how people think about being spiritual or listening to their inner voice.

Both of these philosophies are easy to mistake with orthodox Christian faith, but are in fact very much opposed to it. We see this in what could be read as encouragement and curiosity. They call him a babbler, which in a culture of high rhetoric is a slap in the face, and to say that he’s preaching foriegn divinities is what Socrates was accused of before he was killed generations before. So, Paul appeals to the resurrection of Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

How does Paul describe the difference between the LORD and the idols of Athens?
Have you ever been ridiculed for having faith in Jesus? Recall one of those moments. How did you respond, did you get defensive, did you disengage, do you lean in, or something else?
Is there anyone that you know who might think there is a god, but thinks that it’s probably a long way off and unknowable, or who is looking for connection to the divine in the world apart from the Holy Spirit? Take a moment to pray for them and consider today how you might share bravely about the risen Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Acts 17:1-15 (NIV)

Read by: Courtland Hopkins

When we say that Jesus is LORD we by implication say that other things are not.

Today on Daily Read, we see that from the very beginning, followers of Jesus have, in giving their allegiance to Jesus, had to withhold their allegiance to other kings and kingdoms. It’s not as obvious to us as we read the text in English, but in Greek the word for Christ is Christos, which literally means anointed one. And in the ancient world, to be called anointed is to either be thought of as a priest or a King. Jesus was fine with both, but Caesar, who referred to himself as the anointed one, was not fond of competition for the title. Therefore, when each person began to follow Jesus and say that Jesus is LORD, they were also saying that Caesar is not.

In our modern world there are ways to grasp how monumental this would have been, but it can’t be understood as denying allegiance to a single leader, that’s all too common in our day. Rather it would be more comprehensive than that. Caesar controlled virtually everything, to deny allegiance to him was to cut against the grain of society itself. It would be like saying today that Jesus is LORD and prosperity is not, or Jesus is LORD and comfort is not, or Jesus is LORD and America or democracy even is not.

This kind of singularity allegiance caused issues then and it causes issues today.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in this passage?
What is different about this interaction with the Thessolonians verses the cities and villages that Paul has visited before?
Would the same charge be brought against you, that you are defying a Caesar-like decree and calling another one King and LORD? Or are you sharing your allegiance with the ruling forces of the day that draw us to comfort, greed, hatred, lust, or and the rest?

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Acts 16:16-39 (NIV)

Read by: Derekah Kingery

When the Spirit of God shows up in a place, what do you expect to be transformed?

Today’s story from Acts helps us see the kinds of things that get flipped upside down and inside out when God moves in power. And what we expect to be transformed by Jesus says a lot about how we view Jesus and his Kingdom, and the authority that he has. When they Spirit of God shows up in a place, transformation begins to take place on at least 3 levels.

One level is at the individual level, lives are transformed, individuals are set free, people are healed, and someone new walks out the otherside. Another is at a group level. Not only do individuals transform and experience restoration, but groups of individuals that belong to one another begin to be transformed. Families are redeemed, households are saved, communities are restored, and a new group is created. And then there is transformation at a systems level, this kind of transformation can be a bit more tricky to spot but if you listen carefully you’ll hear it. This kind of change upends the normal order of things and creates more just, more whole, more righteous ways of doing and being as a society. Systems of oppression are broken, economic bondage is loosed, the old ways of doing things are replaced by a way that is more closely aligned with God’s heart.

In today’s passage we see these three levels being transformed as Paul and Silas cast out spirits, are arrested, and see an entire household rescued by Jesus through an earthquake. In each of these levels, human and spiritual forces that work against Jesus succumb to the authority of Jesus. So as you listen, pay attention to where you see these levels being transformed.

----------REFLECT----------

What levels did you notice in this passage, was there one example that stood out to you?
The woman who had the spirit cast out of her was individually transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it also transformed the group level in that the dynamic of control and profit that her owners had was gone. And it quickly got raised to a systems level as they went to the authorities complaining that Paul and Silas were causing an uproar. Are there issues today that you can think of that need God’s transformation at all three levels?
In the same way that the evil one can hold individuals and groups and systems captive, the LORD can use individuals, groups and systems to bring about his Goodness, like he did with the Jailer, the Jailers household and the magistrate, and the system of Roman citizenship. How might you pray for God to work in all these levels considering the issues that came to mind from the previous question.

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Acts 16:1-15 (NIV)

Read by: Kim Koi

It’s one thing to trust God when the way forward is obvious. It’s way more complicated when the way forward is unclear and filled with questions.

Today’s passage on Daily Read shows us just how complicated trying to participate in God’s work in the world can be. Paul and his companions are on their way through the province where they had previously planted churches announcing the decision from Jerusalem that Gentiles do not need to be circumcised to belong to the family of God.

During this time they meet Timothy, who’s mother is jewish and his father is greek. This makes him a jew by birth, but uncircumsized by his greek father. Paul wants Timothy to join them in their ministry, and circumcises Timothy. Hold on, didn’t we just decide that circumcision wasn’t needed. That’s right, it’s not, not to be included in God’s Family. But the work they are called to required them to go to the synagogues first, which means they need to be ritually acceptable to get in the door. Pauls not contradicting himself, rather he and his companions are committed to doing everything they can to not create unnecessary obstacles for the message they’re delivering.

If this isn’t complicated enough, they have been kept by the Spirit from preaching in Asia, which is basically everything on the left between them and the sea, and as they travel, the Spirit continues to block them. So basically they can’t go right or left and end up at Troas, which is a coastal city… just waiting. Now this isn’t just a day’s worth of travel, it’s like a 200 mile walk. Three weeks. Sandals, dangerous roads, new companions… then a dream.

Sometimes we experience being left with nowhere else to go, feeling blocked by God. But sometimes it’s because we lack the imagination of where God could call us. Paul sees a vision, and even though it’s a call to a place way outside of the box for a pharisee turned missionary from Tarsus, he still can’t quite imagine what he actually finds there.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in today’s passage?
Paul has Timothy circumcised in order to not create barriers to the good news among the Jews they’re preaching to. It’s clear from the last chapter that Paul doesn’t think this is necessary, but he and Timothy do what it takes to appeal to the people they’re called to. Are there ways that you need to limit yourself, change behaviour to appeal to people God’s called you to serve?
Paul and his companions find Lydia, not a man waving his arms. For 200 miles they couldn’t imagine that God would call them to Macedonia, but even in the call they couldn’t imagine finding women, yet they enter in and follow Jesus. How might the Spirit be stretching your imagination when it comes to where and who he might be calling you to serve?

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Acts 15:36-41 (NIV)

When you have a sharp disagreement with someone, how do you know when it’s time to go separate ways?

Today on Daily Read, we find Paul and Barnabas arguing over whether or not they should bring John Mark along with them as they plan to go back and visit the churches they’d planted. Paul thinks they should not bring him because he wasn’t reliable the last time they went, Barnabas seems to have wanted to give him a second chance.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen some pretty significant disagreements with people I love and respect, folks who I’ve served alongside in ministry. It’s hard! Now sometimes these disagreements have been because me, the other person, or both of us are sinning. But other times, we’ve both been right, and the question was about who’s gonna do what. Will we align around one side, one of us give up and let go, or is it better to part ways?

There is no clear answer to the trouble we see in today’s passage, but it gives us a window into the presence of conflict in the early church. It happened then, it will happen now, the questions is are we in disagreement over the mission or something else?

----------REFLECT----------

Who do you think you’d have agreed with, John Mark shouldn’t go, or he should get a second chance?
Think of a recent, significant argument that you had with someone you love and respect. What were you arguing over, and what happened. Did you give in, did they? Or did you decide to agree to disagree? How do you feel about it right now?
It’s not clear whether it’s the same Mark, but Paul tells Timothy to bring Mark to him because he is very useful in ministry. If this is the same Mark, then a lot has changed, there has been a reset, there’s been redemption. Is there someone who you’ve disagreed with who you need to reach out to?

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Acts 15:22-35 (NIV)

Read by: Sarina Chatman

When you hear about ethical and moral boundaries, do you hear them as limitations or invitations?

Today’s episode of Daily Read picks up where yesterday’s passage left off. A council has gathered in Jerusalem to discern what to do about the growing number of Gentiles who are receiving the Holy Spirit and beginning to follow the way of Jesus. So far we’ve heard some say that they think the gentiles should be required to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, while others have objected saying “we should not make it difficult for the gentiles who are turning to God.”

James speaks up and suggests three things to abstain from. For a more explanation listen to yesterday’s episode. The thing I wonder is, what do we typically hear when we hear rules and moral boundaries from the Bible. Do we think, here goes an ancient text telling us how to live in the modern world? Or do we think, these are the rules and if you don’t abide by them you’re done for? It’s not that simple, is it?

James suggests these regulations not out of a way to filter out people, but a way to help break down the barrier to them belonging. This is the bare minimum!, don't operate like the rest of the world. The people wanting circumcision and torah to be observed weren’t as interested in earning their salvation as is often said, they were concerned with the integrity of being set apart from the world and belonging as God’s people. The reality now is that that marking out and that belonging is centered on the Grace of Jesus and the Holy Spirit!

----------REFLECT----------

What is your initial reaction to this passage?
The people who gathered to hear this letter from the council received the message as encouraging. What would you find encouraging about the letter from the council, if you were to hear something like it read today?
Sometimes our relationship to rules causes us to mistake the good news of Jesus with the gospel of behaviour modification. We can believe that as long as we don’t do this or that then we’re good. Or on the other hand as long as we do this act of justice or say this thing the right way at the right time, somehow we’re in the right. Rather, how can you embrace the good news that Jesus invites you into as you are into a light of Righteousness and Justice?

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Acts 15:12-21 (NIV)

Read by: Hugo Castro

If God is gracious and loving, then what are the boundaries of behaviour for those of us who begin to follow Jesus?

This is a part of the questions that the followers of Jesus are trying to work out in today’s passage? Now that the Holy Spirit is moving in and including the Gentiles in the family of God, what does it look like to walk together and be set apart as God’s holy people? Some say that they need to be circumcised and follow Torah.

Now, this passage is full of contention and debate around how we should interpret it, but here are some helpful thoughts. Basically James says that we shouldn’t make it hard for Gentiles to turn to God, instead let’s tell them to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, sexual immorality, and from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. Some take this as a basic set of guidelines to keep from offending the Jewish Christians. Others think it’s a narrowed set of basics that are being prescribed. And still others probably think that it’s a problem with scripture and don’t like that it’s there.

However some context will help. First, these abstaintions were not new, they were actually given to the Israelites in the wilderness with provisions for the gentiles living among them in the wilderness. So we can hear James just reaching back to that tradition. Some Jewish scholars point back to Noah, and the laws given to him. And others the James is pointing to the need for Gentiles to no longer participate in the Pagan temple practices which included all these things.

All of this is probably at play, but at the end of the day, Gentiles didn’t need to adopt the Law of Moses because they probably already would have if they wanted to. But they also couldn’t go on living life as usual, and if they can get along with their Jewish neighbors without causing them to stumble even better.

----------REFLECT----------

What challenged you in this passage?
The verse about David's Fallen tent is a ref. To the temple and God’s desire to restore it, and he does so by placing his presence not in a new temple but in humans where there are new creatures. How do these abstensions make sense when you think about humans as temples?
Sexual immorality is actually the most clear abstention. But what about the other two? Food sacrificed to idols was about not participating in idol worship, and the rules about strangled animals and blood was about respect for life. In what ways might the Spirit want to restore you, his temple, in respect to our modern idols, you sexuality, and your view of the value of life?

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Acts 15:1-11 (NIV)

How do you respond when someone goes back on an agreement they’ve made with you?

Today on Daily Read Paul and Barnabas return from their missionary journey to tell of all the ways that the Holy Spirit was moving among the Gentiles. It’s happening! What began with Cornelius is now happening in far off cities and towns. But certain folks are not completely satisfied with the news. And they let their disapproval be heard. They say that the gentiles who come to faith in Jesus need to be circumcised and follow the Law. The only problem is that’s not what they said about Cornelius when Peter came telling of what the Spirit had done in him and his household, and Peter speaks up about it.

But we need to try to understand where these pro circumcision folks are coming from. Circumcision was a visible sign that marked out God’s people in the world. God promised to make them a nation that would bless all the other nations and so (pardon the details but) everytime a jewish child was conceived, keeping that covenant hope alive, it was done so with a visible reminder that it was God that was multiplying them and who would sustain the next generation. So to do away with that practice is a big deal. How can you be covenant people without that marker?

The point is, Jesus fulfilled the role that Israel was given by God, and in his flesh, all the nations of the earth could belong to the family of God. It’s this act of Grace that is the new act of inclusion in the redeemed people of God, and to impose the former covenant marker on the nations that are now marked out by the Spirit is to fail in seeing that the hope that the sign pointed to has finally come.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you?
The leaders who bring up circumcision are going back on what Peter thought was settled with Cornelius now that they see that it’s not a one off conversion. What do you think was motivating their suggestion that the gentiles be circumcised and keep torah?
Sometimes our adherence to certain rules and regulations, even ones that gave us a deep sense of identity can turn out to be a way to discriminate between us and them. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever done this to another? Bring this before the father who knows your name.

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Acts 14:21-28 (NIV)

Read by: David Luginbuhl

What kind of advice have you received from the people who are further ahead in the faith?

Today on Daily read Paul and Baranbas retrace their journey on their way back to Antioch. And as they do they leave the churches with a word of encouragement. What kind of thing would you say, maybe something about staying in God’s Word, maybe something about loving your neighbors, what about something to do with growing in their ability to share the good news themselves.

I suppose that Paul and Barnabas had plenty of that kind of thing to share with the newly planted churches. But the thing that Luke records and brings to this part of the story is this: he says that they encouraged the new disciples to remain true to the faith saying, “we must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” I don’t know about you, but that’s not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of something encouraging. Unless you know suffering. If you know suffering, and the faith that you are remaining true to is in the resurrection from the dead, then it is indeed the most encouraging thing you could hear.

Sometimes we get so caught up in what we need to be doing, how we need to be growing, ways that we could be working that we forget that the deeper call is to remain true to the faith. When we lose sight of that we lose hope. But when we fix our eyes on it, we can endure whatever it takes to see God’s Kingdom.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in today’s passage?
What kind of advice do you tend to give or receive? Does it line up with the encouragement in this passage? Bring to mind people in your life who are enduring hardship, how might you encourage them today to remain true to the faith?
Paul and Barnabas, didn’t leave these disciples without a way for them to continue to be invested in. Sometimes we can find ourselves in seasons where we are living off of the words of people that we don’t have a relationship with. They appointed local leaders to oversee these new disciples. Who is pouring into your life? Take a moment to thank God for them, or ask God for someone like that.

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Acts 14:8-20 (NIV)

Read by: Chandra Crane

Have you ever tried to explain the good news and find that you are being completely misunderstood?

Today’s passage is comical in that Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for God’s and worshiped on the one hand. And on the other it’s quite troubling to hear that as they were trying to get away from that, they were caught by a group of Jews outside the city and Paul was stoned.

We have to be aware of what stories people see themselves living inm. You see, the city in which Paul and Barnaba find themselves is Lystra, and legend had it that this area had received an ancient visitation from Zues and Hermes, to Greek gods. In the story of this visitation, only two people received the gods graciously and the rest of the population was destroyed in a flood. See they saw themselves living in a story where distant Gods either had favor on them or not and might show up any minute and destroy them. So even when they encounter the truth they are hearing it through the story they knew.

It raises the question, what stories to the people we love and serve and witness to see themselves living in. Some see themselves living in the therapeutic story, where life is about enjoyment and comfort and security, others see it as a story of progress, still others a story of liberty and power. Consider what stories your communities have in mind when they encounter the good news.

----------REFLECT----------

What struck you about today’s passage?
How have your communities' preloaded stories shaped the meaning that they make of the Gospel? They may not start sacrificing animals to a preacher, but they might expect a certain set of blessings, or comfort, or lack of hardship? What distortions take place?
The problems with crowds that are easily persuaded is that anything the sounds right can win them over. This crowd gets used by Jewish leaders outside their jurisdiction who use the crowd to trap paul and stone him. What do you think makes Paul willing to suffer life this?

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Acts 14:1-7 (NIV)

Read by: Brennan Takayama

Are you willing to proclaim the good news even when the results might include division?

It can be difficult in our society today to say things, especially around the truth of the gospel, that we know might very well contribute to the division that is so prevalent in our world. Some of us might prefer to step away from that kind of thing, preferring not to cause any kind of conflict. So, we stay quiet and we assume that THE truth is better left as our truth. Others of us, may not be able to focus on anything but the conflict and we end up in endless debates with folks who are just as fixed on the conflict. We neglect those who are truly open while we batter those who are at the total other end of the spectrum from us.

On today’s episode of Daily Read, Paul and Barnabas don’t do that. They neither run away from the conflict, nor do that get pulled down into the mud. They do the work of faithful proclamation to all those who are open to it, even if it means that some would be actively turned against them. And, yet they don’t stick around to get abused for it either, they say what needs to be said and they move on unencumbered. Oh let it be so with us LORD.

----------REFLECT----------

What phrase in this passage did you find most intriguing?
Has there ever been a time when you have been so afraid to cause division that you’ve softened or adapted the good news to the point where it barely resembled what we know to be the good news? Or, have you ever gotten stuck in an argument with a person or group way too long? To the point where no matter how convincing you were the relationship was dead. What do you think was motivating you?
Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly for the LORD. There is a great book on evangelism that helps us understand boldness as the healthy place between timidity and pushiness. Where do you tend to be, timid or pushy? Ask the Holy Spirit for what you need to become Bold.

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Acts 13:42-52 (NIV)

Imagine the people who are misfits in your church, chapter, or community, what would you feel if they became the majority in your group?

This is what we see begin to happen in today’s passage on Daily Read. You see the reason Paul tells the story the way he does, is to help people see that the whole point was for Jesus to do for Israel what they could not do for themselves. That it’s in Jesus that God would fulfill Israel’s vocation to be a blessing to all the nations. It’s happened, the promise that was made to Abraham has been radically released in the narrative, and the reaction of the people whose whole identity was centered on that promise was jealousy.

It’s getting more and more difficult to be a follower of Jesus in our world today who can’t see the tensions that exist within the church across racial, cultural, economic, and political lines. Like the rest of the world we have tended to retreat to our corners and huddle up. Those of us who are in churches or chapters with a large majority and a small minority might find this passage especially challenging. What would you be tempted to feel if all of a sudden your identity group became the extreme minority? Think about your community and imagine it flipping or getting a rapid growth of people who’ve never been a part of it before. Be honest with yourself…

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage stood out to you?
The promise of God to Abraham was to make his descendants a blessing to all the nations. Yet, here we find that moment beginning to happen and the reaction is jealousy. This shows that they had lost sight of the important things. Where might you, your church, your chapter or your community be at risk of losing sight of the main things?
Consider moments when you’ve reacted to the movement of the Holy spirit with Jealousy. Take a moment to repent of that, and then take the rest of the day to consider what it would be like to meet even the most costly movements of the Spirit with joy and gladness.

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Acts 13:32-41 (NIV)

Read by: Tim Craig

Forgiveness. It’s something that doesn’t really come easy to us. I can’t think of a day since our younger daughter has been old enough to talk that we didn’t have to intervene in some sort of scuffle between our girls. Most of the time they play pretty well together, but at some point one of them does something that hurts the other’s feelings, body or pride. The anger of young children is just really honest. So, after we work out what happened and who did what, and after everyone has a chance to calm down, we talk about forgiveness. And it’s hard. But if we’re honest, it’s just as hard or harder for us as we grow up. And generally the hurts are deeper and more significant the older we get.

Today’s passage continues Paul’s speech in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch. Jesus must be the Messiah, says Paul, because unlike David, Jesus’ body did not see decay. But the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection is something the Jewish people didn’t see coming. Somehow through the death and resurrection of Jesus there is just this wide open offer of forgiveness. A freedom from guilt and a freedom from sin that has never before been on the table without a lot of sacrifices and rituals under the law.

Listen now as Paul opens up this new idea to those listening. Imagine how it might sound to them, in their context, and ask yourself what it means to you.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
For the Jews, this was amazing news. Paul warns them not to dismiss it but to welcome it, even if it seems hard to believe. What about the Gospel feels hard for you to believe?
When we talk about forgiveness, there are a lot of dynamics at play. There are those we hope will forgive us… There are those we really have a hard time offering forgiveness to… But there’s also this very real, open invitation—that everyone who believes in Jesus is forgiven and set free from sin. How does that reality sink in when you think about yourself? How does it feel when you think about those who need your forgiveness? Bring those thoughts and feelings to the LORD today.

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Acts 13:13-31 (NIV)

What answer comes to mind when you hear the question: what do you believe?

Today on Daily Read, Paul finds himself with an opportunity to exhort the people in Pisidian Antioch. And he uses this opportunity to tell the story of God’s people and how it leads to Jesus. Now some of us listening are leaders in ministries or we are following Jesus and we desire to be able to share our faith. For others, your faith might be just beginning to blossom or may even be in recovery, and the question of what you believe is one that you’re actively pursuing.

So, when you think about that question, what do you believe? What comes to mind? Is it a sequence of statements that present a rational argument, is it an "if-then" statement about God’s act of salvation in Jesus… or is it more? Our hope for each of you is that when you think of the answer to that question a story comes to mind—that you don’t just see yourself with a simple "yes/no" choice to make that punches a ticket to the good place, but a grand narrative to step into and in which to live your life.

Today Paul presents a summary of that story that centers around King David and the resurrection of Jesus. David said in Psalm 16, that God will “not allow [his] Holy One to undergo decay.” Paul demonstrates how that was pointing to Jesus. As you listen today, consider how much of this is included in YOUR sense of the Story of God’s faithfulness to us.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of the story that Paul tells stands out to you?
As we hear of the failure and stubbornness of Israel in the wilderness and remember the moral failing of King David, we realize the graciousness in the gift of Jesus. God is faithful in the face of our failure. How do you need God’s faithfulness today as you consider ways that you have failed?
It was customary in synagogues to allow visitors to give a fresh word of exhortation because of the familiarity that Jews naturally had. Paul knew this opportunity to share was likely and he positioned himself there intentionally to have an opportunity. What spaces do you naturally have that might open up moments where you might be invited to share the good news?

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Acts 13:1-12 (NIV)

Read by: Megan Littel

Do you ever wish that the work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus would just be easier?

In today’s episode, we look at the first encounter that Paul and Barnabas have on their first missionary journey. They were set apart to proclaim the word of God, and as soon as they get on their way they encounter opposition. We’ll hear that the proconsul, which was basically the governor, was eager to hear Paul and Barnabas, but a sorcerer begins to try to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

I don’t know about you, but most often when I’ve thought about and learned about sharing my faith or teaching about Jesus, I’m presented with two scenarios. On one hand, we imagine that whoever we’re sharing with is totally hostile and we prepare with our best apologetics and come ready for a fight. On the other hand we imagine that people will be falling all over themselves waiting to hear what we have to say. These have rarely been my experience.

Rather, I’ve found that even when folks find Jesus appealing, they are often distracted by people or systems or cultural forces that want their allegiance for themselves. What do we do with that?

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this story stood out to you?
If you were to find yourself facing someone who was trying to keep someone from hearing about Jesus and was known to have power that was not submitted to the LORD, whether spiritual or otherwise… what would you do? Is your response to that sort of thing fight, flight, or freeze?
Paul could have over-functioned in this scenario. Instead of being empowered by the Spirit to speak the truth to evil forces around him, he could have argued, tried to persuade or fight in his own strength, or he could have disengaged. How can you be like Paul and operate out of the power of the Spirit?

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Acts 12:18-25 (NIV)

What does it take for you to trust God in ambiguity?

Today’s episode of Daily Read brings us to a transitional passage between the first half of Acts and the second half of Acts. Up to this point we’ve seen Jesus empower his disciples with the Holy Spirit to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. But the question is how? Well, so far the Holy spirit has broken down barriers of difference, moved in the hearts and minds of his followers to move across cultural and ethinc boundaries and called Saul to follow Jesus.

Followers of Jesus, now known as Christians in Antioch, are growing in number and spreading out, but in terms of that original commission, Antioch is hardly the “ends of the earth.” They stand at a moment that is often difficult for many of us in our own lives. And that is the time between the moment we hear the promise of God and the time that we see that promise fulfilled.

The story of Acts is a story of trusting the LORD to do what the LORD is going to do in his own timing. As you listen to this passage that really just provides a bit of historical context, consider the things that you are longing to see the LORD do in your life and enter into the ambiguity with the early Church.

----------REFLECT----------

What has stood out to you thus far in the book of Acts?
As you’ve listened to the book of Acts, what has struck you about the young church and its relationship with the Holy Spirit. How have you been encouraged by this relationship? How have you been challenged or stretched?
Jesus told the Disciples in Acts 1 that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Is there a calling or a promise that you’ve received from the Lord that you are still waiting on? Bring that longing to the Lord now and contend for His will to be done.

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Acts 12:1-17 (NIV)

Read by: Adriana Abuchar

Have you ever seen the LORD make a way out of no way in your life?

On today’s episode of Daily Read we hear about the miraculous rescue of Peter from prison. Today’s passage begins to wrap up the story of what’s going on with the twelve disciples. From this point on the story revolves around specific leaders and then begins to follow the missionary journeys of Paul.

But today’s passage begins with the report that James, the brother of John has been killed by King Herod. Herod was the puppet king that was sold out to the Roman empire. So yeah, a growing group of Jews splintering off going around saying that Jesus is King presents a bit of a problem for Herod. He meets this challenge with violence.

After James is killed, Herod had Peter arrested. Peter then gets set free by the angel of the LORD and returns to the disciples in Jerusalem. But this presents a problem for the observant listener. Why does the LORD save Peter and not James? For any of us who have seen God make a way out of no way, and for all of those who still need a way where there is no way, this passage comes as a challenge. As you listen to the passage, hold this tension before the LORD.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage stood out to you?
Luke tells us that the Church was praying earnestly for Peter. No one in the passage could imagine a way for things to change, and could hardly grasp what was happening when they did. But they prayed… earnestly. Who needs your earnest prayer? Who needs to be delivered by the LORD?
James and Peter have a different fate. Does this mean that God failed James? Does this mean that God favored Peter? How do these tensions tend to land in your heart? Sit with the Lord in that tension today and ask the Holy Spirit to speak.

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Acts 11:19-30 (NIV)

What do you think of when you hear the word “Christian?”

Today on Daily Read we start to really see the early church emerge as a people... as a family—a family that includes different ethnicities, cultures, social and economic stations, in different parts of the Roman world. But strangely, Luke tells us that the gospel was spreading out from Jerusalem at least in part because the believers were scattered after Stephen’s death. Surely they were afraid, yet the persecution they were experiencing led them not to disown their faith but to spread it. In the history of the church this has happened many times. On the flip side, in the times and places where the church is comfortable and powerful it tends to die.

As you listen to the passage, consider this. And consider your own experience with the church. Many of us have been doing church mostly online for a year now, but regardless of Sunday services, how do you feel about the church? How do you feel about being called a Christian?

----------REFLECT----------

What caught your attention in the passage?
When Barnabas arrived at Antioch, it says he “saw what the grace of God had done.” Where in your story, in your family or community, have you seen the grace of God at work?
Luke tells us that the followers of Jesus at Antioch were the first disciples who were called Christians. When you think of that word, what comes to mind? Is it a cultural identity? A religion? The Greek word Christianos simply means “follower of Christ.” How does your life or your faith community follow Christ? What might need to change to further live into this name?

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Acts 11:1-18 (NIV)

Have you ever found yourself tempted to stand in God’s way by controlling how something goes or refusing to participate in something God's clearly doing?

There is a reflection on humility available to us in today’s passage. As Peter returns to Jerusalem, and as word spreads that the Gentiles have received the Holy Spirit, he finds himself with some explaining to do. Now, remember it’s no small thing to say that a group of Gentiles could belong in God’s new family without being circumcised, or committing to the food laws and Sabbath observance. So tensions are high.

It may seem hard to relate to this passage today. We don’t require people to be circumcised or not, eat certain foods or not, observe a strict Sabbath or not… do we? As I name those things, the things we do require begin to come to mind. Think about it, we may not explicitly require those exact things but sometimes how a person presents themselves, where they are from, how they vote or how they spend their money changes our willingness to engage what the Spirit might do in their lives.

As you listen to this passage, bring to mind groups that do not tend to align with your church, chapter or community.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stood out to you?
For Peter it was the circumcised believers who began to criticize him. But what about you, who might come to you with questions and criticism, depending on who you might care for across differences?
Peter says, “who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way.” He saw the Spirit fall on him and the other disciples at pentecost, and it’s this reasoning that leads him to say this. That is Humility. He acknowledges how utterly gracious it was to receive the gift of the spirit, they didn’t merit it, so they can’t control it. How might this help you take a posture of humility towards the Spirit’s work in others?

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Acts 10:23b-48 (NIV)

Read by: Christy Gates

When God calls you to engage people who are different from you culturally, socially, ideologically, do you engage for the sake of tolerance or for the sake of transformation?

In today’s episode of Daily Read, the last several passages come to their climax as Peter responds to the LORDs invitation through Cornelius to come to Caesarea and enter a Roman centurion’s house. Cornelius represents so much of what has oppressed this religious minority in Judea throughout the lifetime of Peter and for generations before him. Peter represents the pathway to knowing and being in communion with God, the law and the religious system was fashioned in such a way that even the most god-fearing gentiles would have trouble getting close to God.

So while Peter was in a position of weakness in relation to Cornelious, Cornelius was at the mercy of Peter in his desire to follow Yahweh. Peter knows that God shows no partiality, but as the Spirit leads him into this cross-cultural experience, he has a choice between a posture of tolerance, or an openness to transformation.

As you listen to the passage, pay attention to the moments when Peter leans into curiosity, looking for God’s transformative work among a household that would otherwise be an enemy. Because what he finds, not only transforms Cornelius and his household, but Peter and the future of the Church and the world.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage sticks out to you as most significant?
As Peter approaches the house, Cornelius runs and falls at his feet to worship him. Can you imagine? When did Peter ever imagine a Roman Centurion bowing to him? Yet, he does not indulge in this power differential, he says to Cornelius “stand up.” This goes beyond tolerance in pursuit of a transformative dignity. How can you give dignity to people who are different from you?
Throughout the passage it’s the Holy Spirit who is initiating the transformative work in Cornelius and his household. Before Peter could even finish what he was saying the Holy Spirit took over and fell on those gathered with Cornelius. God invites Peter into what he’s wanting to do and uses him there. How might God be inviting you into what he’s doing in folks who are different from you?

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Acts 10:9-23a (NIV)

Read by: Amanda Koch

If someone you consider an enemy sent an invitation for you to come to their house, what would it take for you to respond?

Today on Daily Read, Peter receives just that. Cornelius has been prompted by the LORD to send for Peter in Joppa, asking him to come to his house. We learned yesterday about Cornelius and the power and influence he had, and how the Jews in Judea would feel anything but trust for roman officers.

What's more is that, not only does this invitation fly in the face of any self respecting Jew during the Roman occupation, the fact that Cornelius is a gentile will put him on the outside of ritual purity laws for a jewish person to enter his house. Jews like Peter, even the ones who had come to follow Jesus as LORD, were used to seeing their identity and belonging to the family of God as marked out by their observance of strict food laws, circumcision, and sabbath observance.

So when Peter sees in today’s passage a vision about eating animals that break with purity laws, it’s not about a moral code as much as it’s about how one belongs to the people of God. This passage is not focused on purity codes being undone, it’s focused on the boundary lines of who belongs to God’s family being radically redrawn around Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit.

So as you listen to today's passage, bring to mind a people or a community with whom you would struggle to associate.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment from this passage most caught your attention?
Some read this passage as the moment Jews became exempt from kosher food laws. But this passage isn’t about bacon. It’s about the innate goodness of all that God has made. It’s about welcoming people you would never associate with into your life, and into their place in God’s story as integral members of the family of God… If you were Peter, who would your Cornelius be?

.

The divisions that exist in the church today are no better than the Jew-Gentile divide. We mistrust one another, each of us tend to fail in recognizing and stewarding the dominance that our identities afford us. In what ways could your church, your small group, or your chapter step outside of the way things are and into the ways things could be in the family of God?

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Acts 10:1-8 (NIV)

Read by: Tammy Eckhart

How does God respond to those with power?

Today on Daily Read like a new scene in a movie Luke’s narrative pans the camera over to a new character. Cornelius. Cornelius is a roman centurion station in Caesarea, and he’s about to get instructions from the Lord that will change everything for him, and probably for us.

But first we’ve got to have in our minds what a roman centurion really is. A centurion was a soldier in the roman army that held a high office, like a century has a 100 years, a centurion commands around 100 men. Centurions make much more money than an average soldier. So they are powerful, they are wealthy, the rules work in their favor, and there are a lot of them. Cornelius is stationed in Caesarea, which at the time had about 3000 men stationed there, to give you some perspective, Jerusalem only had 600 at the time.

Now the disciples watched Jesus be brutally executed on a roman cross, at the hands of roman soldiers. And in today’s passage the God is going to call a guy in a town that’s named after Caesar and has 6 times more soldiers?!

Given all that might keep this man far from God and what’s happening in Jesus, there is something the LORD sees in him and moves towards.

----------REFLECT----------

What surprised you in this passage?
The angel said that Cornelius’ prayers and gifts to the poor had “come up as a memorial offering to God.” It seems that even if they don’t have all the information or right answers about theology, the LORD hears the prayers and sees the good works of those who fear him. How does that challenge or encourage you?
The LORD doesn’t just use the angel to share the good news. He wants to involve Peter, a Jew, who would consider Cornelius an enemy. Why do you think God wants to do that? As you consider that, become aware of how this passage stretches you.

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Acts 9:32-43 (NIV)

Read by: Hugo Castro

What are the places where you need healing from the Lord, where do you need things to go from death to life?

Today on Daily Read, we follow Peter as he imitated Jesus and sees the Holy spirit move to heal people and bring a dead girl back to life. As you listen you might realize that it sounds familiar. And that’s because what Peter does in this passage, is almost exactly what he saw Jesus doing.

In Mark chapter 2 Peter watches Jesus as he tells a paralyzed man to “get up take his mat and go home.” In Mark Chapter 5 Jesus brings Peter into a room where he heals Jiarus’ daughter, and says “Talitha koum” which means little girl get up. The Holy Spirit is moving in mighty ways and in some ways might be preparing Peter to trust the Holy Spirit as the Spirit invites him to go where he might otherwise not want to go.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
A Paralyzed man and a dead girl named Tabitha are made whole again in this passage. As they hear the words Get Up… the power of the resurrection washes over them and things are set right. In what areas of your life do you need to hear the words get up?
Peter, trusting the Holy Spirit, speaks to the paralyzed man and to Tabitha. He tells them to Get Up… trusting the power of God to make broken things whole and to bring dead things back to life. Where in your life is the Spirit calling you to speak the words Get Up! Your family, your community, your work, your church?

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Acts 9:19b-31 (NIV)

Is there someone you know, who is hard to imagine as a follower of Jesus and a minister of the Gospel?

One writer points out that Saul was a hard-lined, fanatical, ultra nationalist, super-orthodox Pharisaic Jew. This is not the kind of person who comes to mind as a candidate for taking the good news about Jesus to the world. But God is in the business of doing the unimaginable.

As we listen to this passage, some of you might relate to Saul, the life from which Jesus called you is a liability in building trust with others. People can’t see how God might transform someone like you really. Others of you might be able to relate to the communities that receive Saul. You might feel skeptical, you might recognize the power and respond like Barnabas, aor you might be like those who just want to get rid of the potential issue.

Whatever the case, today’s passage is the beginning of a dazzling story of restoration, not just IN Saul, but through Saul. If we let it it will call us into a deeper trust in the LORD transformational power.

----------REFLECT----------

What struck you about this passage?
Saul was feared by Christians, and now he’s despised by Jews. Yet God uses him. And what happens in this brief moment in Acts 9 is just the beginning of a life that the Spirit will use to change the world. Is there anyone in your life who comes to mind, who if Jesus transformed them would really shake things up. Pray for that person now.
Saul’s attempt to join the disciples is met with fear. But Barnabas took him… This moment changes everything. Rather than Saul being left alone, with the possibility of being killed, he is brought in because of Barnabas. Is there someone in your life or chapter or church who needs you to step in like Barnabas? Ask the Lord about that now.

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Acts 9:1-19 (NIV)

Read by: Kathy Haug

What events in your life were most significant in shaping your spiritual life today?

In today’s episode, we journey with Paul on the road to Damascus. Now, within the narrative of Acts, the only thing that we know about Paul is that his Jewish name is Saul, and he was there approving of the stoning execution of Stephen. So in order to fully appreciate the story that Luke gives us today, we need to understand a little bit more about Saul, and that comes from other writings.

We learn from Paul’s letters, and from who he becomes in the rest of the Acts narrative that at the time that he’s traveling on this road, is among a sect of the Jews called the Pharisees. This group was dead set with their zeal and fervor to keeping Israel pure and in right standing with God. Saul was traveling around Judea arresting followers of Jesus and seeing to their deaths if necessary. All for the sake of defending the faith and honoring Yahweh.

Pharisees like Saul were known for a form of prayer that modeled itself after Ezekiel’s vision of God’s heavenly chariot. They would meditate on this image and work their way up from the wheels to the chariot to the shining being hoping to see the face of God. And Saul sees a face that he was not expecting. Many refer to this as a conversion of Saul, but really this was a radical convergence, of all that Paul believed in the person of Jesus. His whole world gets flipped upside down.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage stirred you the most?
Saul thought that he was acting out of righteousness, defending the holiness and purity of God’s people. And in this moment he’s literally blinded as he’s exposed by the truth that Jesus is the very righteousness that he has so longed for. Have you ever been acting or living or believing one way, only for God to turn that inside out and upside down?
God calls Annanias to go to Saul. Now think about what Annanias knows. All he knows is that Saul is the one who’s been traveling around persecuting Christians. And God calls him to go where he is and Annanias calls him brother?! If you knew that God was working in the life of someone who you would consider an enemy, would you go to them?

Lord, we ask that you reveal yourself to us. Turn over the things that we have wrong about who you are, and use us in the lives of those for whom you’re turning things over.

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Acts 8:26-40 (NIV)

Read by: Kim Koi

How far are you willing to follow when the Holy Spirit leads you?

Today on Daily Ready we hear the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. While this passage might be familiar to some of us, we each have much to reflect on as we listen carefully to the leadership of the Spirit, the obedience of Phillip to take some pretty significant risks.

First we have to remember, this is the time when severe persecution had broken out against the followers of Jesus. To be out and about willing to proclaim the good news was risky enough. The LORD calls Phillip to go down a largely deserted road, and he obeys. And on that road he encounters a Eunuch from Ethiopia. Now, this Eunuch is described as a very powerful official in the Queen of Ethiopia which was considered the ends of the earth. To be the head of the Treasury, to be riding in the chariot, to have in his possession a scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and to be able to read it, places him in a number of categories of influence and power. In this time one did not simply approach a person with immense power without being invited. But the Spirit tells Phillip to.

Meanwhile there is another layer at play. Remember how Philip just got done preaching to the Samaritans, who Israel despised because they were seen as compromised ethnically and spiritually, well the Ethiopian’s eunuch status places him in a significantly subordinated group in the eyes of the Jews. Eunuchs weren’t allowed to be full converts to Judaism. So this passage is full of the Spirit pushing the boundaries of who can belong to this new family of God as we’ll continue to see throughout Acts.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you about the Spirits direction, and Phillips obedience?
Has the Spirit ever prompted you to go to a place or head in a direction without you fully understanding why? What did you experience in that moment and why did you respond in the way that you did? (If you haven’t experienced the Spirit's leadership in that way, ask the LORD why not?)
Can you think of a situation, a relationship, or a sphere of influence in which the direction of the Spirit is leading you towards significant risk? What can you learn about God’s character from this passage that will give you courage and comfort to face that invitation with boldness?

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Acts 8:9-25 (NIV)

Read by: Shelly Scott

Have you ever desired the Holy Spirit’s power without actually submitting yourself to the Spirit?

Today on Daily Read, we hear the story of Simon from Samaria. As people are coming to believe in the LORD Jesus and be baptized, we learn that many of those people were former followers of a powerful sorcery in town named Simon. He ends up believing too, but after seeing the Holy Spirit come asks if he can purchase the ability to have that same power.

As you listen to today’s passage, it might feel hard to relate. I mean we’ve never tried to buy the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. Or have we? Maybe not outright, but what about those moments where we thought if I just went to this conference or that conference maybe I’d experience something more, or maybe if I get into this group or that group maybe I’ll be closer to Jesus, or man If I just had that person speaking into my life I’d be on fire. I don’t know…. But what I do know is that the Holy Spirit is not going to be controlled by us, and we will only participate in the Spirit's power as far as we’re submitted to the Spirits renewal in our lives.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stuck out to you the most?
When Simon asks if he can but the Holy Spirit, what do you think is motivating him? Is it control, greed, fame, something else? Have you ever been motivated by these kinds of things when it comes to participating with the Holy Spirit?
Desiring the power of the Holy Spirit without submitting your life to the Spirit is dangerous. What areas of your life do you need to submit to the Spirit? Is it a set of habits, something that you need to bring into the light through confession, or an ulterior motive that you need to lay down before the LORD? Bring that before the LORD and ask for one clear next step.

Spirit, help our submission to you and the desire for your power in our lives to be found in equal measure. And give us the courage to take whatever first step you’ve asks us to take today.

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Acts 8:1b-8 (NIV)

Read by: Derekah Kingery

What do you do when God begins to do what He said He’d do, but in a way that costs you more and is more difficult than you anticipated?

So far in the Book of Acts, Luke has carried us from his Gospel narrative into the life of the early Church. Jesus’ followers have received the Holy Spirit, begun to gather and share their lives, they have begun to teach and heal and defend the faith, and scores of Jewish people are turning to Jesus. They are gathering Jews from the diaspora, so much so that they had to appoint new leaders to handle equitable food distribution. One of those leaders has just called out the Jewish establishment and they killed him for it.

And if you’ve been listening from the beginning you can’t help shake the words of Jesus to his disciples, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, judea, samaria and to the end of the earth.” How is that actually supposed to happen? There are widows to feed, people being lined up in the streets to be healed, and now they’ve killed a leader that we just appointed?

Sometimes, God accomplishes his purposes by means that are unexpected. In today’s passage, it’s in the midst of severe persecution.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage struck you the most?
As you think about this new Jesus community being persecuted and scattered, what are the things in the first 8 chapters of Acts that keep them following Jesus. Think back and imagine what you would have needed to continue to follow Jesus amidst such harsh persecution.
As a result of persecution, a Jewish man ends up going to Samaria, and there preached the good news of King Jesus, cast out demons, and healed many. This might have been unimaginable before the persecution began. What about your life? Is there a way that difficulties and struggle, or even persecution would direct your life to a place where you may not want to go, but could be used profoundly by Jesus?

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Acts 7:54-8:1a (NIV)

Read by: Eric Peterson

What kind of influence do you want your life to have?

On today’s episode of Daily Read we find Stephen standing before the Sanhedrin, the leaders who are at the heart of Jewish life in Jerusalem. He’s been telling the story and had just called out the entire institution for having missed Jesus as the Righteous One who was foretold and having killed him.

As this enrages them, Stephen has this incredible vision that draws a sharp contrast that Lukes first readers would have probably picked up on but we can easily miss. If you were a God fearing person in the 1st century, you knew the Temple as the place where Heaven and Earth met. And you would have expected the leaders in that place to be the ones aware of the presence of Heaven. But in today’s passage it’s Stephen who sees through the earthly reality to the heavenly reality in his midst.

One writer reminds us by saying, it’s not like he sees a far of heaven and a gateway that he gets a peek through. Rather, it’s like a midst lifting and all of a sudden you can see what’s been there all along. Today’s passage gives us a glimpse into what is available to us in total surrender. And though Stephen goes to sleep, which means to die, his life changes everything because of who is standing there watching his execution.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage gave you encouragement?
When you think about Stephen, having been led by the spirit into this interaction with the Sanhedrin, what parts of his life do you find yourself wanting to emulate? His boldness, his relationship to the Spirit, his candor, his wisdom?
Stephen is living his life in total surrender to Jesus and right at the very end, he experiences an unveiling of the reality that has been there the entire time. What would it mean for you to live in such a way that is aware of and attentive to the presence of Heaven around you? How would that impact those who witness your life?

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Acts 7:44-53 (NIV)

Have you ever focused so much on the container of a thing that you’ve missed the thing itself?

The words in today’s passage are the words that get Stephen killed. In the wisdom of the Spirit he tells the Jewish leaders responsible for the Law and the Temple, that they are stiff-necked, spirit resisting murderers. You never know where the Spirit might lead you… but here he is, trying to tell these leaders that they have been so focused on the Law and the Temple that they’ve missed the point and big time.

Before we point the finger we’ve got to realize that we do this too. On family vacations we get focused on the activities and the travel and we forget to enjoy our family. At our holiday parties we worry so much about the food and the house and the guest list that we forget why we’re gathering in the first place. At Church we get so caught up in the style of music, the clothes that folks are wearing, or how long the pastor speaks that we fail to revere God. And even in our daily times with Jesus, we get so fixated on consistency, or time spent, or having deep moments, or getting in just the perfect spot that we forget about the one who we are there to worship.

Maybe Stephen wouldn’t charge us with having murdered Jesus… but he may very well call us out for not paying attention to his life in us.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in this passage?
When you think about the leaders, who’s life's work was to see to the Temple and all its functions, and to preserve the Law of Moses, teaching it and enforcing it, what do you imagine this accusation from the Spirit through Stephen would have meant. Why is it that they were so fixed on the Temple?
What are the things in your life that are good, but have your attention so much so that you have missed the point. You small group? Your Chapter Ministry? Your wo rship team? Your devotions? Your relationships with others?

Bring these things before the LORD and ask him for fresh eyes.

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Acts 7:30-43 (NIV)

Read by: David Luginbuhl

Have you ever felt like you are in a wilderness season in your life?

In today’s episode we hear about how God called Moses, led him to free the people and then called him to lead the people through the wilderness. Have you ever noticed that when God calls someone they typically aren’t really cut out for the job that he gives them. I mean, when God called Moses, Moses told God that he wasn’t cut out for it, but God called him anyway and he was the one who would see him and his people through.

As we hear this story about Moses, remember that Stephen is standing in front of the jewish leaders being accused of doing away with the traditions of Moses. Stephen himself finds himself in a place where he isn’t really cut out for the job, but the Spirit gives him what he needs. And as these leaders sit here and are reminded of God’s faithfulness to the people of Israel, and as they are reminded of Israel's failure then, all of a sudden it could be coming into view that they might be missing it too.

I don’t know about you but when I read about God’s people in the wilderness, I often feel like “what is their problem?” I mean, you walk through the sea on dry ground and then you aren’t going to trust God and your gonna worship idols? Leave it to God's people to see him moving right in front of them and then turn and look away. Maybe that’s what they are doing with Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you as you listened to today’s passage?
Have you ever been right in the middle of God’s work and found it hard to see him or hard to trust him? This is where Israel was and and yet, God did not leave them or abandoned them. Bring your fear and doubts before the LORD who loves you.
Who in your life might the LORD be calling you to lead in this season of wilderness? Do you feel in over your head… good, so do all the people God can use. How can you make more space in your life today to follow Jesus where he is asking you to go?

Father who made us, help us to discover your Story and find our place in it.

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Acts 7:20-29 (NIV)

Read by: Javelin Lewis

What has the LORD set you free from?

Today on daily read, Stephen continues telling the story of God's faithfulness to humanity through Israel in the story of Moses. If you were in my church, and the preacher said, don’t we all got a story to tell? You would immediately hear the church folk around you say, amen!

Yall we all got a story, and we all have been made by a creator who loves us and longs to redeem us and restore us. Therefore, we have a story to tell. Not just of the ways that the world has rough us up, but of the ways that God has picked us up. Not just of the times that we can’t see a way forward, but of the ways that God has seen us through.

As you listen to the beginning of the story of Moses, take some time, wherever you are, to reflect on the goodness of God and the ways that he has seen you through… and for those of you who may not feel like God is there with you in the moment, take comfort in the reality that Moses, at this point in the story, may not have even been aware that God was for him and the people he would be called to serve.

----------REFLECT----------

What came to mind as you listened to this passage?
As you reflect on your story, where do you think God may have been present in those early times, looking out for you watching over you? Take a moment to reflect on God’s presence in your life.
God doesn’t just save us from something, he saves us for something. There is a reason for the faithfulness of God in your life beyond what you could see at the time, perhaps even what you can see right now… take a moment and listen to Jesus.

God of all goodness, help us to discover your Story and find our place in it.

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Acts 7:9-19 (NIV)

Read by: Sarina Chatman

How does your understanding of where you come from influence your relationship to God?

Today on Daily read we hear part 2 of Stephen’s telling of the story before the Jewish leaders in the Sanhedrin. If you haven’t listened to yesterday’s passage, it might be good to start there. Because remember Stephen has been accused of saying that Jesus would destroy the Temple and change the customs of Moses. Now for Jews, this was no small thing. Their whole sense of meaning and identity was wrapped up in the writings of Moses and the life of the Temple. And when Stephen is challenged on it, he goes back to the beginning to try to get them to see that Jesus is the place where the story was headed all along.

In today’s section of that very long story, Stephen recounts a pretty familiar part of the narrative. It’s the story of Jospeh being sold into slavery and how God’s people ended up in Egypt prior to the time of Moses and the Exodus. For Stephen, who is being given wisdom from the Holy Spirit, there is something significant to the leaders knowing where they come from when it comes to them understanding who Jesus is. Perhaps the same is true for us?

----------REFLECT----------

What parts of this story sounded familiar? What Images came to mind?
There is something significant about this story in particular, because it’s a reminder to any Jew in the time of the book of acts, of having been first enslaved by a foreign people. And these leaders didn’t have to look far to be aware of the Roman occupation at the time. What do you imagine this group feeling as they were reminded of this story?
Are there stories in your life, or in the life of your family that give shape and meaning to your relationship to Jesus? Are there stories of faithfulness or suffering that have marked your family or community’s life with God? Bring those to the LORD in gratitude and or contemplation.

Spirit of the living God, help us to discover your Story and find our place in it.

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Acts 7:1-8 (NIV)

Read by: Shelly Scott

If you had to tell the story of Jesus, where would you begin?

Have you ever had the experience, when someone asks you about something and you have to stop and think, where do I begin? This kind of thing happens to me when someone asks about how my wife and I met and why we’re in Alabama. I mean I could briefly say, well we met through work and our job brought us here. And while that would be true, it would not be complete. There is so much more to the story that invests our life together in this place with meaning.

This is the same kind of thing that happens when one tries to tell the story of Jesus. Where do you begin? Maybe you begin with a traveling teacher, or a Jewish boy, or a pregnant Mary, or a people waiting for God. Unfortunately, in recent history, the story has gotten shortened and flattened in order to make it easy to remember and easy to accept as true. And for many this has flattened and hollowed out the true meaning of the story, making it difficult to find their place in it.

Over the next few episodes, we’ll listen to Stephen’s rendition of the Big Story. When the Priests in the Sanhedrin ask him about his claims, he takes it back to Abraham, and frames for them the story that he sees himself living in. A unified story that leads to Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stuck out to you?
As you reflect on your understanding of the Story of Jesus, are these features of the story that typically come to mind?
Take a moment to consider the reality that the faith that you have or are considering, is ancient. Through all of the joy and pain of Human history this story has remained, and been affirmed and confirmed by countless witnesses. You are a part of that story… What does that bring up in you?

As we will pray through these next few episodes, Lord help us to discover your Story in deeper ways and find our place in it.

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Acts 6:8-15 (NIV)

Read by: Tim Craig

How do you react when someone brings a false or exaggerated accusation against you?

Today on Daily Read, the story of what Jesus is doing through the Spirit who is empowering his followers brings us to Stephen. Now Stephen was one of the seven Hellenistic Jews appointed as deacons in our passage yesterday. He was a Jewish man from the diaspora of Jews across the Mediterranean and Palestine who was full of the Spirit and wisdom.

So now you’ve got the Apostles who are all from Judea still doing their thing, and then this Greek-speaking deacon who in today’s passage is performing great wonders and signs too. This stirs up trouble with a new crowd that’s in town, the Synagogue of the Freedmen. They were Jews from the Diaspora who obviously are not interested in this Jesus person. They react pretty strongly against Stephen for this and it brings into focus the cost of bearing faithful witness to Jesus and also the power the Spirit will give us to do so.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stood out to you?
These synagogue leaders manufacture a story about Stephen in order to bring him before the Jewish officials. Have you ever had a lie told about you? Have you ever had something like that happen when you were trying to do right and stand up for truth? What was that like?
The Spirit gave him wisdom to withstand the opposition, and then when he was seized his face became "like that of an angel." It was as if he was experiencing this overlapping of Heaven and Earth in his own body and actions. Ask the Spirit for what you need to withstand division and opposition in your community or fellowship as you stand and act for truth.

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Acts 6:1-7 (NIV)

Read by: Skip McDonald

Who among your community of faith is the first to be overlooked, and how does your community tend to respond?

The nature of any growing family is that as it expands and grows, things are going to have to adjust and shift in order to accommodate the changing needs of each member. This was the situation for the early church in today’s passage. Not only were they growing extremely fast, but the growth came with increasing complexity as Jews from across the diaspora (that is jews from the greek speaking world around Judea) came to follow Jesus and were included in this new family of God.

These greek speaking Jews are called the “Hellenistic Jews” in this passage. And the widows in the Jewish world were normally cared for by their family, but in this new kind of family, the normal structures of care were not in place and they had to make adjustments.

As you listen, notice how the leaders respond. They did not shift the center of focus from one thing to another, nor did they try to hold on to their control. Rather they expanded what the center included and made it a part of the whole, and they made space to share power and influence, trusting that with the Holy Spirit there is plenty of power to go around.

----------REFLECT----------

What choices and decisions in this passage stood out to you?
When you think about a community you’re in, is there a group that is or tends to be overlooked? Maybe folks with a particular relationship or marital status, maybe it's folks from a certain gender or enthic group? What about people with disabilities or hold one economic status or another? Whoever it is, consider a first step in helping them not be overlooked.
How could you and your community act to expand the sense of what you see as the whole, and what would it take for your community to make space for more leadership trusting that in the Spirit there is plenty of power to go around?

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Acts 5:27-42 (NIV)

Read by: Alanah Nantell

What is it that keeps us from repentance and the forgiveness and restoration of Jesus?

Today we continue in what some have called “The Tale of Two Temples.” The old temple is now bereft of God’s Spirit... The line of priests and religious leaders who were supposed to be the agents of healing, justice and generosity has failed, and the LORD is doing a new thing. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Risen Jesus is moving now in His followers. He is filing them and through them working miracles of healing and restoration across Jerusalem. He is creating a new community of generosity and shalom… a new temple that cannot be bound by bricks and mortar, or even by prison bars.

But today’s passage also reminds us of God’s constant desire that all should turn towards him for forgiveness and restoration. In the midst of the fear and jealousy of the religious leaders, as their anger starts to turn into violence, there are voices of truth, from within and from without, warning them to wait, watch and listen, to see, turn and repent, lest they end up fighting against God himself.

As you listen the first time, place yourself in the scene amongst the religious leaders. What were they thinking? What were they feeling?

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
Who in your life have you written off? Maybe a family member or coworker? Or maybe a religious leader who has failed you or their community? In what ways can you join with God in longing for their repentance and restoration? Take a minute to pray for them now.
What about you? Is there an area of your life where pride, fear or jealousy have kept you from asking for forgiveness or seeking the restoration of relationship you need? Bring that to the LORD today and ask for the Spirit to help you walk in humility and repentance.

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Acts 5:12-26 (NIV)

What do you do when you are filled with jealousy or fear?

In today’s passage, we find the believers growing in number and influence across Jerusalem and the surrounding towns. It’s happening right? They are Jesus’ witnesses in Jerusalem and now going out into Judea. The healings that are happening are so many that the streets are being filled with folks in need of healing lying on mats. It’s a bit of a ruckus, and this ends up threatening those who are in power.

Enter: the High Priest and the Sadducees. These were the men who were the guardians of the temple, the most sacred and holy place in the cosmos according to the Jews. They saw it as their work to defend and maintain the purity of the temple and to challenge, correct, and dispose of anyone who might compromise the honor of God and the sanctity of His temple. So when they see the followers of Jesus gaining influence, they see it as their role to shut it down.

This impulse is driven by jealousy and fear, two words that drive the actions of these leaders. They fail to be concerned with the truth, wherever it might lead them, and more with their own power and their ability to keep it.

As you listen to this passage pay attention to the insecurities of these leaders.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage stood out to you the most?
Has the way that you’ve viewed something ever come to be challenged? Has there ever been a time when people around you started to coalesce around a new set of ideas or a way of behaving… What was your reaction? Did you wait and watch and listen? Or did you exercise control?
Perhaps you’ve been on the receiving end of this kind of reaction? Of another’s jealousy or fear? Was it because of Jesus or something else? If it was because of Jesus, how did you respond to their reactions?

As you follow Jesus today, commit to seeking his truth wherever it may lead you, and commit to speaking truth, no matter the reactions you may face.

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Acts 5:1-11 (NIV)

Read by: Summer Richardson

Yesterday we looked at the earliest community of Jesus followers and what they were like. They were unified, they shared all they had, and they were bold in telling others about the work of God in Jesus… And they were all of these things because they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The implication of this filling isn’t as obvious to us in our culture, but the early church would have understood that being filled with God’s Spirit meant that now they, rather than the temple, were the place where God was choosing to dwell—the place where heaven and earth were coming together. Jesus had referred to his own body as the temple (John 2:19), and now it was his followers who were being filled with the Spirit… They were the new temple.

In light of this perspective, today’s passage will make more sense. It’s one of these stories in the Bible that is either overlooked and ignored because it’s kind of scary, or sometimes it’s been taken out of context and used to scare people into giving to the church. But as you listen, try to set aside any preconceived ideas and hear it with fresh ears, in the context of what we’ve heard so far in Acts. It’s a continuation of yesterday’s story. Remember, we learned that this new Jesus community, in their unrestrained generosity, were in the habit of selling houses or land that they owned and bringing the money from the sale to be given to those who had need. The end of yesterday’s passage provides an example in Barnabas. But today we get another example—and one that calls attention to an important reality of being the dwelling place of God’s Spirit—his holiness. It shouldn’t be surprising to us, but when the LORD dwells in the hearts of people, he is still as holy as he has ever been. And he is still as unwilling as he ever was to share his home with sin.

----------REFLECT----------

What surprised you in this passage?
Have you ever lied or held back part of the truth to make yourself look good in front of others? How did that make you feel inside?
Honesty has been an issue from the day that Adam and Eve ate the fruit. When we lie, when we hide things and pretend to be someone we are not, not only do we break trust with others that is often irreparable, we’re also rejecting the Holy Spirit. We’re choosing not to allow God to dwell with us, and saying that we want to define good and evil for ourselves. We are no different than our first parents. Is there something in your life that you need to confess? Is there something you’re holding onto that is keeping the LORD from making his home in your life?

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Acts 4:32-37 (NIV)

Read by: Ginger Montalvo

What would it look like if the community that you belong to was filled with the Holy Spirit?

For many of us, what comes to mind when we think about the Holy Spirit, what comes to mind is speaking in tongues, prophetic words, visions and dreams, or healing miracles. Those things are definitely a part of the way that the Holy Spirit shows up in power in the world today, but there are things the Holy Spirit does in our midst that we often don’t attribute to the Him.

Today’s passage gives us a picture into the early community of Jesus followers who were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Even though it’s a short passage, we could spend a lifetime looking for and emulating this kind of community. As we prepare to listen to today's passage, we understand that each of us is coming from a different place in terms of our sense of connection to a community of Jesus’ people. Some of us might find ourselves really grateful for our community, some of us might be pretty discontent right now. Some of you might have been in your community for many years, and some of you might not be connected to a community.

Wherever you are, allow this passage to inform your longing and your prayers for living life in a community of folks who are empowered by God and coming together to create space for God to dwell in their midst.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stood out to you as the most appealing?
This early Jesus-shaped community was unified, they shared, they were honest with each other, and they continued on in the work they were called to. These first followers teach us that the Spirit's work in a community ought to produce Reconciliation, Justice, and Hospitality. In what way have you experienced this fruit of the Spirit in your community?
Many of us have experienced disappointment at the hands of our Christian communities. We’ve not seen reconciliation, justice, and hospitality. Rather we’ve seen and experienced brokenness, abuse of authority, and exclusivity. It’s okay to be disappointed, bring that to the LORD honestly today.

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Acts 4:23-31 (NIV)

Read by: Courtland Hopkins

In today’s passage we go with Peter and John from their encounter with the Sanhedrin back to their community of Jesus followers. They talk about what happened, they pray, and they are filled with the Holy Spirit. They ask for the LORD to see the threats against them and to empower them with boldness. But they don’t ask for the persecution to stop... or for the opposition to be punished… because they see and understand what’s happening. In their minds there is a thread that connects the dots—a perspective that informs the past, present and future and helps them see their place in God’s story… They are looking at it all with a belief in the sovereignty of God. He is LORD over creation, over kings and nations, and even over the plans and schemes of those who oppose him. They trust God. They believe that there is no situation, no part of the human experience that he is not interested in, able to heal, or able to help them walk through. As you listen to the passage, particularly the prayer of this community, consider how you typically pray... and how your view of God informs the requests you lay at his feet.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
When you come to the LORD in prayer, do you usually do that alone? Or with others who are following Jesus?
In this passage, the LORD answers their prayers by filling them with his Holy Spirit to speak the word of God boldly. This doesn’t mean arrogance or insensitivity. It just means they were able to speak without fear, with confidence and courage. Is there a situation in your life where you need the Holy Spirit to fill you so that you can be bold? To speak or act in courage as you follow Jesus? Ask for that from the sovereign LORD today.

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Acts 4:1-22 (NIV)

Read by: Chandra Crane

Have you ever been preparing for a trip and reading all the guidebooks or websites to learn about the place you’re going? Then, you get there, and, while some of the information is helpful, you really figure out the place by just experiencing it. In today’s passage Peter and John defend themselves before the Jewish religious leaders after the healing of the lame man outside the temple gate. And although Peter and John were “unschooled, ordinary men,” the religious leaders could see that they “had been with Jesus.” They carried around with them the authority that Jesus had carried. They were acting with Jesus’ power, doing things that the temple priests could not do… It seemed that their efforts to squash this Jesus movement by crucifying its leader had utterly failed. The power they were so afraid of, the “King of the Jews” whose authority had so threatened their own and everything they stood for was still at work. They had read all the right books, taken all the right classes, but their knowledge, it seemed, wasn’t enough. Their fear of losing power had blinded them to experiencing the good news of the Messiah.

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases stood out to you in the passage?
Have you ever seen a situation where someone in authority is blind to a better way because it would mean a loss of power for them? What was that like?
The source of the power Peter and John were wielding was that of the risen Christ, his Holy Spirit working in and through them to do the work of bringing tastes of New Creation into the broken world. And everyone could tell that they had been with Jesus. What about your life would make it clear to those around you that you have been with Jesus?

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Acts 3:11-26 (NIV)

Read by: Kathy Haug

If you were inside the story at this point in the book of acts you’d be standing just outside the gate of the temple called Beautiful. Maybe you’d be among the crowd gathering around Peter, John, and this man in tattered clothes who reminds you of the man who is normally laying on this mat, paralyzed, begging at this gate. But now he’s standing there, tears are running down his face, he’s laughing, and praising Yahweh.

Until now the story of Acts has been located in Jerusalem but not specifically at or around the Temple. And the kind of powerful restorative that you might expect to be happening inside the temple is happening outside the gate. God is on the move. By the power of God’s Spirit he’s not confined within the power structure of an institution. Luke’s Gospel begins and ends within the Temple, but in Acts his breaking that pattern helps us see the ways that the good news of Jesus is beginning the first steps of that expansive vision that Jesus cast telling the disciples that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem Judea and the ends of the earth.

In today’s passage, Peter finds himself in this natural moment to bear witness to this story that he finds himself in. And it offers us a chance to reflect on whether or not this is similar to the story that we would tell if we found ourselves with such an opportunity or not? Is this even similar to the story that we’ve heard?

----------REFLECT----------

What part of Peter’s proclamation struck you as new or in a fresh way?
Repentance and Refreshment. I would bet that depending on where we come from we have heard one or the other these things maybe at the expense of the other. And maybe because of habit or circumstance if you tried to communicate the story, you might emphasize one over the other. Reflect on which you are most familiar or comfortable with.
When in your life do you need to repent, and where in your life do you need refreshment. It’s not really about whether one comes before the other theologically, rather its that both things are good for us! What’s one area of your life where you need to repent and turn to follow Jesus. And what’s one area where you long for a time of refreshment in your life.

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Acts 3:1-10 (NIV)

Read by: Brennan Takayama

Today’s passage is about a man, lame from birth. He was disabled to the point that he could not move around on his own. Imagine that. If your legs are lame from birth, your muscles never develop. It doesn’t mean a lack of pain, just a lack of control, a lack of agency to get from here to there. And he had been in this state his entire life. In that time and place, there was no other occupation for him but to beg from others. He still had to eat but had no way to earn his food, so every day he was carried to the temple gate… to sit just outside the religious headquarters of Jerusalem begging for scraps, for money, for whatever… And yet the temple gate was called “Beautiful.” How ironic.

As you listen to the passage read aloud, remember what has come before. Just a few weeks prior Jesus himself was teaching in the temple courts, ruffling the feathers of the Jewish leaders to the point of getting crucified for telling the truth. Jesus died… but then he rose from the dead, replacing the insular, exclusive institution of the temple and opening the gate for those outside to come in. He sent the Holy Spirit to empower his followers to walk in his power and their numbers are growing. Remember these things as you imagine the scene.

----------REFLECT----------

What caught your attention in the passage?
The people who saw the man running around and jumping on strong legs recognized him as the one who was lame, and they were filled with wonder and amazement. If you saw something like that happen today, what would be your response?
The church in our context tends to err on the side of skepticism when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit in things like healing. But Peter and John seemed to have no doubt that they were God’s agents, working in the name of Jesus through the Spirit’s power. Where is your heart, when it comes to believing that God works through his people today? Confess that to the LORD now.

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Acts 2:29-47 (NIV)

Read by: Clayton

Today’s passage continues Peter’s speech to the crowds of Jews at Pentecost. The Spirit came in power, in tongues of flame, enabling the followers of Jesus to declare the wonders of God in all of the languages of those present. And now it’s as if Peter says, “Let’s debrief what just happened!” He tells them about Jesus, about how the man they had crucified was indeed the Messiah, and he uses the words of their most beloved king, David. David… the one whose family line everyone believed would produce the Savior they had been waiting for. “Weren’t you listening?” Peter wonders... “Why could we not see it?” And yet now they were seeing it. The resurrection had happened. The disciples had been with the resurrected Jesus for 40 days, and they’re putting the pieces together now. What they were blind to before Jesus died, they see now. All of the prophets were pointing to it, to Jesus.

Listen now to Peter’s speech as he continues to open the eyes of the Jews.

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases stood out to you in the passage?
When the people heard Peter’s words, they were “cut to the heart.” These—even the crowds who had chanted, “Crucify him!” were invited to repent, to be baptized in his name and receive the Holy Spirit. Even they… Is there anything in your life that you feel would disqualify you from this kind of invitation?
We long for church to be the kind of community embodied here in Acts 2, but it often seems so disconnected from our current experience of Christians and the church… How might the LORD be calling you to live into the generosity, friendship, belief and obedience that this community lived out… even if it looks different than what our culture sees as “church?”

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Acts 2:14-28 (NIV)

Christians believe that at the end of the age the dead will be raised to life. And don’t we long for it? Have you ever wondered if ours would be the generation to see it? Today my wife was driving by a cemetery and all of a sudden thought, “What if I looked over and just saw people climbing up out of the earth… looking beautiful, healthy and totally alive…” She said her heart started to race just imagining the thought. Wouldn’t it be incredible for it all to happen in our lifetime?

In today’s passage we get a glimpse into first-century Jewish longings and anticipations in a similar way. They believed that theirs was the generation in which the words of the prophets would come true and the promises of God for Israel’s salvation would begin to be fulfilled. They were looking for it, waiting for it.

Yesterday we heard the story of Pentecost, where the Spirit of God was poured out onto over a hundred people, and the “wonders of God” were declared by them in languages they had never learned... to ears from distant lands, in their own native tongues. It was a miracle. A sign. Flames... like the burning bush, like the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites out of Egypt. God was with them... in them… This must be what the prophets had meant by “the last days…” —the age of Israel’s climax in the story of God, the last period of time before the completion of God’s work to reunite heaven and earth. It was beginning... Can you imagine the excitement?

Out of this understanding and this longing, Peter preaches to those who’ve gathered because of hearing the “wonders of God” in their native languages. He helps the people interpret what’s happening in God’s story in their story, in light of Jesus Death, and resurrection.

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases stood out to you?
Usually in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was “with” or “on” one or two people for a specific task… so the nature of this outpouring was something new… something extraordinary. How have you understood the person of the Holy Spirit? His work, his filling, his presence?
Can you imagine the simultaneous thrill of experiencing this incredible sign of God’s Spirit and horror at realizing that you had a part in the murder of the Messiah? If we belong to Jesus, we have felt this in some way. The overwhelming love and power offered to us stands right beside our own sin and failure. But He does not ba ck away. In what ways do you need to both acknowledge your sin and failure and allow God’s Spirit to work in and through you?

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Acts 2:1-13 (NIV)

Read by: Tammy Eckhart

From the beginning of the world, the Creator has longed to share his power. He made humans to be his image bearers—to care for creation, to cultivate and create—to make something of the world with Him. But from the almost-beginning, humans wanted to be God rather than bear God’s image. They wanted to define for themselves what was good and what was bad.

And this led to disaster. Rather than human space (the world) and God’s space (heaven) overlapping and interlocking like it did in the Garden, humans were exiled from the Garden and therefore disconnected from God’s presence, but also from His wisdom and His power, to be the kinds of humans they were made to be.

But God would not abandon us. He bound himself to humanity by making a covenant with a family, a nation who will live under God's wisdom and power and bring the blessing of the Garden to the whole world. But this family is a mess and it ends up in captivity. God liberates them from Egypt, and brings them out into the wilderness. And there He makes a covenant with them, has them construct a dwelling for Him so that he can be with them, and the Spirit of God descents on that dwelling like a pillar and fills the Temple. Finally God and humans are back together and they have a way to live under God’s wisdom and power. But that doesn’t really work out….

The same kinds of failure lead Israel through generations of turmoil, into another exile and once again separate from God and in need of His Spirit to come and dwell not just in a temple, but in their very hearts. This is the only thing that will get humans back on track—for God to dwell inside them.

----------REFLECT----------

The Holy Spirit transforms humans into the dwelling place of God... What’s your initial reaction to that reality?
In this passage God chooses to take up residence in a group of people who were outside the traditional structures of influence and power, and the Spirit causes them to proclaim the wonders of God in the native languages of the people who were gathered. The Spirit could have used people already in positions of religious authority and probably could have gotten away with making them all speak Greek... What does this passage reveal about God’s desires?
One of the harsh realities in this passage is that sometimes when the Holy Spirit moves in God’s people, many won’t recognize him. They might say instead, we’re crazy… or drunk. How willing do you think your heart is to bear criticism from others for doing the thing that the Spirit leads you to do? Ask the LORD for courage to be used by him today.

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Acts 1:12-26 (NIV)

Read by: Eric Peterson

One thing that’s both difficult about the Bible and also strangely comforting, is that it doesn’t sugar coat anything. If you’re looking for a feel-good, heart-warming kind of read, you can see the bible as a religious book and just pull out the beautiful verses, but don’t get into the context or you’ll find a story that takes some emotional energy to navigate.

Today’s passage is a prime example of that. It is real. Even a bit gruesome. So some of us might wanna skip ahead, and know that that’s okay. It’s a glimpse of the other side of the story of Easter. It’s about Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus to the Jewish officials, bribed with 30 pieces of silver to give him up. In Matthew’s telling, Judas felt deep remorse, tried to give the money back and call the whole thing off, but was unsuccessful. So he left the money in the temple and committed suicide.

But the harshness of it brings up another question that we often have to wrestle with in Christian community, and just in life itself… How do we move forward after a tragedy? After a betrayal? What can we leave in God’s hands, and what do we need in order to trust him and keep going? Today we’ll meet Jesus’ disciples in that place… in those questions.

----------REFLECT----------

What words, phrases, or images caught your attention in the passage?
When the disciples chose Matthias, they “cast lots” and prayed for God’s guidance. That seems strange to many of us! But they had no doubt that the LORD was leading them. As you encounter situations where important decisions need to be made, do you tend to rely on your own wisdom? Or do you tend to become frozen with fear of making the wrong choice? Instead, how might you invite the LORD’s guidance and choose to trust him as you follow Jesus?
We know this passage was hard to listen to, and for some of us, it might have been emotionally triggering. If you’ve experienced the betrayal or loss of a friend, family member or partner in ministry, where are you at in the process of grieving? What steps might the LORD be calling you to take to move forward into healing?

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Today on Daily Read, we hear from James Choung, VP for Strategy & Innovation at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Here is the book we'll talk about:

TRUE STORY: A Christianity Worth Believing In

Resources he mentions:

-- Give Us This Day App

-- New Morning Mercies: Daily Gospel Devotional

-- First Things First

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First Things First

New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional

Acts 1:1-11 (NIV)

The first passage in Acts serves as a kind of link between Luke and Acts, these two books are designed as two volumes that complete a unified story. We learn that Jesus has been hanging out with His Disciples in his newly resurrected body for 40 days! He’s Teaching them, eating with them, and helping them understand how he is where the story of scripture was headed all along.

And we have to remember that at the beginning for 40 days, these disciples experienced the trauma of watching Jesus be brutally executed, and then encounter him risen from the dead three days later. And here he is commissioning them to make disciples of all nations. This small group of struggling followers are faced with a task that far exceeds their ability.

Have you ever felt that way, like the work before you is like 100 sizes too big? We all react differently to that kind of thing, some of us power up to try to beat the job before it beats us, some of us shut down and back away from the Job before we have a chance to be so disappointed or embarrassed. Jesus doesn’t want them to do either of these things.

He says directly, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. This expanding map would have seemed so far out of reach for these folks. But he doesn’t ask them to do it in their own strength, he says they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them. The Lord prepares and the Lord empowers.

----------REFLECT----------

As you listened to the passage, what do you imagine the disciples must have been feeling?
Is there something that Jesus has called you to that seems way outside of what seems possible given your, your courage, your competence, your capacity or control? Where in your life do you feel out of your depth?
When you are in over your head, you don’t need a better strategy, a self help book, or even another podcast… because often these are just ways that we try to optimize our own power… no we need power from the outside that will never fail… we need the Holy Spirit. As the LORD to help you make space for the Spirit as we begin this series of Acts.

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The Book of Acts (NIV)

The book of Acts is written by Luke, who was a co-worker of the Apostle Paul. And yeah, it’s the same Luke from the Gospel of Luke. He actually wrote these two volumes as a unified work that describes all that was fulfilled in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and recounts that continuing work by Jesus through the Holy Spirit in and through the life of Jesus’ followers.

When I first began to hear the stories from the book of acts, they were typically thought of as stand alone stories that didn’t really take into account the whole narrative of Acts or the narrative that Luke frames in the Gospel. But if we slow down and step back to get a larger view we can see that there are some pretty amazing things going on.

If you like a good movie or tv show, then might have some appreciation for the way that screenwriters will tell their story. And if you are familiar with a tv series or a movie that has sequels, then you can begin to track the structure that the writer is using. For instance, the new Star Wars movies follow an extremely similar structure as the original Star Wars but tell a new and unique part of the epic saga. You can’t quite say that it’s the same movie, but you also can’t say that it’s totally different either. And that’s the point. The writers want there to be a sense of continuity, they want you holding in mind all the things that you gathered from the previous volumes.

The same is true in Acts. Luke structures the story geographically just like he did in the gospel. In the Gospel of Luke, the story begins with Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and follows the missionary journeys of Jesus to his arrival in Jerusalem. This expanding geographic structure is mirrored in Acts with the disciples’ mission in Jerusalem mirroring Jesus’ time in Galilee, Paul’s missionary journeys mirroring Jesus’ missionary journeys, and Paul’s arrival in Rome mirroring Jesus arrival in Jerusalem.

Now that’s not really to try to blend our ideas of Jesus with Paul, but there is something significant about us being able to see Jesus' actions mirrored in his followers. That’s the point! At the very end of Luke’s gospel, Jesus is telling his disciples that the message of forgiveness and repentance will be preached to all the nations. And you immediately think, well how is that gonna work with these disciples who are scared and hiding behind locked doors?

At this episode’s airing, we’ll have just celebrated Easter. And one of the most intriguing questions I can think to ask about Easter is, “What do you do on Monday?” What does Easter mean after the fact? Well… the book of Acts is the answer to that question.

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John 20:1-18

As we step into today’s passage we’ll move from prophecy and poetry back into narrative, returning to John’s gospel and his telling of what happened on Sunday morning.

If you’ve walked with us through Isaiah and into Holy Week, you’ll remember the Messianic King, the Suffering Servant, and the way the LORD wove the hope of new life throughout Isaiah’s words. Jesus saw himself as this Suffering Servant, as Israel’s Messiah… As the one who would take the story back to the Garden, in a sense, to announce God’s Kingdom, to “let there be light” to all the world… by giving up his own life as an atoning sacrifice, doing what Israel could not do… and trusting his Father for vindication.

Today he steps into that vindication, and out of the tomb.

As you listen to the passage read aloud, imagine yourself in the scene. Imagine what the disciples might have been thinking, feeling. Remember the anguish of Friday, and the dead quiet of saturday… Would this be the end?

----------REFLECT----------

What emotions did you experience as you listened?
What words or images stood out to you?
The irony of Mary Magdelene thinking Jesus was the gardner must not be lost on us. He was of course the ultimate Gardner, the new Adam, the human who believed God and obeyed him, even unto death, to bring us all back to that Eden blessing—to restored relationship with God himself. Where in your life is he calling you into the garden? Where do you need restoration? Ask the risen Jesus to meet you now.

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Bible Project Video: Loyal Love >>

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Psalm 13 (NIV)

Before you listen to today’s passage, try to find a place without too many distractions, close your eyes if you want, and take a moment to quiet your thoughts. Become aware of your breath. Inhale deeply… and exhale… allowing your muscles to relax, to feel gravity pulling you towards the earth.

Now remember the breath of Jesus. Agonizingly difficult, shortened and painful, as his body hung from nails on a tree. And with his last he declared, “It is finished...” Stillness. Quiet. He is taken down from the cross, his flesh torn and blood-stained… and carried, breathless and heavy to the tomb where he is laid.

Morning comes, and all is silent. The sun begins to creep over the horizon, and a gentle breeze passes by the tomb… But inside there is only death... And outside only grief. A lost dream... unmet expectations. Saturday woke up tired. Drained of hope and strange after Friday’s turmoil.

Those who loved him were tired too. Scared and in shock, still reeling from what had happened. They might not have had the heart to pray… unsure if Yahweh was real, was good, or cared about them. They couldn’t see a way forward. Have you ever felt that way?

As you listen to today’s passage remember the waiting of Saturday. Remember a time when you felt abandoned, hopeless and unsure that anything good could come next. Step into this Psalm with your own experience and that of Jesus and his friends. And ask the LORD to meet you as you listen.

----------REFLECT----------

Bring your disappointments, your longings and hopes deferred to Jesus now, and let his Spirit comfort you this Saturday.

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Blog of Malcolm Guite, Poet >>

Poor Bishop Hooper | Every Psalm | Psalm 13 >>

Bible Project Video: Loyal Love >>

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Psalm 22 (NIV)

“Eloi Eloi, lema sabachthani!” “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The words of Jesus as his life poured from his body on the cross... Some who were watching thought he was calling out to the prophet Elijah, and they waited to see if Elijah would come to save him… Others, centuries later, have focused on the idea of Jesus being forsaken by the Father, and whole theologies have been born from this idea. But when we read that Jesus quoted the first line of Psalm 22 with his dying breath, maybe we should take a deeper look at the psalm itself…

This psalm is attributed to King David and is set up as a song to be sung corporately, to a well-known tune. It was written in first person but sets its declarations within a context of “the great assembly.” The speaker has a deeply personal, intimate experience of connection with God—from the womb there is trust and belonging. But alongside it he experiences horrific abuse and violence, and in that place of suffering he calls out to his God, remembering the history of his people—their cries for deliverance from Egypt and the faithfulness of God to rescue them.

As you listen to the psalm read aloud, try to enter in with your imagination. Stand at the foot of the cross and hear these words as you know they are in Jesus’ mind. Step into the story... and behold your savior.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
Where in this passage did you see Jesus?
Jesus' afflictions on the cross bear both the evil we’ve done and the evil that has been done to us, in him we are forgiven and healed, redeemed and restored. How does this reality comfort you on this Good Friday?

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Isaiah 61Read by: Kim Koi In the church calendar today is Maundy Thursday, commemorating The Last Supper, the Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. He told them that the bread they ate was his body, which would be broken… and the wine was his blood that would be shed, as a new covenant... As he sat with his disciples, imagine now all that they would be remembering—imagine the collective memory of Israel as we’ve read through Isaiah. Deliverance from Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, the ups and downs of all the kings, the failure of the people, and the faithfulness of God… But now, it’s been a long time since they had seen deliverance. They were under Roman occupation, feeling a lot like slaves and exiles once again. The stories of the Messianic King and of the Suffering Servant were tucked away… remembered, hoped for, but perhaps seeming more like a fool’s dream than a coming reality. And yet here is Jesus, telling them he is about to suffer, claiming essentially that he is the Passover lamb. Do you think they could see it? Would they have remembered his words and actions over the past few years and set them in the context of Isaiah’s Servant King? “Like a lamb led to the slaugher…” “The shoot from the stump of Jesse…” Or today’s passage that Jesus read in the synagogue and proclaimed to be fulfilled its hearing—“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor…”

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What connections did you see in the passage to the rest of Isaiah?
As we look towards the end of Holy Week, the death and resurrection of Jesus, we cannot ignore the fact that he saw himself fulfilling the role of the Suffering Servant King in Isaiah. How does that change or deepen your understanding of him?
The beauty of this passage calls us to see people the way God sees them. It is to the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives that the LORD announces this good news. And they will be the LORD’s planting, the priests and ministers to the nations. How is this passage good news to you? And in what ways is the LORD drawing you into the work and worship of showing the world what he is like?

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Isaiah 60:15-22 (NIV)

Read by: Emily Johnston

The LORD will once again inhabit the earth. He will be its light. There will be no more sorrow, no more violence… Rather, the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into the city of God, and the nations will be at last together—working, worshipping together in peace, fully bearing the image of the God in all their unique ways. It’s a vision that flows from the rivers of the Garden of Eden to the River of Life—From Genesis 1 to the end of Revelation. The beginning and the end of the Biblical narrative are both here in today’s passage, tied together by the hope and expectation of the renewal of humanity and of the entire cosmos.

Remember that the “You” in this chapter is the New Jerusalem, the symbol of God’s New Creation brought about by the work of The Suffering Servant to bring not only Israel out of exile in Babylon but the whole of humanity out of exile, disconnected from God because of their sin.

As you listen, try to picture it. Think of what it will be like and allow your heart to take hold of this hope.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
Holding the whole of chapter 60 in your mind, imagine your family, your people bringing the wealth of your culture into New Creation. What good things do you imagine being restored and renewed and offered as a gift to the LORD for the flourishing of the world?
In New Creation, things are very different than they are now. No more violence. No more sorrow… means no more fear… and no more loss. In this season of the coronavirus pandemic, political upheaval, and racial injustice, what about this chapter, and about the picture of New Creation offered in the book of Isaiah has especially spoken to you?

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Isaiah 60 (NIV)

Read by Emily Johnston

From the second chapter of Isaiah on, we’ve had this hope… of a New Creation, a place with no more suffering, no more war, where nations would come together, lay down their weapons and learn from their Maker how to be truly human. We walked with this hope in our pocket through the drama of the Assyrians and the Babylonian exile, through the poems and prophecies of God’s judgment on Israel, her kings, and her violent oppressors. We’ve seen The Servant of the LORD do what Israel could not… we’ve seen him be the human God could partner with. And we’ve seen him suffer and die on their behalf. We’ve seen him rise to the throne as the Messianic King—his suffering vindicated, his eyes satisfied by the inheritance... of the nations. And now, in today’s passage, we see in full color the nations streaming to the New Jerusalem, the New Creation so hoped for, so longed for by the faithful. Abraham’s descendents from far and wide bring their wealth—offerings of praise to Yahweh. And the walls that were destroyed by foreign nations will be rebuilt by them as well. RESTORATION. RECONCILIATION. PEACE…

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases stood out to you in the passage?
The opening of this chapter is a distant echo of the first Creation… Arise, Shine, for your light has come. Let. There. Be. Light. It’s a picture of the LORD’s victory over sin and evil and his determination to inhabit his Creation. How does this passage give you hope today?
Throughout the Bible the promise of New Creation is that of the world made right. But, empowered by God’s Spirit, we don’t have to wait to participate in that New Creation… as signposts pointing to what will be, we can live out of that hope now. So, is there someone who needs your forgiveness? What might it be like to forgive them now, in anticipation of the healing to come? Or, is there someone whose forgiveness you need to ask for? Ask the LORD for courage to respond to Him today.

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Isaiah 59:12-21 (NIV)

We all know the feeling of helplessness. Most of us don’t like to feel helpless, but we understand it nonetheless. Maybe when you picture someone who is helpless you picture a young child, or someone who is ill. But sometimes even as grown up healthy people we find ourselves in situations that are beyond our ability to get out of or fix. And that’s where we find the writers of today’s passage. It’s the second part of a prayer—a prayer of grieving and repenting over the sins and failures of their people and the ways those things have made life miserable for everyone. It’s an honest appraisal of their desperation, they’re separated from God, and utterly helpless.

But then... There’s a bend in the road, a turn that opens up a new horizon. Help is coming. The LORD sees clearly the pain, the injustice, the rebellion, and he is ready to fight against it. For the sake of those he made with his own hands, he is ready to fight.

As you listen to the passage read aloud, try to imagine how the people would have felt. They were literally described as “people without eyes,” so deep was the darkness and evil around them. Imagine the desperation. Maybe it’s not too hard. But imagine too the feelings that would have welled up in them at being rescued. Maybe… that’s not too hard either.

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What about this passage caught your attention?
The LORD is described as a warrior, wearing righteousness, salvation, vengeance and zeal as his battle armor. Where in your life do you need the LORD to fight for you today?
The promises at the end of this passage are surely good news to us. From the west to the east the LORD will make himself known, there is redemption for those who repent, and he makes a new covenant—a promise of God’s own Spirit, with them, forever. The LORD is faithful to save, to heal, and to restore, even if he has to do it all by himself. In what ways is this good news for you?

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Isaiah 59:1-12 (NIV)

So in the past several chapters we’ve been given a picture of the Servant and of those who follow in his footsteps. In contrast to the wicked who essentially get what they ask for, those who follow after the Servant are the ones who will inherit God’s kingdom. Empowered by him, they act with justice for the poor. They bring restoration and renewal to those around them. But as they go, they remember. They remember that God’s kingdom is not yet here in fullness. Evil is still around them, and they are still frustrated by it. And it’s not foreign nations, it’s their own people. Today’s passage is the first half of a poem- a prayer of grieving and repentance over the sins of Israel and the consequent separation from God.

As you hear the passage read, listen carefully to the many images the writer employs to describe both the sinful ways of the people and the resulting repercussions. Take note of what stands out to you and think about why that might be.

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What images caught your attention?
If we dare to watch the news these days, we could probably write a similar prayer about our country, or our people. No culture, ethnic group or nation has a corner on moral superiority, and we are often even overwhelmed with the sin within the church itself. What about this prayer of grief resonated with you as you thought about the sin around you?
And what about your life? The sins of our family, our community, our culture and our nation affect us, whether we participate in them or not. Is there anything that’s weighing you down today? That’s making you feel like you’re walking in deep shadows? Bring that honestly to the LORD now.

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Isaiah 58 (NIV)

Even though we haven’t talked about it much during this series, we are going through the book of Isaiah during the season of Lent. If you’re not familiar with the church calendar, Lent is the season of 40 days that lead up to Easter. It’s a season to reflect on our mortality, our sin and our inability to rescue ourselves from the mess we’ve made of the world… a reflection that grows in hope as we look forward to Jesus’ death and resurrection as the rescue we need. It’s also a season of fasting, intended to help us enter more deeply into prayer and God’s presence as we set aside things that we tend to use to distract us or satisfy our cravings. People might pick something like social media, alcohol, or sugar… and they might try to pray more or spend more time in Scripture. But for some, Lent is more of just a cultural tradition, like a semi-religious detox preceded by the overindulgence of Mardi Gras and ending with Easter bunnies.

Today’s passage is all about fasting. Similarly, the Jewish people had ritual, communal seasons of fasting. And just like us, it could easily be just a show. What was to keep them from going back into their overindulgent, selfish ways when it was all over? They needed a fast that would change their hearts, not just make them look spiritual. And so do we.

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases stood out to you in the passage?
The kind of fasting the LORD desires is a total shift in the way we live our lives. It’s the life that flows, with God’s help, out of that repentant, contrite heart we saw in yesterday’s passage. What part of this different kind of fasting stood out to you in particular?
Repairer of Broken Walls… Restorer of Streets with Dwellings… The people who choose this kind of fasting are given titles, honored as those whose lives reflect the LORD. He is the one who repairs and restores, and we have the invitation to reflect him into the world… to join him in his good work. What in your life needs to change in order to partner with God in this way?

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Isaiah 57:14-21 (NIV)

Read by: Sasha Mackoon

One of the most miraculous things about the Christian faith is the opportunity for forgiveness. No matter what we’ve done, the door is open for repentance—turning away from evil, selfishness, greed… and turning towards the LORD, who is waiting with open arms to receive even the worst of us. His longing is for renewal… for those in darkness to have light, for the sick to be healed, and for the dead to open their eyes and breathe again.

Today’s passage is the LORD speaking, and the words we hear are his heart, his longings for those he created to have life and peace. The words are for Israel, but they are also for us.

As you prepare to hear today’s passage, find a place where you can be still, where you can allow your thoughts to rest for a minute and just listen.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
The LORD says that he is high and exalted but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit. How does that bring you comfort today?
The obstacles to return home must be removed. The roads must be built up because the LORD wants us. He desires to heal us. What obstacles do you need to be removed to receive healing and revival in your life? And in what ways can you partner with God to remove obstacles and build up the road for others to receive his healing? Ask the LORD for what you need today.

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Isaiah 57:1-13 (NIV)

Read by: Sasha Mackoon

Today’s passage might come as a shock after the beautiful, hopeful verses of the past few days. Today’s words are, in essence, a reminder of the reality of living life in the in-between. Even after experiencing God’s grace in return from exile, Israel still cozied up to foreign kings and adopted the idols of foreign nations, allowing false religion and superstition to provide a cover for all kinds of evil. In the same way, even we, on the other side of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection find ourselves caught up in worshiping all kinds of idols and allowing false religions and attachment to political power to excuse all kinds of evil. In forgetting the one true God, we have allowed ourselves to fear any number of other things that deserve neither our reverence nor our emotional energy. We too live in the in-between. We are not yet in the world that will be. Heaven and earth are not yet one.

But this passage doesn’t leave us without hope. It begins and ends by recognizing that there are some who are faithful, some who are righteous, some who fear the LORD and take refuge in him. And in this contrast there is an invitation. Be on the side of justice. Lay down your idols. Remember your God and cling to him.

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What feelings were brought up in you as you listened to the passage?
A friend of ours who grew up Hindu once said that it’s easy for Westerners to critique the idols of other religions because they’re easy to see. But we don’t see our idols as clearly. They aren’t painted statues or pictures on the wall. Our culture instead serves the gods of nationalism, comfort, status and self-indulgence. What idols in your life do you need to lay down at the LORD’s feet?
The passage opens and closes by acknowledging the righteous. No matter what evil is happening around them, the LORD will give then peace, rest in death and a home with him in New Creation. How does this reassurance bring you peace today?

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Isaiah 56:1-8 (NIV)

Read by: Javelin Lewis

Today’s passage really moves us into the global picture of restoration the LORD has in mind. In fact, he has always had it in mind, as we’ve seen throughout Isaiah, but now it’s beginning to take shape in (as one writer puts it) “the marks of a redeemed community.” He says that God’s people are those who are following in the footsteps of The Servant, listening to the LORD, growing in wisdom, choosing to go His way and not our own way. And this kind of redeemed community will be known by two things: Justice and Openness. No one who is willing to follow the Servant is to be excluded from this new family, and everyone should be treated fairly. Remember, a big part of Israel’s trouble was that they had become marked by injustice and exclusivity. Their religion had been separated from living rightly, and their embrace of outsiders was virtually nonexistent. But the LORD’s Servant brought these qualities back together, embodying in his life, his suffering, and his sacrifice both God’s justice and his desire for the whole earth to know him. The Servant is God’s perfect human partner, and he made a way for everyone to serve the LORD with him.

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases caught your attention?
There’s a beautiful echo in today’s reading of the barren woman from chapter 54. The desolate woman would have “more children than her who has a husband,” and the eunuch will have an everlasting name. It’s about honor in place of shame, and security in the family of God, regardless of your sexual identity or parental or marital status. It’s about faithfulness to Jesus. How does this idea challenge your ideas of blessing and honor in our culture?
The church today is no stranger to the separation of our religion from justice. We have a deep history of living a disembodied faith. In what ways might God be calling you to bear his image in every area of your life? At work? In your social life? In your community? Ask him for wisdom to live a life of integrity, embodying justice and openness in your whole life.

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Isaiah 55 (NIV)

Throughout Scripture God provided what the Bible calls “signs.” That can sound spooky or kinda sci-fi, but you can think of it in the same way that we talk about signs. There’s a sign at the entrance to our street so you know where you are. There are signs at restaurants and shops so you know what kind of restaurant it is. God’s covenants always had signs with them, to help tell the people in the story (and those of us reading it later) where we are in the story and what kind of God is writing it. With Noah it was a rainbow in the sky, a reminder that the LORD would never again flood the earth. With Abraham it was circumcision, a way to mark out God’s people from the rest. And the list goes on.

Today’s passage speaks of another sign and another covenant. God’s people have broken there side of the covenant, but after the exile the Suffering Servant has brought Israel back into a kind of covenant renewal moment with the LORD. He says he will make an everlasting covenant and proceeds to describe the sign that will tell them when they have arrived. The sign will be life! Just like the Servant died and then came back to life, the LORD is saying that though his people were desolate, he will restore them. Life where there was death, beauty and nourishment where there was pain and suffering. The sign will be a restored people, flourishing as they were meant to from the beginning. Mercy. Joy. Belonging. Forever.

----------REFLECT----------

What words, phrases or images stood out to you in the passage?
When you think about your life, what signs can you point to of the faithfulness of God? What memories, experiences or relationships point to the work of God in your life or in the life of your family? And where do you feel in need of living water? In what ways do you thirst for the LORD?
The invitation in this passage is to come. You’re invited. Thirst will be quenched, the feast is free. And the celebration is one that will never end. The LORD is inviting you to seek him, to call on him. His mercy and pardon are ready and waiting to be lavished on you. What step do you need to take today to receive His compassion and faithful love?

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Isaiah 54:1-10 (NIV)

The Servant of the LORD has suffered and died, giving his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people, for the sake of the restoration of the world. And he has not stayed dead… in resurrection he is vindicated, given authority, peace, satisfaction, and… offspring. But what does that mean? What does the restoration of the world look like? Who are his offspring? And what does that mean for Israel? What does it mean for us?

The next several chapters turn our attention to the lives of those who are willing to join The Servant in his devotion and obedience to God—those who choose to trust God even in the dark. We see their future. We see the ways these servants are granted the covenant blessings of their forebears and… what restoration will look like for them. Barrenness, widowhood, rejection in marriage—these are all themes the Israelites would have been familiar with in their history from the stories of Sarah & Hagar, Hannah, Ruth and Leah, among others. But just as the LORD worked his purposes in and through these women and their pain, the spiritual barrenness of Israel is not a problem for Him. His Servant has done what needed to be done to both cover her sin and show her what faithfulness looks like. And her Maker, her Husband is there waiting, with compassion in his eyes, calling for her to let go of her shame and return to Him.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
The picture of restoration here is communal—Israel’s faithful servants embody the barren woman, the widow and the rejected wife. But in remembering the stories of individuals, and in light of our place in God’s story, there is room for us to receive it individually as well. The restored creation is both cosmically grand and also deeply personal. Where in your life do you long for the removal of shame? And the restoration of what has been lost?
The LORD’s compassion is a central piece of the picture of his restoration. He sees the pain, he feels the loss, and as we’ve seen in the picture of The Servant, he chooses to suffer with his people. A lot of people talk about “The God of the Old Testament” and only see the harshness of his judgment. Yet throughout Isaiah’s writings we’ve seen a God who is deeply troubled over the sins of his people and determined to bring about renewal in and through them. We’ve seen a God of compassion. In what ways does this picture of God challenge your view of God? In what ways do you need to receive His compassion and renewal in your life?

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Isaiah 53 (NIV)

Today’s passage feels in some ways like the climax of the book—the turning point and the answer to the question, “How?” How is God going to redeem his people? How can they belong to him again after so much rebellion?... The answer lies, as we’ve started to see, in the person of The Servant—this somewhat mysterious figure who will take on the identity and vocation of Israel to partner with God and bring all the families of the earth together, back to their Creator at last. But again… how? Surely the Servant of the LORD would be strong. He would be handsome, right? Someone everyone would want to follow? Surely he would lead with military power and that would show the world who their God was. Right?

The answer was as astonishing then as it is now. No one was looking for this kind of king. When he came, they didn’t even recognize him. In fact, they hated him, despised him. He wasn’t attractive, he wasn’t kingly. And yet he was the answer to the question. He was the means of God’s salvation. Not by power or strength or wealth, but by offering his own body to be laid on the altar, and to die as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Today’s passage might be familiar to you, but again, hear it in the context of the book, in the context of the story of Israel, of their longing for release from exile, both physically and spiritually. They were cut off from home, but they were also cut off from the LORD. They longed for restoration.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you feel as you heard the passage?
Like the people telling us about The Servant, we often don’t see the LORD when he’s right in front of us. We tend to look for God in the big, in the beautiful, in the powerful and strong. But where in your life might you be blind to the places and ways God is revealing himself to you, simply because they are small, weak or unattractive?
Half way through the passage it says “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering” Then it also says that “he was pierced for our transgression, crush for our iniquities.” The cross of Jesus carries both the weight of the pain and suffering we’ve experienced, as well as the pain and suffering we’ve caused. How is this good news for you today?

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Isaiah 52 (NIV)

In today’s passage we hear the prophet calling the very few Jews who remained in Jerusalem during the exile to ready themselves, to awake and to dust themselves off in preparation for the return of the LORD and his people. Despite Israel's lack of trust, Yahweh is bringing his people back to Jerusalem and is going to raise up a Servant who will restore them and take their job of blessing the nations upon himself.

Picture the scene… you are a Jewish child, and you’ve lived in Jerusalem long after the majority of your people have been hauled away into captivity. The Temple is a heap of rubble and the LORD is not present there. There are watchmen on what remain of the walls, and one day you hear them calling out that there is a messenger coming. You wait, because you’ve learned that a lone messenger means something very specific, a lone messenger means that he carries good news. News of Victory… Could it be, could this all be over? Is the LORD returning to Jerusalem, to the Temple, with his people?

The past year at points has felt like a kind of exile. Many of us have felt distant from God; we’ve felt disconnected from our normal lives, our family, our friends, our neighbors. Our society's fault lines are shifting and it has caused the earth to shake under our feet. In many ways this year has felt like exile and we need a return. As you listen to today’s passage, listen with an ear towards your longings for return. Things will never be the same, and in some ways that’s a good thing, but nonetheless each of us needs to get back up on our feet, dust ourselves off and walk into tomorrow with the LORD as our rear guard. We need the Servant who will come and take on our shame and show us the way.

----------REFLECT----------

What image stood out to you in today’s passage?
Consider what it must have felt like to hear the news that the exile was over, that Israel was about to return home. That despite all the hopelessness the LORD our God still reigns. In what area of your life do you long for such news?
Toward the end of this passage it turns towards the Servant, as if to ask, how is any of this possible? And it says that he will act wisely but will suffer on our behalf. That many will be appalled at him but that he will shut the mouths of kings. The Servant comes to the defense of God’s people. Jesus silences those who would mock us in our shame. In what ways do you need Jesus to act on your behalf today?

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Isaiah 51:1-11 (NIV)

Read by: Javelin Lewis

So far in the book of Isaiah, we’ve gotten a good bit of the history of Israel just prior to exile. Few of us can imagine the kind of war and exile that Israel faced during this period. But just for a minute, think about the place you love the most—the place you really call home. Now imagine that you’re forced to leave, to stay away from this beloved place. You settle somewhere else, but your heart always longs for it… You grow up, have a family, and you tell your kids all about it… They have kids, and you share the stories with the little ones. The smells and tastes of your favorite food there, the beauty of the landscape, the sounds of the birds, maybe, or the wind rustling through the trees. To your kids it might seem like a dream, like some kind of fairy tale. They’ve only seen the desert… And yet the hope is placed in their hearts. The hope of home, of the place they really belong.

Today’s passage is for the descendants of those who were exiled to Babylon. Zion is a place in their grandmother’s memory. The LORD’s temple, the feasts and celebrations, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, like a great big family reunion. Home. Today’s passage calls those who have never seen Zion to dream of it once more. The LORD beckons those who want to trust him— “Believe. Remember where you’re from. Remember who you are.” He calls them to put their hope in Him, and to follow the Servant as he “set his face like flint.” Don’t be afraid of those who would rather forget. The tale is true. Come and see.

----------REFLECT----------

What images stood out to you in the passage?
Toward the end of this passage, the writer breaks into a plea for the LORD to hurry up, in a sense. The longing for things to be the way they should be can be overwhelming sometimes. In what ways do you experience this kind of “holy impatience?”
As you consider the invitation and encouragement to remember who you are, to trust in God and to journey on towards this vision of home, what do you need for the journey? Maybe it’s a community, a family to walk with. Maybe it’s strength to endure shame or criticism as you go. Or maybe it’s a deeper confidence in the hope. Whatever you need, ask the Holy Spirit to give it to you today.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project : Exile

Bible Project: Isaiah 40-66 >>

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Isaiah 50 (NIV)

Read by: Brennan Takayama

Israel's sense of identity was centered around the Law, the Torah that set up boundaries that distinguished the nation of Israel from other nations. In it’s design it wasn’t a problem because it was through this nation that who was marked out that God would cause blessing to come to all the other nations. Israel was the means, not the end. But Israel failed to live up to this vocation, but the LORD would not relent in his covenant to bring this blessing through Israel. And so the boundary markers that created Israel, are about to be redrawn around this servant figure.

In today’s passage we learn that the boundaries of belonging to “God’s people” are not only being broadened to include the Gentiles, but they are being narrowed as well, to exclude those Israelites who don’t want to trust and obey the LORD. Belonging is no longer about who’s in and who’s out. It’s not about who gets the blessing and who doesn’t. It’s not membership in an exclusive club. It’s about choosing to follow God even in the dark. Even when the path heads toward suffering. And the Servant here provides a litmus test - the image of the kind of human God wants to partner with, the kinds of humans we are to become. The door is wide open, he says. The LORD has not divorced Israel. On the contrary, he is waiting to receive those who want to return to him. Who among you? Who will return?

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you from today’s passage?
The Servant’s willing obedience calls us to look at ourselves in his light. Are we willing to follow God into suffering? Are we willing to listen and learn from him, morning by morning? Where in your life do you need to press into deeper obedience?
The Servant is not afraid because he has confidence in the LORD’s help and that he will be vindicated. His hope is wrapped up in his belief that his suffering will not be in vain. As we consider the difficult places in our lives—whether in work, relationships, or in your personal life, do we believe that faithfulness will be worth it that we will be vindicated? Ask the LORD for faith to trust him.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 40-66 >>

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Isaiah 49:13-22 (NIV)

Today on Daily Read, we hear of the LORD’s deep deep love for his people. Remember, the people of Israel are reeling from having been exiled… and we have to be careful not to let this get lost on us. This is a nation whose identity is completely wrapped up in the land they were stewards of. For Israel to be exiled... is for their very identity to be shaken.

Today we’ll hear the cry of the LORD’s people saying “The LORD has forsaken me, the LORD has forgotten me.” And then, the tender care of the LORD depicted as a faithful mother caring for her children.

In Ignatian spirituality there is a prayer called “examen,” which invites us to become aware of our consolations: ways that we have been brought near to the LORD. And then become aware of our desolations: ways that we have been distant from the LORD. As you prepare to hear the passage, consider the ways that you have felt distant from the LORD lately.

----------REFLECT----------

What image stood out to you in this passage? Why do you think that is?
As you think of the ways that you experienced desolation or feeling distant from the LORD, how does this image of the LORD bring you comfort and hope? What does it challenge in you?
As you think of the ways that you have experienced consolation or nearness to the LORD, how does this image of the LORD bring you joy and gratitude? And how might you intend to respond to the LORD?

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 40-66 >>

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Isaiah 49:1-12 (NIV)

Read by: Amanda Koch

Today’s passage brings us into a new section of the book of Isaiah. Even after being freed from Babylon, Israel’s heart remains hard. They just don’t trust God... and would rather decide for themselves what’s best. And so the road curves, the story shifts, and God decides to do something different. Unexpected. Israel will no longer bear the role of God’s servant, and instead a single figure emerges to carry the mission forward. Instead, he will be called Israel, and he will not only restore Jacob’s family, but he will bring all of God’s family back together. He will be a light to the Gentiles, to all nations, to the ends of the earth. This Servant sounds like someone we’ve met before though. He’s foreshadowed earlier in the book—remember the Messianic King? The root of Jesse? And yet there are new details, ways that his rescue and reign will look different than what everyone thought. He will suffer. He will be rejected. But through it all he will be obedient to the LORD, even... to the point of death. He will die for the sins of his own people—to pave the way for their restoration and the redemption of all.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Israel’s vocation was to be a light to the nations, but their own interests kept getting in the way. The world needed someone whose only vision was to show the world who God was. In your life, how has God revealed himself to you? How do you know who he is?
As you look out into the world, and particularly into your world, who can you see who needs to know God? Who in your life has been given a distorted or incomplete picture of God? Pray for them. And as you are given opportunities, ask the LORD to help you show them who He is.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 40-66 >>

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Isaiah 44:1-11 (NIV)

Read by: Brennan Takayama

As parents it’s necessary to discipline our children. I don’t know many parents who actually enjoy this part of raising kids, but we all have to do it. And we all have to learn when… and how. What’s worth a punishment? And what kind of punishment will actually work to help your child learn? If out kids are fighting over a toy, we’ve learned to just put the toy away for a while. If they are being mean to each other—saying things to hurt each other, or physically hurting each other, they get a time out. But at the end of the time out, after they’ve worked out their feelings, at the end of whatever strife is going on, we always talk. We always affirm our love for them and try to call them into a different way of behaving, a different way of thinking. Our older daughter usually has a hard time forgiving herself. She hates messing up. The younger one has a harder time convincing herself that listening to Mom and Dad is worthwhile. She prefers to do things her own way.

We find a similar pattern in Isaiah. God’s children mess up… really bad. And they get kind of a cosmic time out… Exile . But after it’s over, the LORD wants to give them another chance, to remind them of how much he loves them and how faithful he has been, and to remind them who he is. He is the only real God, and he longs for them to bear his name.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Idols in the ancient world were not merely statues. They represented other gods and people would worship them… giving the fruit of their labor and their lives over in service of these idols hoping that they would provide peace, prosperity, and power. We may not make sacrifices to statues, but we have idols in our world, they ask for our time and money and allegiance in return for power, comfort, and security… What idols are you tempted to worship?
When we worship an idol, it marks us. We become like what we worship. But no matter what we’ve done in our lives, what idols we’ve bowed down to, or how many times, the Creator who formed us in our mother’s wombs sees us, loves us, and longs for us to bear his name. What might you need to lay down today in order to pick up the name of God?

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 40-66 >>

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Isaiah 43:1-13 (NIV)

I’ll never forget one night as a student in InterVarsity. I was struggling through a very broken relationship, and I was sitting with my staff worker. It was getting late and he was graciously listening as I was wrestling through everything. But in his wisdom and I’m sure in what was his growing fatigue he said, “The Lord has been faithful to you, what reason has he given you not to trust him?”

His statement stunned me. Not that it surprised me or offended me, no. The words just stopped me in my tracks. My racing mind and fearful heart in an instant turned to remember all the ways the LORD had indeed been there with me. I remembered, and so does the LORD.

For many of us this season has left us with a lot of questions. A lot of pain has been drawn up from deep, deep wells and poured out onto the ground before us. The same was true for Israel in today’s passage. And I believe that impact it must have had on them, is available to us today through the Holy Spirit. The same way my staff worker’s words stopped me in my tracks, and caused me to remember the goodness of the LORD, may this passage do the same for you… may we remember together the LORD who loves us.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you from this passage?
The LORD recalls in this passage so many of the images that bring up stories of rescue and redemption and deliverance for Israel—Moses and the people passing through waters, Daniel and his friends walking through fire. Take a moment and remember the scenes that represent the LORD’s redemption in your life. Maybe it’s a campus, or a home, or a mountain, or a community… let those images come to your mind.
The same LORD that redeemed you then, is the same one who is with you even now… where you are… The LORD is faithful and deserving of our trust… take a moment, and maybe it’s a bit of a risk, but in a simple prayer give the LORD your trust again.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 40-66 >>

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Isaiah 42:1-13 (NIV)

Read by: Eric Peterson

Have you ever felt like maybe God wasn’t strong enough to keep something bad from happening? Or maybe he just didn’t care? Often when we experience difficulties, we don’t know what to think about God’s role in the events of history… or our lives. The Israelites who came out of Babylon were feeling this way about God too. They thought maybe he wasn’t as powerful as the Babylonian gods, or maybe he wasn’t committed to them like he had promised to be. The writer of the next several chapters is responding to the people’s doubts on God’s behalf. As hard as it is for us to understand, the LORD showed his covenant faithfulness to them both through their exile and in their return home.

Personally, we have often encountered teaching in the church that tries to make sense of stories like this by either justifying all suffering as God’s discipline or by ignoring passages about God’s divine judgment, imagining them as simply the archaic thoughts of ancient people. But if you read enough of the Bible, you’ll realize that it’s simply not our place to say when God is bringing discipline in someone’s life or when the brokenness of the world is just doing what it does. The world is a mess, but God has from the beginning been searching for humans who will share his name, who will work with him to cultivate creation and bring Shalom—the kind of people he can truly partner with. And today’s passage, while it calls Israel to once again take up this mantle, it also foreshadows another partner... one who will open the eyes of the blind, release the captives, and finally establish justice on earth… one simply called the Servant.

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases stood out to you in the passage?
What characteristics of God the Creator and of the Servant brought you hope?
The last several verses are an appeal to Israel to see and receive the LORD’s mercy, to rejoice in their return from exile and see that it was His doing. What seasons of difficulty, pain or despair have you come through in your life? Or maybe you’re in a season like that right now? We invite you to share your honest thoughts with the LORD right now—whether in gratitude, relief and praise, or in lament, longing and grief.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 40-66 >>

Bible Project Blog: Isaiah and the Suffering Servant King >>

InterVarsity Press Selections: Isaiah >>

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Isaiah 40:1-11 (NIV)

Read by: Hugo Castro

Today we enter the second half of the book of Isaiah. After yesterday’s passage, Isaiah provides a bit of history for us—the story of King Hezekiah, his faithfulness to God, the LORD’s miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyria, a supernatural healing, and then, unfortunately, Hezekiah’s decision to ally his kingdom with Babylon. Isaiah predicts, then, that Babylon will come and take over Israel, and carry off the people to exile. It’s a crappy way for Hezekiah’s story to end, but it’s what happened, and that brings us up to speed.

The second half of the book describes events that happened way after Isaiah’s lifetime, after the Babylonian exile. So there’s some debate as to whether he wrote them, with prophetic hindsight, or whether his disciples took up his mantle and continued to write on his behalf. In either case, chapters 40-66 explore in vivid color the themes of the holy seed of Israel and the Messianic kingdom for all the nations. Remember, the judgment of Israel had a purpose. It was the purifying fire, removing the idols, the evil, the mixed up foolishness, and the darkness that had come to define a people who were meant to be a “light to the nations.” And from this point on, if you’re familiar with the story of Jesus in the Gospels, you’ll hear an increasing echo of his words, his actions, and the circumstances surrounding his life, death and resurrection.

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases stood out to you in the passage?
This poem really highlights both the faithfulness of God, even in the face of human frailty, and our failure to be faithful to Him. In what ways, even in the midst of the past 12 months, have you seen the faithfulness of God?
We heard today a poem of comfort, for people who had been taken from their homes and lived in exile for several generations. We also find ourselves longing for our home, like we talked about yesterday. And that is a kind of exile… In what ways might the LORD be asking you to hear these words today for yourself, for your community, and for the Church?

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 40-66 >>

Bible Project Blog: Isaiah and the Suffering Servant King >>

InterVarsity Press Selections: Isaiah >>

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Isaiah 35 (NIV)

Read by: Summer Richardson

Today’s passage echoes previous and future pictures of hope—in Isaiah, but also reaching far back into the story of Genesis and all the way forward to Revelation. C.S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

We feel that. Though not for another planet... or a completely different kind of existence… we long for the world that was, and the world that will be. A place of safety, belonging, love, laughter and joy; a place without fear or loss, where our bodies are whole and in perfect working order, where food and flowers grow up and flourish with ease, where water spills out of the ground and quenches the thirst of the desert, where the earth can rest from its pain and be healed. We dream of it, we ache for it. And today we are encouraged to hold fast to it, to be strong and press into this longing yet again.

----------REFLECT----------

What image spoke to you from this poem? Why do you think that might be?
In what ways do your hands need to be strengthened? How do your knees need to be steadied to keep on walking?
Who do you know that needs to hear this word of encouragement today? Someone who may need to be reminded of this hope? Maybe take a minute and send a text, make a phone call, or write a letter to them.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 1-39 >>

Bible Project Blog: Isaiah and the Messianic King >>

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Isaiah 32:1-8 (NIV)

Read by: Maureen Mathew

These days, a lot of us have a great deal of skepticism about our government leaders. If you look up the word “politician” you might be surprised to find that there are two meanings. The first just means someone involved in conducting the business of government. But the second definition is “a person who acts in a manipulative or devious way to further their own advancement.” It’s unfortunate, but humanity has always had a tenuous relationship with power. We were made to reign and rule with God, but apart from his wisdom, we always end up making choices that do more harm than good in the end. And often, even those who appear to be following God are just using his name as a means to build up their own empire.

Israel was no stranger to this dynamic, and today’s passage falls within a series of poems rebuking the leaders of Jerusalem for their foolish politics. Yet within this rebuke, as always, the LORD does not leave them to flounder in their foolishness. The promise that was made is reiterated, seen from a new angle, painted on another canvas. Even amidst the harsh warnings, the reminders to hope come often. There is another King a new human who will reign with righteousness and justice. He is coming. Place your hope in him, wait for him.

----------REFLECT----------

What images in this passage caught your attention?
This passage talks about a King, but it also talks about rulers (plural), who will bring safety, security, and provision. Whether we’ve seen it that way or not, we who follow him do hold positions of leadership—whether in our jobs, without votes, with our friends, or with younger people in our lives. How can you be like a shelter from the wind or a refuge from the storm for those within your care?
Under the reign of this king and these rulers, a whole host of bad things are undone, while goodness, clarity and understanding will define the new order of things. In what ways do you long for goodness, clarity and understanding in your life? What about in the life of your community? Bring those things to the LORD today.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 1-39 >>

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Isaiah 30:15-26 (NIV)

Read by: Adriana Abuchar

As we go along in the book of Isaiah, we’re exploring a lot of context together, but there’s so much more that we can’t fit into this podcast. So before we begin today, we just wanted to remind you to check out the show notes for videos and blogs from the Bible Project and books about Isaiah from InterVarsity Press that will help to expand your understanding of this prophetic book and of Scripture itself.

So, let’s get started. We’ve been moving through themes of judgment and hope for Israel, for Israel’s oppressors, and for Israel’s neighbors. We’ve seen the vision of what’s coming, of what will be in the distant future… the New Jerusalem, the mountain where all the peoples of the earth will be at peace and at home with nature, with God, and with one another. Today’s passage brings us into a section that turns around and zooms in on the rise and fall of Jerusalem itself. The city’s leaders have allied themselves politically with Egypt, with Pharaoh, with the nation that had enslaved them and killed their infants. Against the continuous warning and pleading of Yahweh’s prophets, they’ve chosen a path that seemed wise in their own eyes, but God knows it’s going to lead them astray.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you as you listened?
The choice between defining good and bad for ourselves and trusting God to teach us has been the issue from the beginning. In what ways do you need to go deeper in learning to live according to God’s wisdom, instead of your own?
The LORD longs to give them rest, longs to have their trust, longs for them to let Him lead them. As we’ve said so many times in this series, the circumstances were different, but the temptations are the same. Are there areas of your life that you feel the LORD asking you to trust him, to let him lead, but it’s hard to let go of control? Bring those to Him now.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 1-39 >>

Bible Project Blog: Isaiah and the Messianic King >>

InterVarsity Press Selections: Isaiah >>

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Isaiah 25:1-9 (NIV)

Read by: Javelin Lewis

You’ll notice that we kind of took a leap from chapter 12 to today’s passage. It’s not that the in-between chapters are unimportant. Not at all. But there are others we really want to include before this series ends in Easter, so feel free to go back and read from chapter 13 on your own. The gist of it is that where the first 12 chapters of Isaiah prophesied both judgement and hope for Israel, chapters 13-27 do the same for Israel’s neighbors and even for their enemies.

Today’s passage begins the culmination of the first two sections- bringing together Israel and her estranged siblings who have come through the judgement of the LORD and are able to enter the Hope on the other side. It’s another song of praise, recounting who God is and what he has done to bring them into this Hope… It’s a hope that we may find particularly beautiful in this season.

As you listen, prime your ears to hear the promise of God’s deliverance.

----------REFLECT----------

What images stood out to you in this passage?
What losses have you endured in the past year that this hope speaks to?
Pain, grief, disgrace… the LORD will wipe away our tears and He will swallow up death forever. Bring your tears today as an offering to the one who longs to wipe them from your eyes, the one who is making all things new.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 1-39 >>

Bible Project Blog: Isaiah and the Messianic King >>

InterVarsity Press Selections: Isaiah >>

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Isaiah 12 (NIV)

Read by: David Luginbuhl

Yesterday’s passage was a picture of the kind of world we long for… the kind of world we need. No enmity, no violence—a world filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Chapter 11 goes on to describe the branch sprouting from “the stump of Jesse,” a picture of the remnant of Israel, yes, but here a remnant in the form of a unique person, who would work with the Spirit of God, creating that Eden-like Shalom. But then, there’s kind of a zooming in—a focus on the role of this Branch of Jesse in the life of Israel itself. He stands as a “banner for the peoples,” calling all of the tribes of Israel to return to God and to one another, reconciling estranged siblings to one another and to their Father.

Today’s passage is simply a song of praise, a foretaste of delight, of the feelings that will be written into words and sung from the mouths of those who are restored to their Maker, to others, to themselves, and to the creation all around… in that day.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
In what ways do you long to be restored to your God, to others, to yourself and to the world?
If you are able to sit and be still for a minute, grab a pen and paper and write your own prophetic Song of Praise, looking forward to all of the restoration you long to experience in your own life. What things will you thank Him for, when the heavens and the earth are renewed and all the world is put to rights?

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 1-39 >>

Bible Project Blog: Isaiah and the Messianic King >>

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Isaiah 11:1-11 (NIV)

Our neighborhood is filled with trees. Huge 100 foot tall oak trees that are probably 3 or 4 feet in diameter. They tower above the homes providing shade in the summer and beautiful contrast against the winter sky with their sprawling bare branches. But sometimes they rot. It’s rare that these trees will fall down all in one piece. They are prone to a disease that rots out the center and causes them to drop their tree sized limbs down on the houses below with no notice. What was a beautiful part of the landscape that provided comfort and rest becomes a risk to everything around it. When they get this way, wisdom and care tell us that they have to be cut down.

There was a tree like this in our neighborhood recently. One day it was there dropping it’s limbs, the next day it was an enormous coffee table sized stump. But a few months later we saw this shoot growing out of the stump. It grew fast and was covered in bright green leaves.

Israel became diseased, the LORD allowed them to be cut down, but He tells them in today’s passage to trust that a shoot will come up from that stump and Israel will be reestablished around this shoot. This is Immanuel, and throughout the rest of the book of Isaiah the LORD will remind his people of the hope of this coming kingdom.

----------REFLECT----------

What image in this passage gave you the most hope?
This passage speaks of a powerful, righteous, just, and good King. It speaks of the cessation of enmity and violence. Our world aches for this reality. In what specific ways do you ache for this reality in your context?
Under the leadership of the King, unity and justice kiss. They are not in tension, but are the fruit of his loving and mighty reign. In what ways do you long for unity and justice to kiss in the life of your community?

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 1-39 >>

BP Exploring My Strange Bible Podcast: The Meaning of Hope >>

InterVarsity Press Selections: Isaiah >>

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Isaiah 9:1-7 (NIV)

Today’s passage might be a familiar one to you, but it might also take on new meaning within the context of Isaiah. There’s been a lot of bad news for the Israelits so far. Their kings have led them astray, they’ve spent their time oppressing the poor and taking on the very bad habits of people who don’t know God. They have lost their way and no longer trust their God, and they’re in for some serious judgment. What hope is there? Even for those who make it through, who repent and humble themselves, who will be able to lead them? They need someone who can bring light into their darkness, someone close enough to see and touch, strong enough to rule with integrity, with righteousness and justice, someone who is wise, someone who brings the kind of shalom they long for. They need Immanuel.

Listen with open ears, remembering what’s come before in the story, and looking forward to a story you may have already heard…

----------REFLECT----------

How do you think this prophecy might have given hope to the Jewish people?
We can’t help but see Jesus all throughout this passage, and yet in some ways we find ourselves in the middle of the story. He has come, the righteous king from the line of David, from Galilee... but we still long for his reign to come in full. We are in that in-between time. His kingdom is “already, but not yet.” In what ways do you long for the kingdom described in this passage?
Sometimes we feel like we see pretty clearly, but other times we can definitely empathise with people who “walk in darkness.” In what part of your life do you need to ask the Lord for his light? For hope? Clarity? Or a bigger vision of who he is?

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project: Isaiah 1-39 >>

BP Exploring My Strange Bible Podcast: The Meaning of Hope >>

InterVarsity Press Selections: Isaiah >>

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Isaiah 8:11-18 (NIV)

Read by: Javelin Lewis

Between Isaiah’s vision and today’s passage, we see Isaiah providing Ahaz, king of Judah, with a final warning to turn back to God and stop putting his trust in a foreign kingdom. We also hear that Isaiah has two sons,

whose names mean “a remnant will return” and “quick to the plunder,” embodied echoes of God’s message of both judgement and hope. And there’s a prophecy of another son… who would be born of a virgin, and would be called Immanuel, “God with us…”

After all these warnings Isaiah receives a word for himself from the LORD in today’s passage. “Trust in me. Don’t be swept up in the people’s fear. Don’t be alarmed at the things you will see. Remember who I am, and trust in me.”

Being a faithful witness for the LORD can be a terrifying and unnerving thing. In the last episode we invited you to consider how the LORD might be inviting you to say, “Here I am, send me” within your community and context. If you have a sense of what that looks like, hold that before the LORD as you listen to His words to Isaiah. If you don’t have a clear sense of what that might look like, hold that question before the LORD as you listen to His words to his faithful witness.

----------REFLECT----------

What words, phrases or images caught your attention?
In this passage we hear the LORD calling Isaiah to rise above the noise and to listen to his voice above all others, and we all have room to hear this invitation these days. Everyone claims to know what’s true, and everyone says that someone else is to blame, and it’s easy to become afraid, anxious, and unsure of what’s real. What issues in our society cause you the most anxiety, and make it hard for you to rise above the noise?
Isaiah had to learn to wait for the LORD and trust him, even when he could not see his face. It’s hard for us to hear God’s voice above all the noise, to see God’s face amidst all the images that scroll past our eyes. And it is hard to wait for him. Ask the LORD to help you put your trust in him.

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Isaiah 6 (NIV)

You know how a lot of books and tv series have an episode or a chapter that goes back in time, back before the current situation, to provide context and history, to help us understand why a character is the way she is or why something happened the way it did? Today’s passage is kind of like that. It’s situated right in the center of the first section of Isaiah, and it’s a behind-the-scenes, backstory kind of moment. In one sense, it’s the answer to why Isaiah is saying all of these hard things. But in another sense, this passage follows a theme throughout Scripture of God calling a representative for his people—someone who will not only call them back to God, but one who could partner with him in their stead.

As you listen to the passage, really try to picture the scene, the vision of God’s space, however you imagine it. Take note of the things your imagination includes in the background, the way you picture the heavenly beings, the things you see, hear, smell and feel.

----------REFLECT----------

What details stood out to you as you listened and pictured the scene in your head?
One way to view this passage is that the whole of Isaiah’s message here gets turned around and zoomed in on the prophet himself—his realization of his own sin before a Holy God, his need for purification, and God’s message of hope for him in the form of a calling, a mission. In what way has the Lord been challenging you personally as you’ve listened so far to Isaiah’s words? Not just your community or nation, but to you within that community and nation.
To our modern ears, it sounds like God is telling Isaiah here to make the people’s hearts hard, to tell them not to perceive or understand, and we feel justifiably confused. Isn’t this counter to the call for people to listen to God? Instead, the response of the people—the hard hearts, the dull ears, the unwillingness to repent—will itself be evidence of their need for judgment. In what ways have your recent responses to the LORD revealed the reality of your heart?

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Isaiah 5:1-7 (NIV)

Read by: Kim Koi

Have you ever tried gardening? My wife and I have attempted to have a garden for the past 5 summers. Some things have grown well, others haven’t. The herbs kind of do their own thing and always produce more than enough. Our strawberries keep coming back, but we haven’t pruned them well, so they’re really really small. One year we had an amazing tomato crop, but we didn’t realize it until they were smushed at the bottom of the garden, having all ripened in the two weeks we were out of town. But the ones that have been really disappointing are those we put a lot of time and effort into–growing them from seed, transplanting them when they’re seedlings, watering and weeding diligently, only to get fruit that tastes awful… or no fruit at all.

Today’s passage is about a kind of garden—a vineyard. If you walked with us through Mark’s gospel, it might sound familiar to you. Jesus takes this very passage and reworks it to speak truth to the Jewish leaders in their context, and today we’ll find out why it hit home with them.

Remember the themes we’re hearing so far from Isaiah. They fill these first chapters and connect us from yesterday’s reading to today’s: A call to repent, a warning of judgment. Israel has abandoned the Lord. They’ve forgotten who they are and who they were meant to be. They’ve spent their energy pushing down those they should be helping, indulging in their wealth and worshiping their own reflection. A remnant will remain, but not without a difficult and painful season of purification.

----------REFLECT----------

What feelings came up in you as you listened to the passage?
What feelings do you imagine God felt as he surveyed Israel, his vineyard? Is there something in your life that you’ve poured your heart into, only to be disappointed?
It’s hard for our modern ears to hear the sort of apocalyptic language used by prophets and others in biblical literature. And yet, when we see violence and evil oppression, don’t we feel things just as deeply? What system, structure or power do you long for God to undo, tear down, or “lay waste to?” Ask the Lord to help you pray for his justice, from the depths of your heart.

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Isaiah 2:1-11 (NIV) Read by: Maureen Mathew The reading today comes from the second chapter of Isaiah. You might notice a pattern as we listen to the opening chapters of Isaiah. There is a back and forth of diagnosis then the treatment, and the picture of healing—not always in this order. Today’s passage, for instance, begins with the picture of hope—the picture of what will be. The end game. The finale. And yet it’s a finale that is also a beginning. A new beginning.

Then this passage turns to a list of all the ways Israel has abandoned God… and, as it says, the reasons why God is abandoning them. They’ve traded faith for superstition, traded their culture and laws for those of their enemies; they are greedy for both wealth and for power, and they’ve chosen to worship things they made with their own hands rather than the God who made everything. As we said in yesterday’s passage, we might have a different culture today, but the temptations are the same.

As you listen to the passage the first time, take note of the temptation in that list that most challenges you or your faith community.

----------REFLECT----------

What other words or phrases stood out to you in this passage?
The Lord is giving Israel what they want. They’ve chosen to walk away from him, and he’s going to let them. Think of your faith community. Are there ways y’all are tempted to or perhaps living towards this kind of rebellion? Take a minute to pray about that.
The Prophets Isaiah speaks of a mountain that will gather all peoples to it where they will be at peace. A diverse, unified, shalom. This stands in contrast to the tower of Babel where there was unity, But no Diversity, and no Shalom. The people say, “come let us go up the mountain of the LORD.” Take a moment to pray that for you and your faith community, that you might experience a diverse, unified, Shalom.

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Isaiah 1:11-20 (NIV)

Read by: Eric Peterson

Often when we think of prophets or prophecies, we think of just a prediction of the future, like in Harry Potter or a crystal ball—a mysterious divination that creates a plot twist in the story. But in the Bible, prophets are much more than fortune tellers. In fact, the primary role of the ancient prophets was to say hard things—to tell the truth about sin and to warn people of coming judgment, should they choose not to repent. They were close to God, filled with his Spirit, a vessel for his voice. Oftentimes they performed miracles like healing the sick or multiplying food for the hungry. But always, always their primary role was to call people back to God.

And so we enter the book of Isaiah: “a vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” Israel is failing. They no longer recognize their Maker. They have forsaken their God, turned their backs on him. They have lost all integrity and given up their calling to bear God’s image in the world, to show the nations the face of their Creator. Something must be done, because God is not giving up.

Listen now to Isaiah chapter 1, verses 11-20.

----------REFLECT----------

What thoughts and feelings surfaced in you as you listened to the passage?
If you’re a Christian in the West, it might not be too hard to put yourself or your community in the shoes of the Israelites. Our culture is different, but the temptations are the same. In what ways do you or your faith community need to hear these words today?
Being devoured by the sword seems like pretty harsh language. But what’s being indicated is the Lord releasing his protection and allowing foreign kingdoms to conquer Israel. Again, there’s this choice between obedience, leading to flourishing, and rebellion, leading to judgment. Is there an area of your life in which the Lord is asking you to obey him today?

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The Book of Isaiah (NIV)

Today we begin our journey through the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was a Jewish prophet who lived during the latter part of Israel’s kingdom period (which, for some background, you might want to read 1 and 2 Kings). Isaiah prophesied to the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah, warning of God’s judgment but also calling Israel to place their trust and hope in God.

The book is pretty well divided into two sections: Chapters 1-39, and 40-66.

In the first section, we learn that Israel, like all of the other nations, was caught up in all kinds of idolatry, greed, abuse and oppression of the poor. God hated this because not only were they abandoning him, they were also abandoning their role as his image-bearers and their vocation to reconcile all of the families of earth back to God and to one another. So the message of judgement was this: If Israel keeps walking down this path of evil, God is going to allow them to be conquered by foreign nations. First Assyria, then Babylon. It’s referred to over and over as a purifying fire, a way to burn off the evil and uncover the real humanity—in repentance and humility—and to sift the people down to a remnant or a “holy seed” that could once again join God in his mission to redeem to the world.

Therefore alongside this message of Judgment was a prophecy that God’s covenant promises would not be forgotten. His blessing would flow out to all nations through the remnant, in submission to a King—a King from the line of David who would be called Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” And all of the peoples of earth would be family again in a renewed, restored creation.

The second section repeats a lot of the same ideas as the first, but it speaks of life after the Babylonian exile. In spite of God’s rescue and deliverance, Israel will still be hard-hearted. Still not up to the task of being the kinds of humans God can partner with. But God is not deterred, and we’re then introduced to a character called the Servant.

The Servant is given the title and the mission of Israel, empowered by God’s Spirit, called to restore Israel and the nations. It sounds an awful lot like the Messianic King from the first section. But the way this Servant is going to fulfill the mission is way unexpected. Instead of conquering other nations with military power, he will suffer, be rejected, and die on behalf of the sins of his own people—a sacrifice… of atonement. And… he would not stay dead. Sound like someone we know?

The last section of the book has this living Servant leading and empowering other “servants” with God’s Spirit to again take up the role of Israel and inherit the Kingdom of God, reaffirming the hope of a New Jerusalem—a symbol of the renewed and restored Creation, welcoming all the nations to enter in and live in peace together.

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Mark 16:9-20 (NIV)

As we talked about yesterday, today’s passage is thought of kind of as an appendix—an addition of pertinent information that someone (probably someone besides Mark) later thought needed to be added. It brings together details from Matthew, Luke and even John’s accounts of the resurrection, so if you want a bit of a deeper dive, especially as Easter is approaching, you might want to read the other resurrection accounts over the coming weeks. Each one gives details that help to provide a fuller picture of what happened that day.

But for now, we just want to thank you for walking with us through the gospel of Mark. And as you listen today, think back... or if you’ve journaled along, look back at your notes. See if any themes emerge—maybe questions you’ve never thought to ask, or intersections between your daily life and the stories we’ve read. Ask the Holy Spirit for a kind of appendix to this series in your life. Ask him to open your eyes and help you see… who he is, what he’s doing, and how he’s calling you to engage in this all-encompassing, crazy, beautiful story of God.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in this passage?
Mary Magdalene was a woman and formerly an outcast, yet she was the first to see the risen Jesus. But the disciples didn’t believe her testimony. Are there people whose experience of Jesus you might discount for certain reasons?
Even though the disciples had a serious lack of faith, this didn’t stop Jesus from calling them into his mission in the world. How does that challenge or encourage you today?

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Mark 16:1-8 (NIV)

Today’s passage brings us to the end of Mark’s account of the good news of King Jesus. We’ll have one more episode to include the addition to Mark’s gospel- a summary added later to give some clarity to what happened next, since Mark kind of leaves us with a cliffhanger. Just know that it was actually not uncommon in those days for a writer to record a prediction and not necessarily write down the fulfillment. He would have assumed that people who experienced and remembered what happened next would have continued to tell the story. And… they did.

There are also some slight differences in the way Mark tells this story. In fact, each of the gospel writers has a slightly different take on it—though not necessarily contradictory to one another. Eyewitness accounts often work this way. People emphasize different details…

So as you experience this passage today, enter in. See what details stand out to you. Take note too of where you are right now. What’s around you? What’s going on in your body, and in your mind? What sights, sounds and smells might be influencing your experience of this day? Bring those in with you as you listen and ask the Lord to be tangibly present with you now.

----------REFLECT----------

What points of connection did you find with the women?
The women weren’t sure how they would get to Jesus’ body. They knew that they weren’t strong enough to roll away the very large stone. But when they arrived it had already been moved. Sometimes we perceive barriers to Jesus. Maybe something we’ve done. Maybe a lack of belief or faith. Ask the Lord to remove whatever obstacles might hinder you from coming close to him and trust that he is more than capable to roll them out of the way.
In keeping with Mark’s theme of the most unlikely folks being the very ones that see Jesus for who he is, he and all of the gospel writers agree that women were the first to see the empty tomb—and even the risen Jesus himself. In that society the testimony of women wasn’t even valid. Yet these were the ones chosen to carry the good news of the resurrection to the others. How does that challenge you? Or encourage you?

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Mark 15:33-47 (NIV)

“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,

“I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.”

Today’s passage pulls us back into that vision from Amos. Here we are, with all the jews standing there watching Jesus die in the middle of Passover, the celebration of Yahweh’s rescue from slavery in Egypt. Do you remember the ten plagues God sent to Egypt as he worked through Moses to free his people? 3 days of total darkness was the 9th plague. The tenth... was the death of the firstborn… in this passage we witness a new exodus.

The only son, the firstborn of all creation, hanging on a cross. The faithful servant suffering in the place of faithless Israel for the sins of a fallen world.

All of this symmetry is on display before each person watching and the only person who sees Jesus for who he really is, is a gentile… a roman centurion. Whoever has eyes let them see, whoever has ears let them hear.

So find a quiet space. Put away any distractions. And listen now to Mark chapter 15, 33-47.

----------REFLECT----------

In this passage Jesus cries out “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). Have you ever felt this way in your relationship to the LORD, bring that to him now.
The Roman centurion confessed “Surely this man was the Son of God.” He could see the reality of Jesus. And maybe as we’ve walked through the Gospel of Mark you’ve seen something new about Jesus too. Take a moment to confess that to the LORD.
The curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom, this enormous, incredibly thick curtain that separated the holy of holies from the rest of the world, the place where God’s presence dwelt and humanity, it was gone. Jesus was saying all along that God’s power and presence and reign is now free to move about the world. Take a moment to invite the Spirit of God to meet with you and fill you up for today.

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Mark 15:16-32 (NIV)

Today’s passage brings us to Jesus’ crucifixion. This is the most decisive moment in the story of our faith, and at the same time the most uncomfortable moment in all of the gospels too. This is especially the case for us as modern readers. It’s difficult to think about, but the closest thing to it in our culture’s memory is the lynchings of innocent black people on this very soil. The lies, the rhetoric of the powerful inciting violent mobs to carry out brutal murder. It’s horrific. It’s the kind of thing that led God to bring the flood way back in Genesis—the destruction of humanity by humanity, through hate, abuse, and murder. It’s the reason why the temple sacrifices existed. It’s the problem that we were never able to solve on our own—our sinfulness, our desire to define good and evil for ourselves.

If we’re honest, a lot of us would rather not have to think about those kinds of scenes. It’s painful. We know that in some way we are complicit. We know that it’s a part of our story, and our stomachs turn at the thought. Yet it was this act, of allowing evil to pile up onto the body of Christ that provides both the place forgiveness of sins and healing balm for our wounds.

As you listen to today’s passage, allow yourself to be placed in the scene. It won’t take too much work to see, hear, smell and touch but it will be difficult. We invite you to allow yourself to engage those senses, to bring your heart and mind into focus. You’ll want to listen with some amount of quiet and space to enter in fully, so take a second to find that.

----------REFLECT----------

What emotions came up in you as you listened?
Have you ever participated in evil? Scripture tells us that the terror of these actions happening to Jesus who was utterly innocent was the moment when all evil was summed up and poured out upon Jesus. We are participants in this story. Sit in the presence of that reality now.
Have you ever been mistreated, insulted, spat on, mocked, abused, beated, neglected? Have you suffered evil? Scripture tells us that every thorn, bruise, tear of the skin, lash on the back, word that was hurled, nail that was hammered, every minute that he was suspended there was an act of sacred empathy. Jesus suffers with us… So that when he takes the weight of pain and death into the grave and defeats it there he takes our pain and death with him. Sit in the presence of that reality now.

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Mark 15:1-15 (NIV)

At this point in Mark, Israel is celebrating the Passover. The celebration of God’s liberating the Israelites out from under the thumb of the egyptians. And you might remember back in Exodus chapter 14, the Moses and the people of Israel were at the shore of the red sea with the Egyptian army breathing down their neck, the people were terrified and Moses shouted out…. “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord which will work for you today. The Lord will fight for you; you have only to be silent.”

The Hebrew word for Salvation is Yeshua… Which we transliterate as Jesus. He said see the Jesus of the LORD fight for you.

Yet, after generations the people of Israel could not trust that God would do it again. Ever Passover Judea would come to a fever pitch with rebellion ready to ignite. And this Kingdom announcement that Jesus has been making throughout Mark is a direct challenge to Israel's violent way of dealing with Israel's bondage under Rome. Over and over Jesus says that it will lead to their destruction.

In today’s passage, we watch as Jesus literally trades places with a rebellious, murderous Jew. His name is Barabbas which literally means Son of the Father. In Matthew this rebel’s given name is Jesus as well. CAN YOU SEE IT? Israel partners with the Empire to kill Jesus of Nazreth, THE son of the Father, in exchange for salvation by their own means as they call for the release of Jesus Barabbas, the rebel.

----------REFLECT----------

What image in this passage struck you?
It’s difficult to think about, but we are all now quite familiar with the images of a riotous crown threatening insurrection, calling for the execution of leaders. Take a moment to picture the scene around Jesus… as he stands silent, on his way to be murdered.
Jesus was the only person in this scene who was not acting out of self-interest. How does this moment in the life of Jesus inspire you towards self-giving love?

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Mark 14:66-72 (NIV) Peter was so devoted, so outspoken, from the beginning. At once he left his fishing net to follow Jesus. And remember when he boldly suggested making some tents for Elijah and Moses at the Transfiguration? He declared that Jesus would never wash his feet, and when corrected he said, “Ok fine, not just my feet, but my whole body!” Whatever he did he did it wholeheartedly, and though he did some embarrassing things, he was never deterred from his passion. According to John’s gospel, Peter was the one who cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant with his sword when they came to arrest Jesus. By all accounts Peter was fiercely loyal.

So what happens today seems nearly impossible. This passage puts on display the chilling reality that all the passion and zeal in the world doesn’t necessarily translate into integrity when push comes to shove. As you listen to this passage, consider the ways that you can relate to Peter.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Have you ever seen someone who seemed so devoted (either to a significant other, a cause, a church or something else) just walk away ? What effect did that action have on you or others around them?
After 3 denials, Peter breaks down and weeps. The words mean that he threw himself down and cried out. Have you ever felt like you failed Jesus? Consider this: Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him…. Yet he still went to the cross on his behalf. Jesus knows your failures… and he still chose to die for you.

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Mark 14:53-65 (NIV)

Remember back in Chapter 12, that teacher of the law to whom Jesus said, “You are not far from the kingdom”? That guy knew that the point of it all wasn’t earthly power or status but being deeply connected with God—loving God with your whole self and loving your neighbor as yourself. He was a teacher of the law... and yet the teachers of the law in this passage seem to be reading a different Torah. Violence, bribery, and ”bearing false witness against your neighbor” are all weapons of choice in their desperate attempt to secure power through an illegal trial held at night.

Jesus, for the first time in Mark’s gospel, directly claims to be the Messiah. Further, he pulls an image from the book of Daniel about the Son of Man, a Messianic character that devout Jews would automatically assign with God’s chosen ruler. He’s saying that what’s about to happen to him will actually be his enthronement as King.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
Why do you think the Jewish leaders dismissed Jesus’ Messianic claims? Are there things about Jesus that would offend our religious leaders today?
Of all the people who should have gotten it, who should have been able to see when Messiah was here, it was this gathering of leaders. They were the most studied and influential leaders in all of Israel, the God incarnate is standing in front of them and they can’t see him for who he is? Is there anything that clouds your vision of Jesus?

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Mark 14:43-52 (NIV)

Back in chapter 8 of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus began to tell his disciples that the Son of Man would be handed over to the temple leaders and killed. Remember Peter rebuking Jesus? Peter and the rest of the disciples couldn’t understand how the Kingdom of God that they so desperately longed for could come through the death of that Kingdom’s King.

Through today’s passage we can witness the scene where Jesus is arrested, his non-violent revolution has entered its final phase. In our world, we can hardly imagine real change or justice being done without force, without inflicting damage on those who would stand in the way. Today’s passage challenges us to remember that we follow a Jesus who walked towards pain on behalf of others, beckoning all who might hope to follow him to join him.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage stands out to you the most?
Jesus arrested on behalf of the disciples who just abandoned him, and on behalf of the men who just arrested him, and the Romans who would crucify him. Do you find this comforting, challenging or both?
All of the disciples, who just got done fretting over whether or not they would betray Jesus, deserted him and fled. Are there moments in your life, when things get heated, that cause you to flee from Jesus for fear of being associated with him? Bring that to the LORD.

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Mark 14:27-42 (NIV)

Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, we’ve seen the Disciples go back and forth in what their understanding seems to be of what Jesus is doing, and they still can’t quite see it. In today’s passage their inability to see what’s about to happen is brought into plain view.

Peter is thought to be Mark’s primary source for writing this account of Jesus' life, and so often Peter’s actions summarize where the disciples were at with everything. We’ve said it a lot, but he and the other disciples would have expected Jesus to confront Rome, and maybe even Herod and his corrupted kingdom, but they see Jesus going further than that, flipping tables in the temple courts, and challenging Israel as a whole.

What they didn’t understand is where they thought Jesus would come to fight God’s enemies, he was coming to die at their hand and on their behalf. And not just Rome... Israel herself had become an enemy…. And not just Israel… even the disciples would betray and abandon Jesus. In this passage we listen in as Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him, and as Jesus is troubled over what’s about to take place. All the while the disciples who can’t see what’s happening are sleeping because their eyes are heavy.

Can you see it?

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage did you find most moving?
Peter can’t imagine himself denying Jesus. have you ever been in that place? “Surely” you say, “I would never do this… or that….”” only to find yourself full of regret?
Jesus asks the Father to take this cup from him, praying “not my will but your will.” This cup that he speaks of is a reference to the long predicted cup of wrath that was again and again poured out by being given into the hands of foriegn armies when Israel rebelled against God. It's the act of God lifting his hand and allowing the acts of rebellion to produce their inevitable consequences. This next cup will indeed be poured out for Israel's failure, through the hands of foreign soldiers, but this time Jesus will step in. Take a moment to reflect on this.

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Mark 14:12-26 (NIV) When I was a child, one of my favorite holidays was the 4th of July. The whole family would gather and walk to downtown Orlando to watch the fireworks. Like most kids I loved the fireworks and the bbq, but there was something different about his day compared to say thanksgiving or labor day. There was a seriousness that came over the adults in my family. Later I realized it was in part because of the history of my family.

My Grand-mother was a refugee from Latvia after WW2. And she was naturalized as a US citizen in the mid 70’s. The 4th of July represented all that she’d come through, all that she'd endured. Regardless of the complicated history of the United States, that day reminded her of what she escaped.

Today’s passage features a secret gathering for the sacred passover meal. This was Israel’s independence day commemoration, eaten every year throughout every generation to remember God’s rescue from Egypt. Except this year Jewish people found themselves again holding this meal under Roman occupation, and the false Kingship of Herod. Some wanted a revolution, some wanted appeasement. Jesus was calling people to a different way altogether. And he stands up on this night of nights, at this meal of meals, as hearts and minds are reflecting on the God’s liberation from Pharaoh, Jesus tells his disciples that there will indeed be a new passover, but he places himself as the lamb that will be slain.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phase struck you from this passage?
How does this passage connect to the greater narrative of scripture?
How does this passage, in light of the whole context of Mark so far, expand or deepen your understanding of what Jesus accomplished on the cross?

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Mark 14:1-11 (NIV)

The last 2 chapters in Mark had us listening to Jesus rebuke the Temple leaders and then describe in terrifying imagery the destruction of the Temple itself. If that’s all we knew about Jesus, he’d come off as a pretty harsh prophet. But what’s he been doing up to this point? He’s been travelling around Judea, healing people, feeding people, casting out demons, teaching with authority and even forgiving sins. He’s been doing Temple stuff, but out in the world.

In today’s passage in chapter 14 we see Jesus turn towards the cross, which he’s been predicting for a while, but now we have more of an idea of what he was up to. The same fate that he forecast for the temple, is exactly what’s about to happen to him. This is a part of how we can understand Jesus’ work on the cross. The failure of the system is being wrought on him as well, except he will come out the other side with something new to offer.

In this passage, we listen in as a woman anoints Jesus with costly perfume in preparation of his burial. She knows that he’s the true King and that in order to assume his throne he must die and be risen. And whether she knows it or not, she does the right thing, but the disciples get angry.

----------REFLECT----------

What image stood out to you from this passage?
This woman is uninhibited in her expression of honor and love towards Jesus, pouring every last drop of costly perfume out of her broken jar. Have you ever felt free enough to worship Jesus in this way? If you have, have you ever been criticized for it?
This perfume cost about a year's wages! Now honestly, if you were there, how would you have responded? How does this passage challenge you?

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Mark 13:31-37 (NIV)

So, this isn’t a podcast where we assert theology or too much heavy handed biblical interpretation. We really want to help clear the way and make space for people to reflect on the central truths of the passage as they stand within the context of the narrative and the culture. But we all bring a set of assumptions and prior conceptions with us. And today’s passage is a perfect example of where that kind of thing can create a significant barrier.

I’d bet that most groups that read today's passage and discuss it usually find themselves talking about the rapture. If you're not familiar with that idea, it’s basically a moment when God is supposed to come and remove all the believers ahead of, during, or after a time of great tribulation. There is a ton of debate about when that might be or if the basis for that kind of thing is even found in scripture in the first place. Regardless, I think all of that misses the point of today's passage and has left scores of believers more focused on calculations than they are on faithfulness to Jesus.

If you read the whole of Mark 12 and 13 as a cohesive unit, that is, in the way is was written to be read, you’ll see Jesus calling people out for worrying about the who and the what and the how Messiah will come, rather than being the kind of people that can follow him when he does show up. The same is true here. The disciples ask questions about when they’ll know and how they’ll know this stuff, and Jesus is telling them to focus more on being the kinds of people who are ready whenever it happens.

And as a note, the image here is more like waiting for a bridegroom to appear in the distance and come in to commence the wedding that everyone has been waiting for rather than some kind of cosmic vacuum switch that sucks all the Christians out. Jesus will indeed return, and those who are ready will run to the gates and usher him into the world to reunite heaven and earth and to set everything right. What a day it will be.

----------REFLECT----------

What word of phrase stood out to you?
Can you remember a time when you eagerly awaited something? What was it like to look for it coming? What did it mean for you to wait well or wait poorly?
One way to anticipate the arrival of a bridegroom and the beginning of the wedding is to invite people to the feast. Who in your life today needs the hope that only Jesus can offer? Pray for them now.

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Mark 13:14-30 (NIV)

How do you describe the indescribable?

Today’s passage tries to do just that. Jesus is talking with his disciples about the destruction of the temple and they’ve just asked him how they can know when that’s going to take place.

With hindsight we can see that this actually did take place 40 years after Jesus’ words. The Roman army laid siege to Jerusalem and people starved, they turned on each other and began doing heinous things to survive. Jesus is clear that he wants them out and not to try to stay to defend Jerusalem.

And as he reminds them of the fig tree, the previous chapter falls into place. Jesus' critique of the Temple includes a warning. This is the road that they are headed down if they do not turn back. It’s going to get them destroyed. And 40 years later they saw what when human societies and institutions set themselves up against the gospel and its standards, producing arrogant and dehumanizing structures, deep injustices and radical oppression. Jesus wasn’t pleased with it then and he isn’t pleased with it now.

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Mark 13:1-13 (NIV)

Today’s passage is one of those passages whose interpretation has been argued over for a long time. The two dominant views take this passage to be referring to the end times on one hand, and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem on the other. We tend towards the view that Jesus is referring to the destruction of the temple that ended up taking place about 40 years after he spoke these words.

Our reasoning for this is based on four things: 1. the continuity of the context of Jesus’ challenge of the temple system throughout chapter 12; 2. the common use of apocalyptic language to describe something as unimaginable to the Jewish mind as the temple being destroyed; 3. Jesus saying within the passage that these things will happen, but the end is still to come (meaning in the future); and 4. that the temple was indeed destroyed within some of the disciples’ lifetime.

We might be wrong, but either way, the point in this passage is the resilient hope that Jesus is calling his disciples to in the face of their world being turned upside down.

----------REFLECT----------

What image stood out to you the most in this passage?
Have you ever experienced something in your life, that was at the center of your life, being destroyed? What was or is that experience like for you?
Jesus tells the disciples that they will face harsh persecution, and calls them to trust the Holy Spirit. How has your faith cost you? In what ways do you need help from the Holy Spirit?

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Mark 12:35-44 (NIV)

For the past few days, we’ve listened to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts. All of the different kinds of Jewish religious leaders have tried, in vain, to trip him up, to trick him into saying something worth getting arrested for. They want him out of the way because he’s not, after all, the kind of Messiah they’re looking for.

Today’s passage brings us back into the temple, the crowd’s still listening to Jesus, to his clever, wise and authoritative words, but then the

moment suddenly gets serious. The puzzles are over; it’s not a game. Loving the Lord with heart, mind, soul and strength isn’t a joke. And in the same way that the Messiah doesn’t look like what’s been expected, obedience and faithfulness to God may not look like what you think either. Open your eyes. Can you see it? Open your ears. Can you hear the truth?

Listen now to Mark 12:35-44.

----------REFLECT----------

Can you imagine how the teachers of the law might have felt when hearing Jesus warn the crowd against them?
It’s hard to hear Jesus’ rebuke of the religious leaders and not think of certain Christian leaders in our own Western context. When you think of your pastor or the leaders of your Christian community, do they remind you more of the teachers of the law? Or the widow?
What about you? As you’re trying to follow Jesus, here in the age of social media and the internet influencer, do you feel tempted to seek the attention of others as you live out your faith? And would you say your heart closer to that of the widow, giving all that she had? Or the rich, giving a small portion out of their abundance?

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Mark 12:28-34 (NIV)

The last several passages in Mark have involved representatives of various influential groups in Judaism confronting Jesus with questions after he disrupts the status quo in the temple courts. Each of these groups had distinct ideas about what Messiah would do and look like when he arrived, and with Jesus bringing his ministry to Jerusalem in this public way, they have to figure out how Jesus might fit into their agenda. But Jesus is here ready to confound them all. His action in the temple and his answers to their questions indicate a new way of thinking about the Kingdom and the people of God.

Today’s passage revolves around a universally known Jewish prayer called the Shema. This is a prayer taken from the book of Deuteronomy and has been prayed multiple times a day by generations of Jews throughout history. Passage after passage, these groups have been coming to Jesus and asking him questions, but they can’t quite see what Jesus is doing—that is, fulfilling this very prayer that they all prayed daily—and thereby establishing a new way of relating to God. But the teacher of the Law in this passage is not far off...

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage stood out to you the most?
Jesus’ answer gives us a picture of what his mission is all about: that this kind of Love for God and Love for People is what he’s calling God’s people to be known for. So what about us today? How well does the church today live this out? Where are we not far from the Kingdom? Where are we a good ways off?
What is one thing that would need to change for you today, to step closer to the Kingdom? In love for God and in love for people?

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Mark 12:18-27 (NIV)

Have you ever thought about what life will be like… after death? We all have, of course. And every religion and culture has a story of what it will be like. The Jewish people believed in a bodily, physical, eternal life of resurrected and restored bodies in a New Heavens and New Earth. But even amongst themselves there was disagreement about this. There was a group called the Sadducees, who apparently thought the idea of bodily resurrection too radical to believe, and in today’s passage we meet them. They have joined in the effort to try to trap Jesus into saying something that would justify his arrest, even in spite of their philosophical differences with the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders.

As you listen to the passage read aloud, again step into the scene. It’s tense. You can imagine the look on the faces of those trying to trip Jesus up. Try to picture the look on his face as he responds. What do you see?

----------REFLECT----------

Did you find anything in the passage interesting, odd or surprising?
Jesus’ response to the Sadducees calls out both their lack of Scriptural study and their lack of experiencing God, affirming the resurrection by quoting directly from Moses’ writings—the only ones they held as authoritative. In what ways can you see a lack of Biblical knowledge and/or the power of God in your family, church or community?
As you consider your thoughts and feelings about “the afterlife,” what questions do you want answered? Are you willing to trust Jesus to answer those questions?

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Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church

Mark 12:13-17 (NIV)

In our culture we often separate our faith from “the rest of life.” Sometimes this means being a Christian on Sunday but not knowing how or not allowing our faith to come with us on Monday to work, to school, or into our social life. Today’s passage has often been used to justify the separation of religion and society or church and state. And while we’ve seen some pretty terrible things happen when religion and human government become enmeshed, Jesus’ point in this passage is not to make an overarching statement about the relationship between religion and politics or society.

Ironically, in thinking this way we can end up trapping Jesus' words in the way that the Pharisees try to do in this passage. The Jews don’t want to pay taxes or acquiesce to Roman rule, but they also are hearing Jesus say that faithfulness looks like non-violent resistance. They try to catch him compartmentalizing. But he cunningly calls them out as he calls them back to their original role as God’s image bearers.

As you listen to the passage read aloud, again step into the sandals of one of the listeners. Try to imagine the scene and the characters around you.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? What stood out to you?
In what ways have you separated your faith life from other spheres of your life, whether on purpose or without really thinking about it?
Jesus gets out from under this trap by turning it back onto those who set it. Think about it. The image of Caesar is on the coin, but on what is God’s image imprinted? Yeah. Us. How insignificant do taxes seem then, when compared with our whole life? Do you believe that your whole life belongs to God? Is there any part of your life that you know you’re holding back from him? Consider that now and take it to the Lord in prayer.

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Mark 12:1-12 (NIV)

“I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.”

We are in the middle of an extremely tense scene. Jesus has overturned the temple trade system, rebuked the chief priests and teachers of the law, and in today’s passage, he continues to not-so-subtly call out the failure of the Jewish leaders. The passage I just read is from Isaiah, chapter 5. The people listening to Jesus would have known it well, and its meaning is far from unclear. Jesus takes that image and reconfigures it just slightly for the present moment.

As you listen to today’s passage, again imagine the scene. Feel the tension. How would you have responded if you were one of the religious leaders? How would you have reacted if you were in the crowd?

----------REFLECT----------

What details stood out to you in the parable Jesus tells?
Israel’s role was to be a blessing to the nations—to be a doorway of entrance and welcome for the world to come into covenant relationship with their Maker, not a community creating walls to keep others out. As the church, as the people of God in our generation, what rebuke do we need to hear collectively from the Lord through this story?
Sometimes we can be like Israel’s leaders, God gives us a role to play or a gift to steward and we take it and twist it and corrupt it until it becomes something that serves us alone. How might Jesus be offering you freedom from that today?

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Mark 11:27-33 (NIV)

Many of us have had the uncomfortable experience of being wrongfully accused. Maybe our teacher thought we were cheating on a test, but we weren’t. Maybe our boss accused us of taking money from the drawer, but there was another reason the nightly cash count came up short… We know the shame and indignation of being accused of something we were innocent of. But most of us also know, or hopefully know, the experience of being rightly rebuked. We did something wrong. We acted unjustly, hurt someone’s feelings or reputation, and we needed to be corrected. But the true test of our character comes in how we respond to that rebuke. Do we deny it? Attack the other person’s reputation instead? Or do we apologize, repent, ask for forgiveness, and learn from our mistake?

In today’s passage, Jesus gives this opportunity to the “elders,” the teachers of the law, and the chief priests—the religious and political leaders of Israel. Each group had their own motivation for protecting their reputation—whether to maintain the status quo with Rome, maintain their power over the religious temple system, or keep the peace among the people. Let’s listen to the passage and see what we can learn both from Jesus and those he rebukes.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you as you pictured this scene?
From the beginning of the Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ authority has been front and center. His healings, driving out demons, teachings and miracles… The people saw and proclaimed his authority. But now he’s exercising authority in the temple, in the “religious” space, and those who control that space don’t want to recognize it—so much so that they risk denying the authority of Yahweh to maintain control.

Sometimes we know that Jes us is right about our lives, our thoughts or actions, but in our desire to maintain control, we deny his authority, and consequently that of our Maker. Where in your life do you feel the urging of God’s Spirit to release authority over to him?

Belonging to God, following Jesus, walking in his Spirit means walking in that same authority. Where do you see injustice, disease, brokenness or pain? In what ways might God be calling you to exercise authority in those places?

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Mark 11:12-25 (NIV)

Today’s passage in Mark 11 has Jesus cursing a fig tree, overturning tables in the temple courts, and talking about moving mountains with prayer. What in the world is going on here? It’s these kinds of passages that tempt us to break up the story and try to wring out meaning from what seem like random details. But Mark is trying to get us to see something about Jesus.

This moment with the fig tree actually serves as a metaphor for what Jesus does in the temple. Figs were not in season but there should have been early fruit on the tree, and trees that had leaves but no fruit at this time of year were not going to produce anything that season. In the temple, Jesus confronts the money changers and boundary markers that were taking advantage of the poor and excluding people from participating freely in the feast of passover. Originally, within the temple the only distinction was supposed to be between priest and people, but by Jesus' day it was segregated by race and gender for "purity reasons."

So what’s this metaphor mean? Israel's vocation was to be a blessing to all nations. A place where people could come and receive the fruit of God’s covenant love for Israel through the temple. But Israel and the temple itself has become like a fig tree with no fruit. It has leaves, but it bears no fruit. Jesus cursing the fig tree indicates at least two things. One, is that the temple would be destroyed, which actually ends up happening in 70 AD. And second, that there needs to be a new Israel, a new temple. And Jesus will do it, on a mountain outside the city, on a withered tree.

----------REFLECT----------

What about Jesus in the passage comforts you and your community?
What about Jesus in the passage challenges you and your community?
Jesus sees the failure of Israel to live up to what it was called to be and he plans to intervene. He plans to allow himself to be cursed and wither in order for us to have free and equal access to the fruit of God’s covenant faithfulness. Take a moment and reflect on this good news.

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Mark 11:1-11 (NIV)

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Today’s passage brings us to a scene that might be familiar to you. But the backstory might be less familiar. Jesus comes into Jerusalem riding a young donkey. Everyone is singing “Hosanna.” If you’ve been in church much, you know this as “Palm Sunday.” But why the donkey? Why the procession at all? Jesus is embodying a picture of Israel’s king from the book of Zechariah. And in so doing, he is making the boldest statement yet about what his kingdom looks like. The prophecy in Zechariah describes the entrance of a king—righteous, victorious, but humble. He is not on a war horse. He holds no battle bow. In fact, in this picture, the instruments of war are undone, and peace is proclaimed to all nations. Can you see it?

As you listen to the passage read aloud, try to place yourself in the scene. This is the entrance of the Messiah everyone’s been waiting for. What are your thoughts, feelings, questions, as you witness what’s happening here?

----------REFLECT----------

What details caught your attention in this passage?
Popular expectations of messiah included some kind of overthrow of the powers of the oppressive roman state. How does the image of Jesus riding a peace donkey square with these expectations? If you had expected a war horse, how might you respond?
Zechariah’s picture of the King is one who brings the Shalom the world has been waiting for - peace and restoration, the laying down of weapons in the pursuit of wholeness and justice. In what ways do you long for that Shalom? Or in what areas might the Holy Spirit be asking you to lay down your weapons and walk with this humble King?

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Mark 10:46-52 (NIV)

Today on Daily Read our passage illustrates what can be lost when we are forced to break up the gospels into smaller parts. These passages are a part of a bigger narrative that was really intended to be seen as a cohesive unit. Each has depths to plumb, but each is also only understood as deeply as what comes before and after.

Today Jesus repeats a phrase from the previous passage, and that phrase indicates a contrast that Mark is trying to draw between the disciples and this blind man named Bartimaeus. Remember how we’ve talked about one of the themes in Mark being that the people who should be able to see the Kingdom struggle to see it, if not outright fail to see it, and the people who shouldn't see it do?

In the previous passage, Jesus asked James and John, who brought a request to them, “what do you want me to do for you?” They proceed to ask for him to give them a seat of honor and power next to him when he comes into his Kingdom. Today, in contrast to these disciples who have had ample time to grasp what Jesus has been saying about himself, he asks Bartimaeus the same question. And I believe that it’s his response that should become a model for us today.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
Mark includes the detail of Bartimaeus throwing aside his cloak, which he would have had laid out before him to collect money as he begged. What do you think it means that he threw it aside as he came to Jesus?
The disciples were in proximity to Jesus and were actively doing the “right kind of stuff” with and for Jesus, but on several occasions he calls them out for lacking faith. In contrast Bartimaeus hasn’t done anything for Jesus, and yet is told by Jesus himself that his faith has healed him. How might Jesus invite you to be more like Bartimaeus today?

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Mark 10:32-45 (NIV)

In today’s passage Jesus again refers to himself as the Son of Man. We haven’t yet talked about this image, but it’s an incredibly important picture in Jewish history, coming from the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel. First Daniel describes four beasts, like, crazy creatures. They represented the four kings and empires that would oppress Israel. Then he sees this figure—a Son of Man, meaning—a human. He’s presented to “The Ancient of Days,” and he is given ultimate dominion—a never-ending kingdom for all peoples, nations and languages. It is this figure that Jesus references over and over in Mark and again today.

However, juxtaposed with the image of the Son of Man with all his power and glory is that of the “Suffering Servant” that Isaiah wrote about. While the disciples never would have imagined it to be so, wJesus’ knew that these two radically different images were images of the same thing. He himself is fulfilling these prophecies, he is the new human who is becoming king above all kings by becoming the servant of all, giving his own life to rescue the world.

----------REFLECT----------

What surprised you about this passage?
The request of James and John reveals that the disciples still don’t understand the upside-down nature of Jesus’ kingdom. The way of God isn’t just slightly different from the way of empire, it’s completely antithetical to empire. How does this challenge you? How might it give you hope?
All of us have an idea of what we want God’s kingdom to be like, of what we want Jesus to be like, and of what we want following Jesus to be like. How do you think your desires compare to the way Jesus talks about these things? And can you invite the Spirit to make your desires the same as his?

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Every time I think of today’s passage, a particular and somewhat peculiar image comes to mind. It’s the image of trapping a monkey. Have you ever heard of this? In parts of the world where monkeys are common, one way to trap them is with something like a box, or a gourd, or a coconut husk. What you do is cut a hole that’s just big enough for the hand of the monkey to slip inside. You place some kind of fruit inside and when the monkey reaches in and grabs the fruit, they can’t get their fist and the fruit back through… they’re trapped… until they let go.

In today's passage, Jesus challenges a rich man to let go of his great wealth in order to inherit the Kingdom. Unfortunately I’ve most often heard this passage used to single out rich folk in our context as those for whom it’s difficult to enter the kingdom. Now, I don’t say that because I think we should somehow soften this hard word for people with wealth. I say it because I think many of us can disassociate with the man who comes to Jesus in this passage if we don’t have a ton of wealth, or because wealth isn’t something we’re attached to.

But, I want to push our listeners on both of those fronts. First, if you view yourself as someone with little wealth. If you are a human in western civilization with access to this podcast episode…. In comparison to the rest of the world and to humanity throughout time, you have extreme wealth. Second, as you’ll see at the end of this passage, Jesus isn’t just talking about money, he’s talking about family, and land, and possessions. He’s talking about any of our attachments. So you are included in this invitation.

We are a society that is held captive by our attachments. Like the monkey who can’t let go of the fruit, we definitely struggle to let go of our money. But what about our ideas of family, success, security, or influence? We hold on to our dreams and desires and whatever we imagine will give our life meaning. But when our fists are tight around other things, how can we take hold of the kingdom of God?

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase surprised you in this passage?
Both the rich man and Peter come to Jesus having done very different things in the interest of inheriting the Kingdom. The rich man has all the right answers, yet is unable to give up something he’s really attached to. Peter has given up a lot to follow Jesus and might struggle with feelings of loss over what he’s set aside. Can you relate to either of them?
If you were to come to Jesus and ask him a question like this, what might he point to in your life, and invite you to let it go and trust that he will provide that for you in the present age?

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Mark 10:1-16 (NIV)

Today’s passage can tend to feel like it’s dropped into the story out of nowhere. Here you have Jesus trying to help his disciples see what the Kingdom will look like. Jesus has been traveling around healing people and casting out demons, and then here come the Pharisees to talk about divorce? What’s going on here? Why are they trying to test Jesus and why with questions about divorce?

Well, remember back in chapter 6 when Herod had John the Baptist beheaded? That happened because John was calling Herod out. This puppet king who was sold out to Rome was marrying his own brother’s wife. So clearly Herod was not the true King of Israel. So then here's today’s passage, back down near the Jordan where John the Baptist preached, and the Pharisees were interested in what Jesus had to say about Herod. After all, if you are claiming to be the Messiah, you are going to have to deal with Herod, who the Pharisees didn’t like either.

The Pharisees put Jesus is a no-win situation on purpose, and Jesus wisely turns it on them by pointing out their hard hearts. And then gets right back to calling his disciples to keep their hearts soft too!

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you? Why might that be?
Watching Jesus in this passage, what do you learn from him about dealing with moments when you’re asked about current controversial events?
Jesus knows that the Pharisees hearts are hardened, and the story after this episode illustrated what it will take to enter the Kingdom. As an antidote to their hardened hearts he’s offering the Kingdom of God. They don’t want Herod, but they don’t want the way of Jesus either. In what ways might you ask the Spirit to soften your heart today?

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Mark 9:38-50 (NIV)

In the last episode we engaged with the invitation from Jesus to become like a dependent child when we are compelled to strive for honor, position and power. In today’s passage, Mark illustrated where the minds of the disciples go as soon as they hear a word like this, and if we’re honest we can often make the same turn.

Today we’ll hear the disciples begin to digest all that becoming a servant and a child will mean for them as followers of Jesus. And they realize that they have been drawing lines around who is in and who is not based on their former flawed categories. They bring up to Jesus an example of telling someone to stop casting out demons in his name because they weren’t one of us…

How many times in your circle has it been said, “they are not one of us.” Maybe it hasn’t been said exactly like that but something like, do they really get it… are they close enough to Jesus… yeah they get that right but they don’t believe x,y,z… are they with us? Jesus corrects their thinking immediately and with intensity, telling them that that kind of thinking will be cut off, and when you see it it should be cut out, and if you don’t you will lose your potency.

Where yesterday’s passage challenged our notions of rank and status as individuals... today’s passage turns around and challenges our corporate notions of rank and faithfulness to Jesus, if we’ll let it.

----------REFLECT----------

Which moment in this passage grabbed your attention?
Have you ever found yourself being skeptical of someone who was “not one of us” questioning their faithfulness to Jesus?
We’ve all probably been on either side of this kind of thing. At different moments we can act out of skepticism as we herd together and write people off, or we are the ones who don’t quite fit and are ourselves written off. What needs to change in you in order for you and your community to live into the upside down radically inclusive nature of the Kingdom?

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Mark 9:30-37 (NIV)

Over and over again in Mark’s Gospel, you see Jesus trying to get his disciples to see what the Kingdom of God is really going to be like. And as we saw last week, Jesus started to break it down to help his disciples see more clearly. But even that is a little confusing. New Testament scholar Tom Wright points out that Jesus had been speaking in parables that asked the disciples to look for hidden meaning, and then when he starts speaking plainly about his death and the upside down nature of the kingdom, they end up trying to discover some hidden meaning.

In today’s passage, the disciples' argument about who would be the greatest shows us just how much imaginative gridlock they were experiencing. Jesus Just got done telling them that if you want to follow me you’ll have to take up a cross… you’ll have to lose your life to find it. And this kind of invitation flies directly in the face of what their culture and society, and indeed our culture and society thinks about success and honor.

For the rest of the journey to Jerusalem, Jesus is trying to get his disciples to understand that following him will not result in the kind of honor and power that they imagine. He starts by inviting them to become like dependent children, who in the ancient world had no status or social power to trade… they were simply dependent. This is not what they expect to hear from a future king. For them to hear this would be like us hearing a boxer say that his strategy would be to step into the ring without gloves and with no intention to fight, but confidence that he would win… and then inviting us to come along with him.

As you listen to this passage, try to hear the words afresh and allow the scene to come to life in your mind.

----------REFLECT----------

What image from this passage is most striking to you?
How does this passage challenge your desire for honor, social power, and position?
In what area of your life do you find it most difficult to be like a dependent child in relationship to the Creator?

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Mark 9:14-29 (NIV)

I’ve never really been into sci-fi. In our modern life, things like teleportation, time warps and the ability to cross over into another dimension are confined to the world of fantasy. Fiction. And yet the Bible challenges our understanding of what is possible in the creator order of things.. Or, if we have eyes to see it can expand our understanding of what’s possible.

We’ve just come down the mountain with Peter, James and John, having seen two very famous guys from Israel who were supposed to be dead, standing there with our friend and rabbi who was definitely looking superhuman, and is himself talking about being raised from the dead. And today’s passage further exposes the definite gap between our experience and understanding and that of Jesus.

As you listen to the story today, again place yourself in the scene. What’s happening? What do you hear? See? Feel?

----------REFLECT----------

What character did you most resonate with? Why do you think that is?
The boy’s father says that the impure spirit had “robbed” his son of speech. Evil—whether perpetrated by flesh or spirit—is a thief, stealing the good, the beautiful, the noble, the image of God in humanity. In what way has evil stolen something from you or from your family or people group?
Where in your life do you long for God to work but feel that you have lost faith? Can you ask the Lord today to help your unbelief?

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Mark 9:1-13 (NIV)

As Jesus gives a real hard word about what it will take to be his disciples, he helps his followers see more of what’s going on. But like the blind man at the beginning of Chapter 8, the disciples' ability to see is blurred by their confusion.

In today’s passage, Jesus invites a few of his closest followers to see with their eyes who he truly is. Now keep in mind that these are three Jewish men who see what happens in today’s passage. They would have grown up on the marvelous stories about Moses and Elijah and would have at least understood that these were people that God used to bring about his covenant renewal and redemption. So to see Jesus with these two, and in a place of honor, snaps everything into clarity for them, at least for now.

Jesus is completing the story that the Jewish people saw themselves within and he’s carrying it forward in surprising ways!

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stood out to you?
Have you ever experienced a moment when an ordinary situation turned into an encounter with God? If so, what was that like for you? If not, would you be willing to ask the LORD for such an encounter?
Consider the fact that right before this passage, Jesus rebukes Peter for his misplaced concerns and failure, yet he still honors him and invites him to see the transfiguration. He was not disqualified! In what way is that good news for you today?

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Mark 8:27- 9:1 (NIV) In today’s passage, Jesus pulls back the veil on what he’s headed towards. The disciples are probably expecting Jesus to roll up into Jerusalem, take over as king, kick out the Romans and rule with justice and some pretty sweet miracles. But what he says must happen next shocks the disciples and raises the bar for what it will take to follow Jesus.

There is a famous verse in this passage that is translated pretty unfortunately in the NIV. In chapter 8 verses 35-37 Jesus says: For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. …. Then he goes on to say…. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?. The trouble with the translation is around the word soul. Because in the Greek, it’s the same word that was used just a verse before that is translated as life. This is probably because of the influence of the KJV and wouldn’t be a problem except that the word soul has come to mean something very different than the word life in our day. The word that mark uses us a physical and embodied word that talks about our being.

What Jesus is getting at is that following him is going to involve pain, suffering, and will cost us our very lives. Many of us won’t be killed because we’re Christians, but Jesus might ask us to give up our comfort, to redirect our career, to uproot our family, to say yes to things we might not want to say yes to, and to say no to things that we’d really rather say yes to.

Graciously, Jesus doesn’t want to give his disciples the wrong impression. Following him will cost them everything. And he does the same for us today. Don’t be fooled by the siren’s call of our generation… following Jesus will require us to give up many of the securities that we hold dear, and allow him to be our security.

So today I’m going to replace the word soul with life, so we don’t slip into the gnostic, dualistic, and disembodied trap but rather consider the real, gritty, physical and therefore far more powerful and redemptive invitation from Jesus.

As you listen, consider the ways that Jesus might want to disrupt your expectations and reveal the real picture of who he is.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage challenged you the most?
Can you empathize with Peter’s rebuke of Jesus? Have you ever thought the way of Jesus was a bad idea? Be honest.
How do you try to save your life rather than lose it? And are you willing to follow Jesus if this is what it will require?

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Mark 8:22-26 (NIV)

Have you ever experienced a time in your life when the things that were happening were so big and so important, that you couldn’t quite comprehend what everything meant at the time? Or have you ever looked back at a moment and realized that the evidence for a thing was right in front of you the whole time, but you didn’t have eyes to see?

Recently I was reading a book that someone told me I should read years ago. And as I was reading it two things were very clear to me. One was that it was exactly what I needed when the person gave it to me to navigate my situation, and two was that if I had picked it up and read it, I would have rejected it because of the condition of my heart and mind.

Like a good movie today, Mark’s gospel isn’t as concerned with a linear timeline as he is with conveying meaning with specific stories. In today’s passage, he places the story of Jesus healing a blind man at this point in the narrative as an example of how the Disciples and Israel needed their eyes open. They could see, but it wasn’t quite clear.

----------REFLECT----------

Even though this passage was short, what feeling did it cause you to have?
Can you relate to the blind man in this passage? Have you ever needed Jesus to give you a second dose of healing in order for you to see something more clearly? What was that and what was it like?
This blind man’s eyes reflect the condition of the disciples hearts. They are seeing, but not quite perceiving. Is there something that you struggle with about who Jesus is and what following him requires? Would you be willing to ask him to clear up your vision in that area?

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Mark 8:1-21 (NIV)

The next three episodes are going to take us through chapter 8 of Mark. Now, these chapters and verse numbers are a form of structure that has been placed within the text over time to help people refer to it, in its original form it is one unified story. And up to this point the plot has been building, What’s it gonna look like when Jesus does what he came for? And who so far seems to understand?

As we prepare for these few episodes, I want to you get ready by thinking back to a time in elementary school to that subject that you just could not understand. For me, it was fractions. Like I know what a fraction was, I could add and subtract, but start multiplying and dividing those dad gum things and it was like I hit a brick wall. And for all trying the teachers just could not make it stick. I remember those tense moments with a teacher standing over my shoulder, walking me through it, they might as well have been trying to plant seeds on a hard path… see what I did there.

Chapter 8 is the pivot point for the entire book of Mark, and it’s full of illustrative stories that help us see what’s happening on the inside for the disciples. Will they see Jesus for who he really is, and when they do, will they still be willing to follow him?

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage did you find most intriguing?
Is there something about Jesus that you’ve struggled to understand? Lessons that you’ve had to learn over and over again? Bring that to mind as you reflect on the disciples in this passage?
As we hear Jesus ask the question “do you still not understand?” Mark is positioning us the readers to be asked the same question. Are your expectations of Jesus accurate or are they blurred, is there something about who Jesus is that you struggle to fully embrace? The rest of the chapter will help us understand more, but until then we need to sit with the tension of our honest answer? Do we still not understand? Are there things that we are mistaken about regarding Jesus?

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Mark 7:31-37 (NIV)

If you’ve been listening along through Mark you might remember the man who lived among the tombs who was possessed by demons? Back in Chapter 5, Jesus restored him and sent the demons into a herd of pigs? And remember just as Jesus and the disciples were leaving this man wanted to leave with them? Jesus told him to stay, and to go and tell everyone all the the LORD had done for him. That happened where today’s passage takes place.

And what’s amazing, is that the man obviously had an impact on the people there. When Jesus left people were begging Jesus to leave, but upon his return there is a crowd who’s brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and who can healry speak.

Today’s passage gives us another example of Jesus doing stuff straight out of the book of Isaiah, where it was foretold that the Israel's servant would cause the deaf to hear and the mute to speak... And again it’s the first in a string of stories coming up in Mark that act to illustrate the disciples' hearts and their understanding of Jesus. And the first one is an echo of Jesus teaching about the soils, saying let those who have ears hear?

As you listen today, consider the condition of your soul? What areas might be deaf or mute, who can Jesus open them?

----------REFLECT----------

What image from this story stands out to you the most?
- The details of this passage are quite intimate. If you were this man how would you respond to Jesus pulling you aside in this way?
- One distinct feature of this healing is Jesus’ deep sigh. It’s as if he’s lamenting as he interceded in this man’s life and breathing the life of heaven onto him. When you think about your life or the life of your community or someone you know, what would Jesus sigh over, where do you need him to breathe new life?

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Mark 7:24-30 (NIV)

Today on Daily Read we come to a passage that people often get tripped up on. At face value it seems like Jesus calls a woman a dog as she comes begging him to deliver her daughter. Yikes, right? If we look closer it will make way more sense, but first we want you to hear it, and then we’ll give some context before you hear it again.

-----------LISTEN------------

So in order to grasp the dynamics at play here we have to first know that the Greeks and Jews have a lot of bad blood between them. War, the invasion of Greek Culture, desecrating the Temple, you name it. So this woman, who was a part of the ruling class in Syropheonicia, and the disciples, who were a part of the oppressed people in Galilee, are not people whom we should expect to get along.

Second, know that a woman from Phoenicia coming and begging for the well-being of their child is not new. A Phoenician woman came to Elijah in 1 Kings and begged for the life of her son. This woman is just living out that same story with Jesus. She is probably familiar at least with the story of that prophet, and she could be a "God-fearing Gentile."

Third, remember that the disciples have been described as hard-hearted since the "Feeding of the 5000." They were probably frustrated at all of the extra stuff Jesus was doing (for all sorts of people) instead of getting on with liberating Israel. So when this Greek woman comes up, you can almost imagine them standing there with their arms crossed, watching to see what Jesus would do. And running through their minds is probably a line that Jews might have replayed to remind themselves of their rightful place in the story as the people of God, while they have been occupied by the Greeks and now the Romans.… Could they have been thinking to themselves, "We’re the true children of Yahweh, and we’ll have our fill first… thank you very much.”

You've got that visual… Now as you listen again, imagine that when Jesus hears this woman’s plea, he turns to look at his disciples with a grin on his face, knowing what they were thinking as he did with the Pharisees, knowing that they still don’t get it, knowing that it was their prejudice that was blinding them, smiles and says what he says to her.

He’s trying to teach the disciples a lesson about how he is, and the woman's response only affirms that she is acquainted with the God of Israel and his covenant to bless the nations THROUGH Israel. Her faith is at work, Jesus is responding, and he's doing so in a way that is breaking all the categories for the disciples.

Listen again with this context and see how the passage comes to life.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment between the characters stands out to you?
What do you appreciate about the way Jesus addresses the disciples’ lack of understanding through his interaction with this woman?
What group of people might you be hesitant to see as worthy to eat from the table? How would it and indeed how does it affect you when you see and hear of Jesus acting with compassion towards them? How does this challenge your view of Jesus?

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Mark 7:14-23 (NIV)

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is being presented as the New Human who is both modeling the way to be truly human and working to make a way for us to become those kinds of humans... Restored, in his image. In the last passage, Jesus points out the Pharisees’ lack of integrity after they try to call out the disciples for eating with unclean hands.

In today’s passage, once again the disciples are a little confused. In their day, the Pharisees are THE people who are living as righteously as anyone could. But Jesus corrects them as he explains that there is more to becoming a new human than just following a set of rules. The Pharisees think it’s about external regulation, but Jesus is calling his disciples, and he’s calling us, to an internal transformation.

You will know a tree by its fruit. And if a tree produces hollow, rotten or bitter fruit, it’s because there is something wrong inside the tree. Jesus cares about righteousness and holy living…. That’s clear in the words you’ll hear today, but no amount of rule following will get us there… we must be made new.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
Are there ways that you try to be the right kind of human through regulation versus transformation?
How would you need Jesus to show up if you were to make yourself available to him to be transformed? Ask that of him now.

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Mark 7:1-13 (NIV)

The other day I was at the Home Depot in the lumber section picking out some wood for a small project at the house. I needed one last piece so I grabbed it and began to walk back to my cart when I noticed that it was not one that I’d want to buy. There were two things wrong with it. First, as I looked down its edge, I could see that it was warped like an “S.” The thing was that it had a large knot at one end that sent a crack across the grain. A piece of wood is only as strong as its weakest point, and its integrity was compromised.

Integrity might seem like a strange word to use for wood, because we often associate the word with honesty, or transparency. But integrity in this case means, being consistent all the way through. This piece of wood looked good from one angle, but when you turned it over and looked a little closer, it was a very different story.

In today’s passage Jesus calls out the lack of integrity on the part of the Pharisees. Their convictions for tradition and ritual purity look good from one end, and they are more than willing to call people out on it. But Jesus turns them over and looks from a different angle, exposing their lack of integrity and their failure to live up to their convictions.

As you listen, be sure to allow yourself to sit in both seats. We’ve all had people who lack integrity call us out, and this passage will comfort us in that. But we all must also examine our own integrity and allow this passage to turn us over and examine our inconsistencies.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you find most challenging about this passage?
When have you seen a person call out someone in one area, then fail to have integrity in another?
If you are honest, what area of your life might Jesus point to as an example of your lack of integrity? Bring that to Jesus, who loves you?

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Mark 6:45-56 (NIV)

As we began our series in the Gospel of Mark, we spoke about how this telling of the life of Jesus is designed to impress upon the hearer this question: "Do you see Jesus for who he really is?" It’s full of stories where the people who should get it don’t, and the people who shouldn’t get it do get it. And so far the disciples have stayed clear of that question... but this whole thing with the loaves just gets them.

Right before this passage, the Disciples are tired from a long season of ministry, having been sent out by Jesus to cast out demons and heal people. They couldn’t eat because there were so many folks in need around them. Then Jesus asks them to give up their loaves and fish to feed more people. And here in this passage we find them on a boat with hard hearts, and landing on a shore with more people to heal and minister to.

If we’re not careful, we can miss the tension in these stories. Jews like the disciples were not just following a Messiah around because he performed miracles of healing and walked on water. They wanted freedom from sickness and pain, sure, but they wanted freedom from Rome and true return from exile, and all this caring for people was not what they had in mind. The next several chapters of Mark invite us to ask these questions of ourselves: Is my heart open to Jesus even when he defies my expectations? Am I willing to follow Jesus when it costs me? Do I really see him?

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you from this passage?
It’s worth highlighting that the disciples mistook Jesus for something other than who he was. As Mark has penned this Gospel he hasn’t wasted words. That’s in there for a reason. He’s drawing our attention to the idea that the disciples aren’t seeing Jesus clearly. In what ways might you struggle to see Jesus clearly?
Imagine the fatigue that the disciples must have felt. A long season of ministry… a long night of fighting the wind… and then they land on yet another shore full of people crowding around Jesus. This commitment that Jesus had to care for these people was probably pretty stretching for the disciples. Is there something Jesus cares about and does now that stretches you? Ask him to help you have a soft heart.

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Mark 6:30-44 (NIV)

Have you ever found yourself really tired and in need of rest? Have you ever been at the end of your rope—I mean, just about to fall on your face emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally? The chance to get a break from the noise and the strain and the pain can become all you think about. And then, your phone rings… you get a message... a child screams in the other room… or you see reports of the trauma that just hit your city. What do you do in that moment?

A lot of times, we tend to swing to either extreme. On one hand we can buy into the "you do you" narrative, where we turn away from pain and act to secure our own rest while we allow those around us to go without it. On the other hand, some of us go into a hyperactive frenzy. We get to the point where we cannot stop ourselves from “helping” and end up ignoring our impulses to stop and rest. And in the name of sacrifice we never allow the space necessary to recoup what we pour out, leaving us with nothing to give others or ourselves.

In today’s passage, Jesus obliterates our over-individualized notions of self-care as he includes the communities around him in his rest. But ironically he does not go into "savior mode," fixing all the problems himself. He invites his grieving community to make something whole., which is a very different way to think about rest.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage do you find most intriguing?
Why did Jesus say to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.”? Is there anything that you might think isn’t enough that you could offer to Jesus to multiply today?
This crowd was probably over ten thousand people in size, based on the way that the ancient world counted by number of men. This multitude experienced a communal miracle. How does this challenge your thinking of how Jesus moves? Are there prayers that you pray for yourself that you could make more communal?

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Mark 6:14-29 (NIV)

Throughout the Gospel of Mark we’ve met a Jesus who has authority like no one has seen before, and yet he is generous with his time and presence. He goes to places that powerful people don’t go, touches people that powerful people don’t touch, is touched by people who would be killed if they touched a powerful person in the way they touch Jesus. He shares his power, he does not use it for himself. He’s kinda shy about his power, healing people and then telling them not to mention it to anyone, rather than doing mighty work in a stadium for all to see.

On the other hand we have Herod, a man with power, but a very different kind of power. He’s the kind of ruler who uses his authority to stroke his own ego, and to protect himself. In today’s passage, Mark zooms out to set the story of Jesus within the larger context of Judea and juxtaposes Herod and his power-hoarding impulses with the generous and openhanded power of Jesus.

The people who first heard this Gospel read would have known of Herod. Imagine hearing this kind of story today. How does it contrast with the way of Jesus?

----------REFLECT----------

What moment from this passage stood out to you?
What does this passage teach you about the misuse of power? What drove Herod to commit such an act as ordering John's beheading?
Consider ways that you have seen power misused in our day. Ask the LORD to bring our leaders under his authority; ask him to establish more leaders who live and serve like Jesus.

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Mark 6:1-13 (NIV)

So far in Mark’s Gospel the character and power of Jesus is being painted before us. The original readers would have found themselves responding out of all of their own assumptions about Messiah just like the people in the stories. With each new scene our awe and understanding of Jesus increases and deepens. He is one with authority, he has power not only to cast out demons and to heal, but he speaks to the waves and they listen, and he shows no partiality. Who is this man?

With all the crowds and wonders you would assume that Jesus' popularity is about to take off, as soon as Jesus has the momentum to make it big as a religious figure, the narrative slams on the breaks and takes a corner. The story brings us to Jesus in his hometown. He’s being questioned and ridiculed. As soon as we might assume a person to influence my accumulated power, he begins to give it away to his disciples as he sends them out ahead of him. The people who should see Jesus accurately don’t and the people who shouldn’t do.

As you listen today, consider what crowd you’re posture towards Jesus in the past year would land you in.

----------REFLECT----------

Which group do you identify with the most—the hometown crowd that’s kind of skeptical, or the disciples who are being sent?
If you heard the words that the disciples heard from Jesus about being sent, how would you react?
In this story you have two groups that have different levels of faith—the hometown crowd that lacks faith, and the disciples who have much faith. Ask the LORD to give you increased faith today.

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Mark 5:21-43 (NIV)

Sometimes, we can be lulled into believing that our lot in life or our social or economic status can keep us isolated from pain. Perhaps it can, for a time. If we make enough money, collect enough power or accumulate enough friends maybe we can be secure? But on a closer look, you’ll discover that desperation doesn’t care about zip codes. Pain doesn’t care about what position you hold or how powerful your friends are.

And while that can be an unsettling realization, consider this…. Jesus doesn’t care either. He always moves towards those who need him. He doesn’t care about status or affiliations, he doesn’t measure by influence or security. When he sees a human, he sees the Image of God, and he responds.

In today’s passage, you see Jesus display this indifference towards status. He will not be bound by time, space, or by social order. He will transcend it, and bring wholeness and life.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this scene stands out to you?
If you were able to walk up to Jesus after these moments, what would you want to ask him?
So far in Mark, how has the way you view Jesus changed or developed?

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Mark 5:1-20 (NIV)

So this week my wife took our girls to a really old cemetery in our town. Might seem like a strange place to take a walk but our oldest daughter was curious so they went for it. The one they went to had Confederate and Union Civil War soldiers buried there, and they ended up talking to the curator of the African American museum near the cemetery and hearing some pretty amazing stories. Cemeteries can be really interesting, but no one wants to stay there too long or especially overnight. .

Today’s passage happens to introduce us to someone who did, in fact, live “among the tombs,” a strong man tortured night and day by demons, more at home among the dead than the living.

So far, as we’ve tried to place ourselves in the stories, we’ve probably imagined a lot of different emotional and mental responses to the situations and conversations we’ve heard. Today, as you imagine yourself in this story, you might be kind of freaked out. And that’s ok. It’s a bit of a terrifying scene. But as we’ll see, Jesus is no more afraid of this man than he was of the storm.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you see, feel, hear or experience as you pictured yourself in this scene?
As MArk wrote in chapter three, A strong man is being subdued… As in chapter 4, something that is out of control is being stilled... Bring to mind some of the things in your life that seem beyond your control… chaotic… destructive.
The image of the man sitting there at the end, clothed and in his right mind is, in an incredible picture of the Shalom- the wholeness that Jesus is bringing. Who in your life is in need of this kind of freedom? Maybe from addiction, mental illness, or even spiritual oppression? Take some time to intercede before Jesus on their behalf.

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Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)

I grew up in Florida, and throughout my childhood I spent a fair amount of time at the beach. And while there is plenty to enjoy about the beach, there are also quite a few things that can get dangerous really quickly. One of those things is called a rip current. It’s a really fast, really strong current of water that pulls anything in it out to sea.

One day I found myself in a rip current. I’m a decent swimmer and knew what was going on, and obviously I made it…. But one of the lasting impressions it had on me was a deep reverence for the power of water. I mean, when I say there was nothing I could do to fight against it, there was NOTHING I could do. It took every bit of strength I had just to stay afloat until someone came to help.

The sea has always demanded respect. The ancient world considered it a place of chaos and danger. It was only the gods that had influence over the waves, because they knew from experience, like I did, that you can try to fight it, but it will win every time. Jews had history and poetry shaping their view of the world that made clear that only Yahweh controls the water, and last time we saw something like that during the Exodus.

Jesus is about to give his disciples a major clue about the extraordinary nature of his identity. Imagine yourself in this scene.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this story stood out to you the most?
Could you imagine being the disciples? Imagine fighting this strom and then everything becomes quiet and calm? What would it mean for you to realize you were standing in the boat with someone who had the power that only Yahweh is supposed to have?
Are you up against any God-sized storms in your life or in our world right now? Situations where the wind and the waves are so big and so powerful that it seems like only God could calm them? Take this moment to call on Jesus for that situation.

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Mark 4:21-34 (NIV)

So we recently got a cat… it’s a cute cat, especially when he’s wanting his wet cat food. Every morning as you walk into the kitchen he weaves in and out of your legs until you open the fridge and give him the goods.

Now sometimes if you’re walking around the house he will start following you, and during the times when you are headed to the fridge he gets really excited and starts his weaving. And if you do open the fridge he sits in the way of the door so that you literally have to pick him up to close the door. We have to help him understand that what we’re getting out of the fridge isn’t really what he’s after. He’s so disappointed.

Jesus is doing a similar thing for his disciples…. Stay with me now… They are following him—literally crowds are swarming around Jesus, weaving in and out of these moments with him. And in today’s passage he is trying to help his disciples see that the Kingdom Jesus is going to bring isn’t quite what they are looking for. It’ll come differently, it will look different… It’s far more costly… but it’s also infinitely more valuable.

So as you listen today, try to imagine Jesus trying to help his disciples, help us, see that the God’s Kingdom is going to surprise us, and by the measure we remain attentive to Jesus, so will be the measure of our understanding.

----------REFLECT----------

What image of the Kingdom stands out to you?
What do you find most surprising or curious about that image?
Take a moment to ask Jesus to help you hear his voice today and to see His Kingdom as it comes in these ways.

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Mark 4:10-20 (NIV)

Today we continue on into part two of Jesus’ parable of the Sower. Remember that a large crowd has gathered around him, drawn together by rumors that he’s Messiah, some folks are hardened towards Jesus, some are skeptical, some are just there for the healing and a show, and some are there to follow Messiah no matter where it leads them.

As we’ve been listening to Mark, we’ve been inviting you to imagine yourself there in the scene. Parables are especially helpful in doing this. They allow us to directly respond to Jesus’ words as if we were standing there listening. We just have to understand where the folks around Jesus might have been coming from. This crowd had varying ideas about who the Messiah would be when he came, and Jesus is challenging just about everyone’s assumptions about him.

Listen today as if you were there and consider what kind of soil you are. Bring to mind the big issues of our day, and consider your willingness to follow the way of Jesus, do you have ears to hear?

----------REFLECT----------

Which soil best describes the state of your openness to Jesus and his way today?
If you were sitting there listening to Jesus, is there a question that you’d like to ask him?
Depending on the soil that best describes you, ask Jesus to break up the hard places, deepen the soil, remove the thorns, or multiply what his word would produce in you.

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Mark 4:1-9 (NIV)

The next story in Mark’s gospel might be familiar to you. It’s often referred to as the Parable of the Sower. It’s a story with a deeper meaning under the surface, and we’re going to take it in two parts. Today we’ll look at the parable itself, and tomorrow we’ll read Jesus’ explanation of the story to his disciples.

So far in the story most people have been really anxious to see Jesus. There are various motivations but people are clamoring to interact with him. Today’s passage begins to confront that. We learn that there is a difference between being interested in Jesus and wanting to follow him for real. You can be in the crowd, but are you really listening, do you really see him for who he is?

As you listen to Jesus’ words today, imagine yourself in the crowd. You’ve grown up in the Jewish story and you’ve heard of crowd after crowd coming to Jesus. Your expectation of the Messianic kingdom involves an overthrow of the tyrannical oppressive state, restoration of the land, and a renewal of the covenant between God and Israel. As you hear Jesus’ words, imagine what the original hearers might have understood. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into what Jesus was saying to them, and reflect on what that might mean for us today.

----------REFLECT----------

As you listened, which soil caught your attention?
The crowd hearing this was probably pretty diverse — there were religious leaders who were curious or skeptical about Jesus; maybe there were some who had received healing or seen Jesus restore their friends; folks who had simply heard about Jesus and wanted to see him for themselves. Consider the various ways these groups might have received this parable.
As you think about the different types of people in the crowd, where do you see yourself? Are you curious about Jesus and want to see for yourself? Open to having your assumptions challenged? Are you in a place of devotion, having experienced healing or restoration in some way? Or are you skeptical of Jesus in this season? Bring that to Jesus and set it down before him.

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Mark 3:20-35 (NIV)

If we’ve learned anything so far about Jesus, we’ve learned that he’s not bound by the structures, rules, or social boundaries… he directly challenges the assumptions of who people expect him to be. Today’s passage continues to expose how the upside-down, inside-out nature of Jesus’ words and actions defy the expectations of even his closest family.

In our culture too, we carry assumptions about Jesus that lead us to believe that there are ways to be a Christian that are more “acceptable,” that don’t “cause a fuss” or upset the status quo. But following Jesus means telling the truth even when it hurts. It means engaging in the work of physical, mental and spiritual healing and restoration, even among people who might be considered outcasts in society. In other words, following Jesus usually ruffles some feathers, and if we’re not ruffling even a few feathers, we might want to take a fresh look at where our devotion lies.

As you listen to today’s passage, again try to picture yourself in the scene. What part of the crowd would you be standing with? What thoughts would come to mind as you listened to the drama unfold?

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in the story stood out to you?
As you imagined yourself in the scene, was there anything that made you uncomfortable? Why do you think that is?
Loyalty to family was an essential part of the Jewish culture, and it flowed from loyalty to the covenant family of Israel. What societal group do you most closely identify with? Maybe it’s your family. Maybe it’s your ethnic group, or your political party or social community. How do those loyalties fit with Jesus’ new definition of kinship in this story?

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Mark 3:7-19 (NIV)

The world we live in clearly has an unhealthy relationship with power and authority. Sometimes we watch as leaders around the world and throughout our communities consolidate power and authority for themselves. They will do just about anything, or call others to do just about anything to maintain or secure, or advance that power. And we watch either thinking that we should have that power, or thinking that someone else should have that power. Other times, because of the chaos that this can create we begin to view power itself as bad, and fantasize about a world without power, a world where no one submits to any power outside themselves because there is no way that it can be good.

But neither of these extremes follow the way of Jesus. If there was anyone who could have withheld authority, who did not have to share power with others, and have it be a good thing, it was Jesus. Yet… the one who Mark clearly says has authority, the one who can heal and cast out demons…. He gives authority away. He shares power… because, against all that we might be prone to think, more power is better… more authority is better…. As long as it’s submitted to Jesus… the king.

As you listen today, image yourself in the midst of this crowd. Consider what it would have been like to be moved along as people pressed towards Jesus, and to see the reactions when he names the 12 disciples.

----------REFLECT----------

How would you have felt if you were caught up in this scene. Would you have been nervous, a little claustrophobic, energized?
What would have been your reaction if you were a disciple, and you heard Jesus giving you authority to cast out demons? How would you respond?
How does Jesus' relationship to power and authority correct your relationship to it? Do you need to share authority and power, or do you need to assume more authority and power?

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Mark 2:23-3:6 (NIV)

So far in Mark’s Gospel we’ve been introduced to a number of characters and groups of folks that are becoming main actors in the drama that’s unfolding. One key tension throughout the narrative is between Jesus and the Pharisees who are following him around. They aren’t following him to become like him, or to learn from him, rather they follow him to pick and to critique and to try to dismantle the things Jesus is doing. These are self-appointed moral guardians of Israel who believed that in order for the Messiah to come, Israel needed to observe the Law with precision. The tragedy is that they made the Messiah himself the object of their critique.

We see this on full display in today’s passage. The Sabbath was a key practice that set the Jewish people apart from the surrounding nations. It was a day where every Jewish person was to stop, cease their work, and to enter the Lord’s rest for a day. Over time there were all sorts of rules imposed onto the practice of Sabbath, and ironically they made keeping Sabbath a whole lot of work.

Listen today and imagine yourself in the scene. What characters are you drawn to? What do you hear, taste, smell?

----------REFLECT----------

Which situation captured your imagination the most—eating on the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath, or both?
What if we imagined the antithesis of this scene. How would you react if Jesus forced his disciples to go hungry? Or what if he turned the man with the shriveled hand away? What conflict would that cause in you?
Sometimes we can be so focused on unneeded rules that we fail to support the restoration and healing that God wants to do around us. In what ways are you guilty of that? In what ways is your community guilty of that?

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Mark 2:13-22 (NIV)

Previously on Daily Read, we listened as Mark described moments when the authority and power of God for forgiveness and healing burst out of the temple and into a common house in Capernaum through Jesus, as he healed a paralyzed man and forgave his sins. In today’s passage, Mark continues to illustrate how Jesus busted the boundaries of who people think should follow him, who he should eat with, and whether or not they should be fasting.

But one key to understanding today’s passage is to consider the absolute ire and disdain that nearly all Jewish people had for tax collectors like Levi. This guy would have been seen as a sellout, a traitor—a Jewish man who is collecting taxes on behalf of the oppressive Roman empire. There were coins in that region that had imprinted on them images of Roman soldiers with a foot on the neck of a Jewish man. And Levi was likely one of the people profiting off of that reality. But Jesus tears through all the boundaries as he calls this man to divest from the empire, to walk away from his post, and follow him.

As you listen today, allow the Spirit to bring such a person to your mind. What kind of person is your Levi? Be honest. Who would it bother you to see Jesus invite to follow him, to dine with him, to call his guests at the wedding feast?

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stood out to you? Was there a word, a phrase, or an image?
When Levi got up and walked away from that booth, he walked away from Herod as King, and towards Jesus as King. How would you have felt if you were a disciple, maybe someone who’d been taxed heavily by Rome, sitting and eating with sinners and tax collectors like Levi? Would you feel comfortable, or uneasy? Why do you think that is?
Who is your Levi? What would it mean for you to pray for them to turn away from Herod and towards Jesus? Or are you Levi? What would it mean for you to turn from Herod towards Jesus?

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As far as I know, there is one place where everyone has to go in order to be cleared to legally drive in this country. It’s a beacon of hope for 16 year olds… and it’s the bain of anyone else who has to go more than once. The Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV. Mine was in an old pet hospital… In our society, we know that in order to drive you must go to that dreaded place and get a license. There is no getting around it… and we also know how suspect it would be if someone walked up to you away from the DMV, say, at a gas station or a Taco Bell, and offered you a driver’s license. It’s obviously fraudulent.

Something like this happens in today’s passage… In 1st century Judea, where the Gospels take place, the religious life of the Jewish people revolved around the Jerusalem temple primarily, and then the synagogue secondarily. They could go to the synagogues to learn Torah, and to pray, and to consult the law, but the big stuff… like atonement and important sacrifices… that stuff could only happen in the temple. And just like someone trying to offer driver’s licenses apart from the DMV… someone like Jesus showing up in Capernaum saying that people’s sins are forgiven is more than suspect…. It’s blasphemous. That can only happen in the temple… because that’s where God lives… and only God can forgive sins…. So to say that you can forgive sins is to claim to be…. Now you get it. Mark is trying to tell us something. Will the people in the scene see it? Can you see it?

----------REFLECT----------

What moment in this passage was most shocking to you?
What characters do you find most relatable. The disciples and people pressed in trying to listen to Jesus, the friends carrying the paralyzed man, the teachers of the law who are questioning Jesus, or man on the mat?
As you imagine yourself there in that house, what are your feelings towards Jesus after this miracle happens? Fear, awe, reverence, skepticism, excitement, or something else?
How might you need Jesus to work this kind of holistic restoration in your life or the life of someone you love?

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Mark 1:40-45 (NIV)

Today’s passage has always been one of my favorite passages. Jesus touching a leper, the giver of life touching death and bringing it back to life! But after this year, the whole situation of 2020 brings new meaning for me in this passage. Prior to 2020 it was hard to relate to a social environment where there would be things like quarantine and social isolation, the awkwardness of knowing what to do in unfamiliar social settings, the ambiguity of who’s really healthy and who’s not.

If there is ever a time when we need a story to remind us that Jesus’ desire is to reach into the situation and turn death into life, it is now. As you listen to today’s passage, allow some of the social angst and awkwardness that you’ve experienced in the last 11 months to inform your hearing of this passage? What would it have been like to see Jesus approaching this man? What would it have been like to have seen him reach out and touch him? How would you have felt being around him afterwards?

----------REFLECT----------

As you listened to the passage, what moment did you find to have the most tension? Where did things get awkward?
If you were this man, what would it have been like to experience Jesus reaching out his hand to touch you?
As a witness to this event, how does this moment shape the way you see Jesus?

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Mark 1:29-39 (NIV)

On Saturday morning my wife made pancakes. The instructions say to take two bowls—the first for the dry ingredients and the second for the wet. You make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in, mixing slowly until it’s all one thing. Strangely, it reminded me of where we’re at in Mark’s gospel. As Jesus arrives on the scene and begins to speak truth to the religious folks and cast out demons, heaven is kind of being poured and mixed into earth. The kingdom of God is working its way into the world, usurping and displacing the kingdoms of darkness. But for a few minutes, let’s try to take off our Western Enlightenment lenses.

Jesus miraculous signs aren’t supernatural strictly speaking, their indeed more natural than the world we know. The point is that it’s actually quite unnatural for heaven and earth to be separate planes, Jesus is setting things right.

As you listen to the passage today (and throughout this series), look for that overlap. Use your imagination to put your feet on the ground, so to speak. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Taste? Feel? How is the reign of a different kingdom working its way into those places?

----------REFLECT----------

What details brought the passage to life for you? What stood out?
Apparently even Jesus needed some “introvert time” with his Father. In what ways do you need to find that space for yourself? In what ways do you need to be sensitive to helping others have that kind of space?
Take a minute to think back over 2020. We know it was rough. But in all the chaos, fear and uprooting of our lives, where did you see God at work?

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Mark 1:4-28 (NIV)

In our time and place, especially in the context of Western Christianity, we usually understand the call to repent as a call to give up our sinful ways and turn to God for salvation. While this isn’t inaccurate, it also isn’t what the Jews of Jesus’ day understood when they heard the call to repent and believe in him. Instead they heard something more communal, more collective, even more… political.

Today’s passage takes us back into the scene. Like a herald trumpeting the arrival of a king, John the Baptist has announced the coming Messiah and called the people to ready themselves. In the midst of yet another era of oppression, the Jews are tired of waiting. They are longing for freedom, and whispers of revolt are in the air. Then as the story turns, John the Baptist is suddenly imprisoned. The spotlight falls on Jesus, the one he had been talking about—the Messiah come at last. And the message Jesus has is this, “Repent. Believe in me.” In other words, “Lay down your weapons of rebellion and your other allegiances. Turn around and follow me instead. There’s a new Kingdom at hand, and you’re invited to be a citizen.”

As you listen to today’s passage, again put yourself in the shoes of those who are watching, listening, experiencing Jesus for the first time.

----------REFLECT----------

As you imagined yourself in the story, what moments stood out to you? Why do you think that might be?
Was there anything about the calling of the fishermen that stood out to you?
Fishermen respond to his call, impure spirits obey him and flee, Mark wants us to see Jesus as the one with authority. How do you respond to Jesus’ authority? Bring that before the Lord now.

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Mark 1:1-13 (NIV)

It can be hard to hear ancient texts with our modern ears and understand what’s being communicated. Our experience of the world is so different from the people who first heard this gospel. They didn’t have electricity, or tv’s, refrigerators or toilets, cars or smartphones… So if we want to understand this gospel, we need to get inside the story—the setting, the context, the feelings and thoughts of the characters, as best we can.

Mark’s gospel begins with a statement—a declaration of what this book is about—and a reference to the Jewish prophet Isaiah, setting his story (and the story of Jesus) within a much larger story, that of the people of Israel, their history and hopes for the future. He’s also speaking into the current moment. The first verse echoes the same phrase used to open writings about emperors and kings in that day. People hearing this verse would have known right away that Mark was making a statement about who Jesus is in light of Israel's history, and in light of the Roman empire who currently had them under their thumb.

As you listen to today’s passage, try to picture yourself in the scene. Imagine that you’ve grpen up hearing this story —the story of God and Israel, the tenuous tale of faithfulness and rebellion, slavery and freedom, the promise land and exile, empire and the Kingdom of God. And you, with your family and community, have been waiting. Waiting for the long-promised Messiah, the King who would bring your people back from exile. Bring you back to your place as the people of God, Israel, who God calls in the beginning of exodus, his firstborn son. And knowing all this you are among those at the Jordan, come to see John the Baptizer.

----------REFLECT----------

What surprised you in this passage? What seemed different or out of the ordinary to you?

As you imagined yourself in the scene, what pictures, thoughts or feelings came to mind?

Camel hair, bugs, sandals and water. Heaven torn open and angels in the wilderness! This passage is both extremely earthy and what we would call extremely “spiritual.” In what ways does the collision of these two seemingly disparate worlds challenge your understanding of the way the world works? Or the way God works?

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The Gospel of Mark is one of the earliest recorded accounts of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Church history connects Mark’s retelling with Peter’s eyewitness accounts as a source, but Mark puts the pieces of the story together in a way that sets his readers up for a new and much-needed perspective—a way to see Jesus as both the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and as the King over their present circumstances.

Mark was most likely writing to the Roman Christians who were under the intense persecution of the Emperor Nero in the first century. They needed encouragement. They needed understanding. They needed to see that the new King they had committed to follow was the Suffering Servant foretold by Isaiah. They needed to be reminded that suffering was indeed a part of following him, but that suffering did not get to have the last word.

The lame will walk. The eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will hear. Jesus’ actions of healing and restoration were the initiation of a Kingdom of Shalom, a putting back together of what the evil in our world had torn apart. Yet many could not see. Many were waiting for a king who would conquer their enemies by force, a Messiah who would hang out with the “good crowd,” the religious leaders, and those with political power. But Mark is asking his readers to go back and take another look at the Jewish prophets of the past. What did their Messiah look like? All throughout Mark’s gospel, he’s asking his readers the question “Can you see it?”

The Gospel of Mark reminds us that the Kingdom of God is not about political power or national pride. It’s a radical subversion of all that is anticipated. Strength through weakness, power and might through suffering and sacrifice. It’s an upside-down kingdom where the last are first and the first are last, where outcasts and beggars are the ones who can see clearly!

As we read through Mark’s gospel together, we want to invite you to consider the way that you see Jesus. What assumptions do you bring to your relationship with him? What might cloud your vision? Do you see him for who he truly is? We’ll do this together by doing what we can to place ourselves inside the narrative. As you listen we’ll ask you to imagine yourself in the scene, this might be new to some of you but this kind of practice actually engages different parts of our brian and can help us see familiar stories in new and exciting ways.

As usual, feel free to pause the podcast and go deeper, either in your own study, or with resources provided in our show notes from the Bible Project and more.

Thanks so much for listening, Join us tomorrow for our first episode in the Gospel of Mark.

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Merry Christmas! We'll be taking a break until January 1st. Then we will begins series walking through the Gospel of Mark.

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Romans 16:25-27 (NIV)Read by: Clayton My wife and I have 2 daughters. And I will never forget the days that they were born. Both times I ended up sitting alone waiting to come into the operating room. Excitement, fear, joy, I felt it all. And as long as the 9 months felt, the 9 or 10 minutes sitting in that waiting room dragged on forever.

But as I sat there I reflected. On the waiting, on the longing itself. How we came to choose the names of each of our girls, and what it would be like to finally get to see them face to face.

Our oldest is Emma Katherine, which means wholeness and purity. We felt like the LORD was giving us that gift through her. Our youngest is named Alice Yvonne. We landed on Alice after having read a character description from Lewis Carrol, the author of Alice in wonderland. He wrote “alice is "loving and gentle", "courteous to all", "trustful", and "wildly curious, and with the eager enjoyment of Life that comes only in the happy hours of childhood, when all is new and fair, and when Sin and Sorrow are but names — empty words signifying nothing!"

Our prayer is that the LORD would give you this kind of joy this Christmas.

Today look back how the LORD as met you this Advent as we reflect with the four postures that Bobby Gross shared with us at the beginning. Listen along and respond as you’re prompted.

Then we’ll read our final passage, an exhortation from the book of Romans.

----------REFLECT----------

What have you longed for this Advent?
What has caused you to lament this Advent?
As you look for the LORDs work among you, where have you seen the evidence of His hands?
How is the LORD inviting you to pray with Mary “let it be in me according to your word?”

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Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)Read by: Karissa Bodoh

Today’s passage gives us a chance to see the story of Jesus’ birth from another angle—from the perspective of his earthly dad, Joseph. Think of it, Joseph had the role of tending to the work that God was doing in and through and out of Mary. He didn’t make it come about, he couldn’t make it come any quicker, and he couldn’t stop it once it started. He was called to be utterly supportive of Mary.

And as we practice waiting this Advent, we stand to learn a lot from Joseph. We have no power in and of ourselves to bring about that for which we long. We have now ability to make it come any faster or really dictate how it happens, I’m sure this would not have been Joseph's strategy. Yet like Joseph we can terry, and we can tend to what to LORD is doing among us. We learn from Joseph the act of essential support, without which the story would not go on.

And so we are to the LORD. He doesn’t need us to bring things along, but he makes space for us to participate. The questions is what does that look like in this season, and how can you be faithful to it?

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Where in your life might you be called to the role of essential support? How can you tarry with and tend to the work that the LORD is doing among you?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Luke 1:39-56 (NIV)Read by: Skip McDonald

Have you ever been part of planning a surprise party? Or maybe a marriage proposal? Or Christmas morning for a child? There are a few scenarios in our culture where keeping a secret with another person brings excitement and eager anticipation. Today’s passage brings together the birth stories of John the Baptist and Jesus. Two mothers—one elderly, one a virgin. A Holy Spirit filled prophecy and a spontaneous spoken word. God is at work, moving in wombs and tongues, in the hill country of Judea and on the busy trade routes of Galilee. Joyful expectancy is in the air and in the bodies of two unlikely women. The Messiah is coming. In fact, though unseen, he is already here.

As we continue in yesterday’s story, imagine yourself in the scene. What would you be feeling? Thinking? And how would these words of Mary hit you, even now in your life?

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
What emotions were you aware of as you listened to this passage? Where did you feel resonance, where did you feel dissonance?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)Read by: Kim Koi

Today’s passage brings us to what a lot of us grew up calling “The Christmas Story.” The long-awaited Messiah is coming, and the chosen vessel for his formation is a young unwed virgin. Again we look to Mary, we take in her story, we try to get inside her head and heart, and we ask the Lord to give us even a fraction of her faith.

As you listen to the passage today, try to hear it with fresh ears. Take in the words in light of the previous days and weeks of Advent, in light of the story of Israel, in light of the longing, the lament, and the hope we are invited into. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the heart of Mary who said, “Let it be in me, according to your word.”

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
What encouragement did you find in today’s passage? What situations in your life do you need courage and faith like Mary’s to be able to offer yourself to God with open hands?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Psalm 123 (NIV)Read by: Clayton

One of the side-effects of this pandemic has been the sudden abundance of time to binge-watch tv shows. One of my favorites is called The Repair Shop. It’s a reality tv show, taking place in the beautiful British countryside. People from miles around bring their broken heirlooms—from teddy bears and record players to furniture and paintings—to be fixed, restored, made to look and hold up as if they were new. And it’s incredible—not only the skill of the craftsmen and conservators doing the work, but the effect of their work on the objects’ owners. They nearly all shed a tear as they behold their formerly torn, stained or broken treasure now shining, in full color and in working order. And I often cry too. It’s beautiful.

As we enter this final week of Advent, we are likely experiencing a number of emotions. Christmastime this year is not what it usually is, for most of us. And waiting for the hope that we hold onto is not an abstract idea. If we weren’t cognisant of our world’s pain before, 2020 has made us see it clearly. Perhaps more than ever we long for God’s peace, his Shalom—that peace that brings not just a ceasefire between enemies, but a putting back together of what has been torn, shattered, damaged.

And as we enter this week, we look to Mary as our example—of how to wait, how to trust God, how to walk in humility and submission to his good and loving will.

Today’s passage is another of the Jewish Songs of Ascents. And it’s a picture of the type of humility and trust that Mary would later embody—quite literally. As you listen to the passage, ask the Lord where you might need to press into this posture of submission and humility and into this fuller vision of Shalom.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
As you’ve experienced seasons of feeling overcome by the pain of the world—or if you’re in that season right now, how might the Lord be asking you to draw near to him and lift your eyes to him for help?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Micah 5:2-5 (NIV)Read by: Kathy Pope

Today’s passage takes us to the book of Micah. Micah was a prophet at the same time as Isaiah. Similarly, he prophesied Israel’s downfall to the kingdom of Assyria. He also prophesied about a coming Messiah, describing him as a shepherd—one whose origins are ancient, one coming from... the small town of Bethlehem.

Today’s passage reminds us that God often chooses the small things, weak things, imperfect, humble and unlikely things to work out his plan of redemption in the world, even in the midst of approaching armies.

So as we wait for the LORD this Advent, what areas of your life, your family, your community, might God want to use to bring about his purposes?

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
In the turmoil of our world today and in your own struggles and pain, what does it mean for Jesus to “be our peace?”
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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I Thessalonians 5:12-24 (NIV)Read by: Kathy Haug

Have you ever been in a situation where someone was bullying you or telling lies about you or threatening you? When it feels like your life is being scrutinized in these ways, things like personal integrity become suddenly very important. Confidence in what you believe about yourself and the world are needed to make it through. Today’s passage takes us to one of the early church communities, in Thessalonica, and these followers of Jesus were experiencing just that. They left behind the Greek gods and idols of their culture. They pledged allegiance to a new King—Jesus, and because of this they were being severely persecuted by Rome. Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians to encourage them, knowing that the cost of their faithfulness to Israel’s God was great, but that their hope in him was greater.

As we practice sitting in the tension of joyful expectancy, and painful waiting this Advent, we receive these words as an encouragement and a challenge.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
It’s easy to get distracted from the mission of the church and to forget that we have a hope that transcends the struggles of our world. Where in this passage did you find encouragement? Or challenge?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Luke 1:57-80 (NIV)

Read by: Brennan Takayama

Today’s reading reminds us that Yahweh is a God who is faithful to his promises. With all the ways that our culture shapes Christmas in its own image, even as we remember the story of Jesus’ birth, it’s easy to forget what things were like for Israel beforehand. Remember that for generations prior to the announcement of the birth of Jesus, life for Israel was full of war, political unrest, and a kind of silence from Yahweh.

Today many things in our lives are instantaneous relative to the experience of humans throughout history. It could be difficult for some of us to imagine what it must have been like to live your life wondering if you belonged to the generation that would see God’s promise fulfilled. Yet, to Zachariah and Elizabeth it is announced. Yahweh’s covenant promise is about to be fulfilled. As we look for Joy this Advent, it will be found where God is doing what he said he would do.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
What Promises from the LORD do you most long to be fulfilled? Ask the LORD to help you see where they might be on their way.
As you reflect on this passage, consider how the LORD might be asking you to respond. If there is something specific write it down, or hold on to it and take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Luke 1:5-25 (NIV)Read by: Randy Pope

There are moments in each of our lives when we realize that something we dreamed would be possible passes beyond the time in which we could achieve it. A rather trite example for me was the moment that I realized that I was past the age of eligibility for college sports. I mean it was obvious for a long time that I was not cut out to be on any collegiate court or field, but it left me thinking about the past and what might have been if I had only done this thing or that thing differently.

In today’s passage, the story begins in a deeply painful place, with a couple for whom the opportunity to bear a child was long past. And yet, God makes this promise. Today’s passage challenges us to receive the promise of Joy even when it feels like life has taken us beyond our eligibility. Can you trust God to bring Joy even when you see evidence to the contrary?

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage increase your longing for the future God has in store for our world?
What promises might the LORD want to remind you of today? Make space to hear from the LORD. If there is something specific God wants to say, write it down to process later alone or in community.

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Isaiah 35:1-10 (NIV)

Have you ever been really... really tired? I mean like you can barely keep your body awake kind of tired. I used to have to drive a little over 2 hours back and forth from Tampa on the weekends to work a gig I had. Sometimes I would drive back late at night. Everything would start off fine, but then, when I was about 80% of the way home, the battle began.

I would notice that my eyes would start to droop, or I couldn’t stop yawning. It was hard going, and probably a little unwise, but then I would see the Tampa skyline. And I would think… alright, the end is in sight. I’d turn up the music, roll down the windows, put some water on my face and keep my eyes on those lights. And somehow each time it worked. I’d pull up to the house, and I’m telling you there is little better than sliding between those sheets knowing that you're safe at home.

Today's passage calls us to strengthen feeble hands, not to give up, for the LORD is coming. He will give us rest and we will experience JOY.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage increase your longing for the future God has in store for our world?
How can you strengthen your hands or someone else's hands in anticipation of the LORDs redemption? If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Zephaniah 3:14-20 (NIV)

Read by: Javelin Lewis

Our family lights candles each Sunday evening at the dinner table during Advent. So far we’ve lit one for hope, one for peace, and now one for Joy. But this is more than glee, good tidings or happiness. It's what comes in that breaking point when all hope seems lost…. But then out of darkness comes a glorious light. Advent calls us to remember the moment when Joy ended Israel’s long night of waiting for the Messiah—the incarnation. And it calls us to anticipate when he will come again delivering new creation.

J.R.R. Tolkien tried to describe this kind of moment, he called it a eucatastrophe. He wrote: "I coined the word 'eucatastrophe': the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears (which I argued is the highest function of fairy-stories to produce). And I was there led to the view that it produces its peculiar effect because it is a sudden glimpse of Truth, your whole nature chained in material cause and effect, the chain of death, feels a sudden relief as if a major limb out of joint had suddenly snapped back. It perceives – if the story has literary 'truth' on the second plane (....) – that this is indeed how things really do work in the Great World for which our nature is made. 'eucatastrophe' produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled, as selfishness and altruism are lost in Love."

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
What areas of your life are in need of a eucatastrophe, that sudden happy turn that pierces with joy? Ask the Lord to help you see and experience Joy in these areas.
How might the LORD want to encourage you today? How might the Holy Spirit be prompting you to respond? Take a moment, if something comes to mind, write it down and process it alone and with someone you trust.

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Psalm 126 (NIV)

Read by: Sasha Mackoon

Today begins the third week of Advent. We have spent the past two weeks in longing and lament, and this week we are asked to open our eyes and look. Like the buds on the tips of the flowering trees or blades of grass pushing through the snow, there are signs all around. The long winter is slowly being replaced by spring. The sun is rising, warming the ground, its light revealing, exposing what’s there.

Again we remember that we are living in the in-between. We remember the way things were meant to be, we long for the way they will be, but we also cannot forget that Jesus has come into our world. He was born into the mess of this broken place, he grew up, lived, died and was raised from the dead. And his kingdom reign has begun. And he is a good king. So, alongside our lament and our longing, we can have joy.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Think about your life. Take a minute to remember the times you’ve seen God act in your life. At the same time, where do you long for Jesus’ kingdom to come—in you, in your family, or in your community?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Romans 8:18-25 (NIV)Read by: David Luginbuhl

We’ve spent this week lamenting, grieving the brokenness of the world and our role in its pain. Today’s passage for Romans places our lament within the deeper, wider longing of all of creation. A longing for every broken piece of the world to be put back together, for humans to be truly human, working with God to contribute to the flourishing of the world rather than it’s pain. Advent teaches us to wait.

In our interview with Bobby Gross he reminded us of Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of this passage, he puts it this way: All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

Listen now to Romans 8:18-25 from the New International Version.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Waiting is hard. Especially when we are in discomfort, in pain, or are suffering… How does the image of birth help you think about your longings this advent?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Luke 3:1-18 (NIV)Read by: Jon Hietbrink

If you’ve been listening along with us this week, you may have noticed the theme of a messenger, preparing the way for the Day of the Lord. Both Malachi and Isaiah foretell it. Someone who would call for repentance, call the people to remember who God is; someone tasked with getting them ready to meet him—getting their lives to match up to what they profess to believe.

Luke begins this passage with details about the various rulers of the day, and we might be tempted to gloss over them. But they’re in there for a reason, because it is against a backdrop of kings, governors, and religious authorities that the long-awaited messenger appears in the flesh, calling for repentance, readying the people, and preparing them for another, greater king… preparing them for the King of kings.

Listen now to Luke 3:1-8.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
John the Baptizer answers the people’s questions with some pretty practical responses. Be generous and fair. Have integrity, Act Justly. If John were standing with you, looking at your life, and you asked him what you should do, what do you think he might say?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Malachi 4 (NIV)

Read by: Tyshawn Gardner

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Our God is a God of second chances.” But what about third chances? Fourth? Fifth? At what point does God say, “Ok, that’s it. No more chances.” Today’s passage provides a picture of the future and a reminder of God’s character. Yes, “It’s coming,” the prophet says. The Day of the Lord: Judgment. Evil purged, trampled and destroyed. And also healing, renewal, restoration for those who love him. Some of us might feel more inclined to long for that day. Others of us might secretly dread it. And yet the door of repentance is still open. The invitation is still on the table. The LORD, still unchanging, has not forgotten his covenant. The justice of God is not like that of the world. Yes, he will punish evil, but his compassion, his long-suffering, loyal love almost seem crazy to us. Sometimes we want to say, “C’mon, Lord, it’s enough. Don’t give them any more chances.” But he says in reply, “Hang on, just a minute more. Don’t close the door yet.” And so we wait... And long... And hope... And repent...

As you listen to the passage read aloud, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
As you reflect on the passage, is there someone who comes to your mind—maybe someone you’ve given up on—for whom the door is still open? Bring them to the Lord in prayer today.
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Malachi 3:1-7a (NIV)

Read by: Andrew Givens

Our reading today comes from the book of Malachi. Like the other prophets, Malachi wrote a message of warning to the people of Israel. They had made it through the exile in Babylon, but 100 years later it’s like they were back where they had started. Very few were being faithful to Yahweh. The leaders were corrupt, people were being stingy with their sacrifices and offerings, and the worship of other gods was creeping into their homes. Sound familiar?

As we continue walking through the second week of Advent together, we continue to open ourselves to lament—to grief, to repentance. We grieve the state of the church and the way God’s family in our culture has forfeited our witness to the world in exchange for power, wealth and security. We repent of our tendencies to point the finger at others and diminish our own lack of integrity. We open the door to the dark places in our lives, in our homes, and we ask God to let there be light.

As you listen to the passage, ask the Lord to illuminate the places that need to be seen clearly—in your heart and mind, in your life, in your family. . .

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Malachi spoke a message of warning, but also of hope. God is unchanging, always ready to forgive and restore. In what area of your life do you need to respond to his call to return to him?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Isaiah 40:1-11 (NIV)

Read by: Karissa Bodoh

Today’s passage opens with what many traditions call Second Isaiah. There’s a turning point in the prophetic book from warning to comfort. And while passages like these might tempt us to look away from the trouble that we find ourselves in, as if we can escape into a kind of wishful waiting, we must remember that these words came to a people who were a long way off from experiencing the kind of comfort that was proclaimed in this passage. Rather than it being a way for Israel to look away from their circumstances, this passage gave them a new way to look at their circumstances.

So today we invite you to bring to mind the troubles you carry this Advent. Bring them before the Lord and invite him to give you a new way to view them… in light of the one who holds us close to his heart.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
How do these words reframe the troubles that you carry this Advent?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Psalm 94 (NIV)Read by: Clayton

Yesterday we read from the book of Habakkuk, and we gave ourselves permission to grieve, permission to complain to God, to ask, “Lord, do you care?”

In contrast, the writer of Psalm 94 looks to God as the one who disciplines, who deals with evil and faithfully defends and helps those who belong to him. At the end of 2020, we are in mourning. But as much as we need the freedom to cry, we need to know that we can also hope. We need to know that God will make things right. We need to allow God to bear both our grief and the responsibility to make things right.

Today’s passage is long, so we’ll just read it once. Feel free to rewind and listen a second time if you want. And as you listen, ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart to the words of the psalmist and your ears to his voice.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage resonate with you or call you into deeper faith?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

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Habakkuk 1:1-4 (NIV)

Read by: Clayton

Our culture delights in Christmastime. We love the magic of lights and decorations, good food, presents under the tree, and feel-good holiday films. And of course these things have their place. But even in the best years, we know that regardless of all the trappings . . . pain, loss and conflict are still present—even highlighted in stark contrast to the experience we work so hard to create.

As we walk together through Advent, we’re building a new frame around our understanding of the season. And as the first week of Advent drew us into a deeper longing for the new heavens and the new earth, as we remembered the way things were meant to be and looked forward to the peace, safety and joy of God’s eternal future, the second week of Advent allows and even calls us into lament. We long for our ultimate future, but it’s definitely not here yet. And this year more than most, we are tired. We need something more substantial than wrapping paper and tinsel. And we need permission to grieve.

This week we will be wading into the dark waters of lament. If you feel like you’re already drowning, the invitation is to hold fast to your Father. Allow the strength of his grasp to increase your faith. And If you have a hard time engaging lament, the invitation is the same. Hold fast to your Father. He knows your grief, your sadness, and the fear you might have in entering into them.

Today’s passage shows us that our God is fully capable of bearing our questions, our frustrations, and our complaints—even complaints against him. The prophet Habakkuk is really different from the other Old Testament Prophets. Instead of calling Israel out on some sin or injustice or speaking to the people on God’s behalf, Habakkuk speaks in poems of lament addressed to God himself. His struggle is to believe that God is good in the midst of such a broken world. Can you relate?

As you listen, try to notice the feelings that come up in you. Do you feel free to question God or express anger towards him? Do you feel guilty or ashamed to even consider feeling that way? Where is your heart?

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Advent gives us permission to be sad and to ask, “How Long, Lord?” Is there a particular place in your life, a person or experience that is breaking your heart today? Try to bring that to the Lord in honesty.
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Advent Series >>

Bible Project: Habakkuk >>

IVP Advent Selections >>

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Luke 21:25-36 (NIV)

Read by: Josh Haupt

Passages like the one you’ll hear today are often puzzling to modern ears. It’s easy for us to miss what the language is referring to since we’re not familiar with the cultural context. This passage talks about everything from the sun, moon and stars to roaring seas to fig trees. What are we supposed to make of that? Some people read this passage and hear it referring to the end of the age and the second coming of Jesus. Others hear Jesus referring to the destruction of the Jewish temple in AD 70. We’re more convinced by the latter, but whatever the case, this passage has Jesus communicating to his disciples about what to do when their world gets turned upside down.

Try not to get caught up on the imagery itself. Rather focus on what the imagery is trying to convey. For instance we aren’t bothered by someone saying that 2020 has felt like getting hit by a train. We get it! We know they don’t mean it literally, but we also don’t diminish the turmoil that they refer to. Jesus knows that these disciples are going to see something they could never imagine… and when they see it, he’s calling them to remember… he’s calling them to hope.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage give you reason to hope?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Apocalyptic Literature Podcast Series >>

Bible Project: Luke >>

IVP Advent Selections >>

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Revelation 22:1-5 (NIV)Read by: Gabby Steere

We began this Advent with a reading from the Genesis chapter two. We were reminded of creation and the wholeness of the garden… When God’s space and our space was one… when we had access to the tree of life… where there was no shame. Today we look forward to a city, but it is a kind of garden-city. It’s like the one in Genesis with its flowing rivers, the tree of life, but now marked by the partnership between image bearers and our Creator. Where we were exiled, we are now welcomed as citizens. Where there was a curse there is a blessing, where there was pain, now there is healing, and where there was darkness now shines a glorious light. It’s a picture of the end of the story yes, but it is also very much a new beginning. It’s a New Creation.

This Advent as we long for new creation, we do so with tears blurring our vision. And through our vision is obscured, our hope is still before us. Jesus is bringing New Creation.

As you listen to the passage the first time, try to picture yourself in the scene. What would you see? Smell? Hear? Feel?

Listen now to Revelation 22:1-5.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage give you reason to hope?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Advent Series >>

Bible Project: Revelation >>

IVP Advent Selections >>

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Revelation 21:1-8Read by: Andy Kim

Earlier this week we looked backwards at Isaiah and joined in the longing of Israel for God to come and make things right. Today we look ahead, to the day when King Jesus comes again to rule and reign in fullness. The ultimate future hope of Jews and Christians from the beginning has been one of a real world where no evil can survive. It’s a world where every need is met. Where there's no reason to be sad, angry, frustrated or afraid. It’s a world where finally heaven and earth will be totally and forever joined together, where God’s presence will be at home, and so will we. If 2020 has taught us nothing else, it’s that the future we hope for is not here yet… so we long for it this advent.

So as you listen to the passage read twice, take note of what you experience—what your emotions or thoughts are raised? How might the Spirit want to encourage you today?

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage give you reason to hope?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Advent Series >>

Bible Project: Revelation >>

IVP Advent Selections >>

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Isaiah 11:1-10 (NIV)Read by: Kim Blackford

There’s a word that we taught our kids this year, after discussing why the feral cat we feed killed one of our backyard chipmunks: ENMITY. In our world animals seem always on the lookout for someone trying to get them. People too—we hold tightly to our hatred for people who think differently from us, live differently, or vote differently. . . And we imagine that it’s us vs. them.

Today’s passage gives us a glimpse of the day when enmity will no longer be part of our experience. All will be right and just. Trust and vulnerability will abound. And we will have a ruler who is wise, powerful, loving and good.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage give you reason to hope?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Advent Series >>

Bible Project Video: Isaiah>>

IVP Advent Selections >>

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Psalm 122 (NIV)

Read by: Jess Steere

Our passage today is one of the Songs of Ascent—a psalm sung by the Jews as they made the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It’s a call to worship, a call to pray for peace, security, and prospering for the city. We have the added benefit of reading psalms like this through the lens of passages like Isaiah 2, from yesterday, with the world’s ultimate restoration in mind. As we remember the words from Isaiah, we long for the day when swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, we look forward to the garden and the city— free from violence, pain, shame and evil.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage give you reason to hope?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Advent Series >>

Bible Project: Psalms >>

IVP Advent Selections >>

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Isaiah 2:1-5 (NIV)Read by: Tammy Eckhart

Today’s passage comes from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet to the Israelites at a time when the northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by Assyria and the southern kingdom of Judah was headed towards exile in Babylon. God was handing them over to their desires to worship other gods by means of allowing foreign nations to conquer them, but Isaiah not only prophesied judgment, he also foretold restoration and called people to remember who their God was and hold fast to him. The God who is wisdom itself and whose ultimate future for the world he made is one of peace, wholeness and love.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage give you reason to hope?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Advent Series >>

Bible Project Video: Isaiah >>

IVP Advent Selections >>

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Genesis 2:4-25 (NIV)Read by: Clayton

Because it’s a long passage, I’ll just read it once. So feel free to pause, go back, and listen again if you’d like.

Before we hear it, take a minute to present yourself to God. Invite his Spirit to speak to you, and quiet yourself to listen.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you hear in the passage? Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
Did anything in this passage give you reason to hope?
Take some time today to sit with the words of this passage. If there is something specific God has spoken to you, take some time to process that alone or with a friend.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Advent Series >>

Bible Project Video: Genesis 1-11 >>

IVP Advent Selections >>

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Bobby serves as the VP of Graduate and Faculty Ministries with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

He's also the author of Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God.

Bobby's Books

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents - Isabel Wilkerson
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity - Ronald Sider
Let Justice Roll Down - John Perkins
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ - Fleming Rutledge
The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings - Fleming Rutledge

Another Resource Mentioned:

Pray As You Go - Another wonderful pdcast designed to help you maintain and cultivate your times with the LORD.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Living The Christian Year by Bobby Gross >>

Bible Project: Advent Series >>

Bible Project Video: Genesis 1-11 >>

IVP Advent Selections >>

----------CONNECT----------

Find an InterVarsity Chapter >>Start an InterVarsity Chapter >>Learn More >>

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dailyread/message

Caste (Oprah's Book Club): The Origins of Our Discontents

The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 5)

Let Justice Roll Down

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity

The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings

Philemon 1:17-25 (NIV)Read by: Valerie Cullaton

As we come to the last passage of the prison letters, we see Paul putting into action so much of what he’s been him writing about. He opens himself up to incur the cost of the unity and justice and peace and reconciliation that comes as the mystery of Christ revealed in a community.

What’s remarkable about this passage is the indirect nature of Paul’s communication. It’s firm, but it is also gentle. He offers a directive to Philemon, but does so in a way that does not shame him into action. Too often, persuasion in our society is full of shaming. Notice how Paul opens the door for Philemon and Onesimus to be unified without making Philemon look foolish or weak, nor compromising the deep needs the Onesimus had.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
Paul’s persuasion is a work of art. What relationship in your life could use your development of this skill?
Have you ever had someone do for you what Paul does for Onesimus, telling your debtor to charge whatever you owe to them? Have you ever been in a position to do that for another? Are you in need of that now? Bring this situation before the Lord.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project Podcast: New Testament Letters >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Historical Context >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Literary Context >>

Bible Project Video: Philemon >>

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Philemon 1:8-16 (NIV)Read by: Joanna Wong

In today’s passage, Paul appeals to Philemon to receive his runaway slave Onesimus back--no longer as a slave, but as a brother. Rather than appealing to his own authority, Paul appeals to Philemon’s love and the inherent value of Onesimus. He gets involved, but he does so in a way that gives agency and ownership to Philemon and Onesimus.

Paul uses a little word play here, Onesimus is a common slave name that means “useful.””And he says that Onesimus was once “useless” to Philemon, but now “useful” to them both. He’s saying that a runaway slave isn’t really any good to his master, but a brother and son is always useful to their kin. He calls these two out of the relationship that the social order of things would have placed them in, and into a kinship based on their identity in Christ.

As you listen to today’s passage, again try to imagine yourself in the scene. Philemon and his household listen as this letter is read. Onesimus might have been standing with the reader. If these people have the love that Paul says they have, they’re all bound to be feeling a lot. See what you feel and what comes to mind as you listen.

----------REFLECT----------

What feelings came up for you as you imagined yourself in this scene?
These days, especially when it comes to what we think is right or wrong for people to do, there is a fine line between the “way to pushy” strategy, and the “you do you” strategy. But this letter is an example of winsome and loving persuasion, neither pushy nor apathetic. What side of the spectrum do you fall on and how can you lean into the tone of this letter?
Paul was asking Philemon to see Onesimus differently than society dictated. Not as a slave, but as a fellow man and brother. Are there relationships where you need the LORD’s help to see people differently than society might dictate? Ask for the LORDs help with that.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project Podcast: New Testament Letters >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Historical Context >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Literary Context >>

Bible Project Video: Philemon >>

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Philemon 1:1-7 (NIV)Read by: Joanna Wong

Do you remember a time when you were in deep conflict with someone? Maybe you were the person at fault. Or maybe you were the one who was wronged? Maybe it’s more complicated than that. Maybe there is wrong on both sides, and the situation itself is just hard.

As we open today’s passage, remember, Onesimus could be put to death for fleeing his master. And while we don’t know for sure, Onesimus might have been present for the reading of the letter. Could you imagine Onesimus standing there looking at Philemon as someone begins to read this letter from Paul? And Philemon, flush with emotion, can't take his eyes off of Onesimus as he hears Paul’s opening words begin to replace the pulsing in his ears. What if this was read in front of the entire house church?

As we listen through Philemon in the next few episodes, I want to invite you to imagine yourself in that moment. Allow a conflicted relationship that you’re in to come to mind, or imagine yourself as a fly on the wall where this letter is being read for the first time. How would you experience this moment?

----------REFLECT----------

What emotions or feelings come up in you as you imagine yourself in this scene? Bring those to the LORD.
If you were Philemon, and hearing this affirmation from Paul, someone whom you love and respect, what is your gut reaction? Would you feel affirmed or might you feel suspicious of manipulation? Would you feel open, or might you begin to close off?
Paul is about to ask Philemon to do something that is extremely radical for his position in society, something that would have been seen as unwise and weak. And rather than coming at him full-steam with critique and ire, he offers affirmation and begins by calling out the best in Philemon. How do you approach calling someone to do something that is hard for them socially or politically? How could you lean into this way of persuasion?

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project Podcast: New Testament Letters >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Historical Context >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Literary Context >>

Bible Project Video: Philemon >>

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Philemon (NIV)

As we come to the end of the Prison Letters, we turn to Philemon. This is one of the shortest letters in the New Testament, but it can shape us deeply if we will let it.

Unlike the letters that have a broader audience in mind, this letter is addressed specifically to Philemon about a particular issue that Paul wants to talk about. Philemon became a Christian after Epaphras planted the church in Colossae, and a church began to meet in Philemon’s house. As a household patriarch in Colossae, Philemon owned slaves. And one of them was named Onesimus, whom Paul honored in the last chapter of Colossians.

Onesimus wronged Philemon and then fled. He went to Paul in prison to ask for help. There Onesimus became a follower of Jesus, and Paul has to figure out what to do next. To be a slave and to run away was a capital offense. So Paul had to decide: does he let Onesimus continue to flee and risk being caught without a chance to advocate for peace? Or does he use his influence to call Philemon to receive Onesimus with forgiveness.

Paul decides to send Onesimus back to Philemon, asking Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother. This is really unheard of and really rather risky, but Paul puts all the preaching and writing, and praying in to practice… he goes all in on the power of the gospel to mend even the most tenuous relationships.

As we read Philemon, we see the gospel in action. It’s a little tough to read about a time when slavery was so normal and not want Paul to write more like an abolitionist, but we have to keep in mind that this was as common of a practice as our use of electricity. So his challenge to Philemon is actually extremely radical.

This letter could have immense implications in our society and our communities today. We need to be able to put all our weight on the power of the good news of Jesus, especially when it comes to relationships where we have conflict, strife and division. We stand to learn from Paul as he puts his actions where his faith is and his money where his mouth is.

So since this is a short letter, for our introduction episode, we’ll read it once all the way through and then spend the next handful of episodes going a bit deeper.

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Colossians 4:10-18 (NIV)Read by: Clayton

Today’s passage holds the final words from Paul in his letter to the Colossians. He’s helped them see the larger story they’re living in, a new perspective of his suffering, a way forward through the pressures they face, and a way to live out the message of King Jesus humans being renewed in his image.

He ends by situating himself squarely in the center of the relationships that are shaping his life in that moment. It’s a deep reminder that we are not isolated individuals, but members of a large tapestry of relationships that make us who we are.

As you listen today, think of the relationships that you have with fellow christiands that shape your life. Close friends who comfort you, people you lead who you’re concerned about, communities that you want to bless. And as they come to mind, consider what they mean to you.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage particularly stood out?
As he’s imprisoned, Paul finds comfort in the fellow Jews who are with him. Who are the people who comfort you during difficult times? Thank the LORD for them?
One of the overarching messages in this letter is the invitation for the Colossians to draw deeper into relationship and love with one another. How can you be intentional, especially in this season, to draw closer to the people God has placed in your life?

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project Podcast: New Testament Letters >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Historical Context >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Literary Context >>

Bible Project Video: Colossians >>

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Colossians 4:1-9 (NIV)Read by: Anna Li

As Paul wraps up this short letter to the Colossians and begins to write his final greetings he says some remarkable things that we can easily miss. I don’t know about you, but if I was in prison and was asking a church for prayer, I’d ask them to pray for the prison doors to be opened and let me out! But Paul doesn’t do that. Instead he asks them to pray that doors would be open for their message, so they could proclaim the mystery of King Jesus.

And then once more, in a moment when he could have been talking about his own desires for freedom, he tells them to expect Onesimus; who he calls a faithful and dear brother. You see Onesimus was a runaway slave who belonged to Philemon, who along with the Colossians receives a letter directly from Paul regarding Onesimus, who he just said is one of them. Paul's concern for Christ to be known through his own testimony and the testimony of the church at Colossae far exceeds his concerns for his own comfort.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
How does this passage encourage you or your community? Take a moment to rest in the LORD’s encouragement.
How does this passage make you aware of your need for Jesus? Ask the LORD to renew you and your community in his image.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project Podcast: New Testament Letters >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Historical Context >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Literary Context >>

Bible Project Video: Colossians >>

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Colossians 3:15-4:1(NIV)Read by: Clayton

Today’s passage has been misread and misused many times throughout history by the church. It’s been interpreted out of context in order to justify the the abuse and neglect of women, the abuse and neglect of children, and to justify the horrors of slavery. Those with dominance have interpreted this passage in a way that maintains superiority over the vulnerable. Paul’s words have been used to build and defend empires. And this is ironic, because the way Paul encourages the church to order their household and communities is actually a part of what dismantled the Roman Empire in the end.

As you listen today, remember the context of the letter so far. Paul just got done equalizing jew and greek, male and female, slave and free, declaring that they all bear God’s image, so why would he turn around a few verses later and contradict himself? Rather he’s encouraging them to live as a new kind of family, but within the context of empire, refusing to submit to its ways or ignore its very real constraints.

Philosophers in the ancient world commonly developed household codes. And in this passage Paul suggests his own, and they are quite radical in comparison to those of his day. Where wives were once expected to obey regardless of their will, and where husbands were expected to rule… Pauls gives women agency as he encourages them to submit, not to a ruler, but to a husband who loves her. Where children were often beaten and raised harshly… Paul advocates for gentleness. And where slaves often found themselves at the mercy of their masters who could do as they pleased… Paul relativizes the master’s authority and places the slave under the authority of the LORD and tells the masters that now they are accountable to God.

With the LORDs help this passage can go from being a weapon in the hands of the dominant, to being a model of kingdom subversion.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage stood out to you? What was your reaction?
Let the peace of Christ rule you hearts says Paul. What anxieties are you carrying today? Take a moment to offer these to Jesus, asking for his peace.
Whether you hold dominance in our society or are subordinated, this passage is challenging. How do you need the Lord’s help to live out the kind of equity and accountability that Paul suggests in this passage? Ask for that now.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project Podcast: New Testament Letters >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Historical Context >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Literary Context >>

Bible Project Video: Colossians >>

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Colossians 3:1-14 (NIV)

Read by: Chandra Crane

Most of us have had the painful experience of showing up to a place and being one of two things--either way overdressed, or way underdressed. You remember . . . you show up to a friends wedding, and as you pull up you realize that your dress and heels or your suit and tie are just completely out of place with the denim and converse that surround you.

It’s the worst when this happens at church. My wife and I are members at a Black Baptist church here in Alabama. And for anyone who is new to the Black Church, there comes the day where you learn the difference between 1st Sunday and 3rd Sunday, and if you dress on that 1st Sunday like you would on that 3rd Sunday, your khakis are gonna stick out like a sore thumb.

In this passage Paul encourages the Colossians to put on the new self in place of the old, because the old way, the "old clothes of this world" if you will, are simply not appropriate for those of us who are in Christ.

----------REFLECT----------

What parts of the old self are you most tempted to keep in your attire? Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, or filthy language? Name where you struggle and bring it before the LORD who sees you and delights in you.
Pauls says that as we put on the new self, we are renewed in God’s Image--where there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free. Some have taken this to mean that we should minimize our differences and be colorblind for instance. However, the groupings that he lists related to one another in that time based on the dominance or subordination their identity dictated. Rather than denying diversity and distinction, he’s denying dominance in how we relate to other image bearers. So, where do you carry dominance in our society? Race, Gender, Age, Ability, Economic Class, Education level? Ask Jesus to help you see others in His Image.
Where do you need the LORDs help to be dressed appropriately for the new life he’s offering you: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness patience, bearing with each other and forgiving one another, love? Ask the Spirit to come and cloth you with these things.

----- Read ------

Mixed Blessing - Chandra Crane >>

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Bible Project Podcast: New Testament Letters >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Historical Context >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Literary Context >>

Bible Project Video: Colossians >>

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Colossians 2:16-23 (NIV)

Read by: Jess Steere

Today on Daily Read we continue on in our series through the Prison Letters. These are letters that Paul is writing to churches trying to encourage and instruct. Today’s passage, for instance, is challenging the Colossians to resist the people who want to measure their piety or holiness based on what rules or regulations they follow.

Sometimes we can get so focused on the religious activity we perform that we miss what those activities are supposed to point us towards. Pauls sees these activities being used to measure this young church asn he refers to them as shadows. It’s as if he’s telling the church, don’t mistake the shadow on the ground for the solid object that is casting the shadow itself.

Think about the religious activities that fill you week and reflect on why you do them as you listen.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you find most challenging about this passage?
Is there an area of your life where you have mistaken the shadow for the object itself? Where you have focused on the activity of following Jesus at the cost of focusing on Jesus himself? Bring that before the LORD who sees you and loves you.
Paul instead encourages us to stay connected with Jesus, the head of the body. What could this look like? Perhaps you take 5-10 minutes in the next day to simply sit or walk in silence and give Jesus your attention. Ask the LORD how you should respond.

----------GO DEEPER----------

Bible Project Podcast: New Testament Letters >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Historical Context >>

Bible Project Video: New Testament Letters: Literary Context >>

Bible Project Video: Colossians >>

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Colossians 2:8-15 (NIV)

Read by: Melissa Murphy

As with all the letters in the New Testament, the historical context is essential to understanding today’s passage. There are two contextual keys that will unlock a lot of meaning for us.

The first is that when Pauls warns the church to not be taken captive, the word he uses there is sylagogon which would have been heard as a not-so- subtle reference to the synagogue, whose leaders were trying to convince the church that Jesus wasn’t enough. He goes on to talk about circumcision and the Law of Moses, which they were advocating for. He compares them to an empty philosophy and urges the church to center themselves on the total authority of Jesus.

The second detail that comes alive with a bit of context is the image of Jesus disarming the powers and authorities and making a public spectacle of them through the cross. This ironic image is a reference to a common practice in the ancient world carried out by the victors of war. Conquerors would come back home with the rulers and authorities of the now-defeated enemy in tow. They would parade them through the town and execute them at the end of the road. Paul says that this is what Jesus was doing as he carried the cross to Golgotha. What looked like his shame was actually him disarming and shaming evil itself.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage did you find most encouraging? What part did you find challenging?
Paul says clearly that Jesus' death and resurrection is all sufficient for our forgiveness and redemption. In what ways are you most tempted to earn this from God by your own merit or works?
If Jesus, through the cross and the resurrection really did disarm the powers and authorities, then how do we square that with the pain that we experience in the world today--with the way we see unjust power wielded against the oppressed? And how would your life look different today if you lived as if the powers and authorities really have been disarmed by Jesus? In what way can you follow the way of the cross?

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Colossians 2:1-7 (NIV)

Read by: Melissa Murphy

In the very beginning of the story of scripture we find a man and a woman who have been given the mandate to rule under the authority and wisdom of God as image bearers. But in a tragic twist, a deceiver comes and convinces them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, so that they would be like God. The results are shame, division, exile, and brokenness.

In today’s passage, Paul is continuing to tell about how that very story is being reversed and restored in Jesus. He’s longing for people to find the wisdom and the knowledge that they need to be restored to their original image bearing vocation and says that that wisdom and knowledge is found in King Jesus. This King who died and rose again, making a way for us to partake of a new fruit, on the Cavalry's tree, the fruit of the Spirit that makes us whole.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
Paul refers to Jesus as the mystery. This is because throughout time (but especially in the ancient world), to become king one does not pursue humility, laying down his life for people who would abuse him or abandon him. Have you struggled with the idea of Jesus as a suffering, humble king? Why or why not?
This passage comes with an encouragement to be rooted and built up, strengthened in faith, and overflowing with thankfulness. So, what can you do to deepen your roots, strengthen your faith, and be thankful today?

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Colossians 1:24-29 (NIV)

Read by: Melissa Murphy

On this episode of Daily Read, Paul talks about his willingness to suffer on behalf of the body of Christ. He counts this as a joy and as a logical extension of what it means to be a part of Christ’s body in the world.

But this is deeply challenging on several fronts. On one hand, there are those of us who might live in relative comfort and are more inclined towards our society’s promise of it. And so we think of suffering as something to avoid. On the other hand, there are those of us who have and are currently experiencing suffering that is not a choice and is not redemptive. So we think of suffering as something that we should be trying to escape.

This passage challenges us to consider what’s possible when you move towards suffering and discomfort willingly, on behalf of a just cause.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage is most challenging to you?
Is there something in your life, something that Jesus cares about, for which you are willing to suffer?
Paul says that he strenuously contends with all the energy Christ so powerfully works within him. He doesn't choose to do this in his own strength. Bring to mind that for which you are willing to suffer, and ask for Jesus' power to animate you to contend for it today.

-------- PRAY FOR CAMPUSES NEAR YOU -------

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Colossians 1:15-23 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul is writing this letter to encourage the the Colossian church not to let go of the hope that they first heard. With hardship they encounter increasing pressure to compromise their allegiance to Jesus by placing their trust in an alternative view of the world, or a religious law that they think could secure them. So Paul begins by reminding them of who Jesus is right now.

This letter is fit for us today. As we face pressure as God’s people, it can be tempting to settle for what's comfortable over what's true, to compromise our commitment to Jesus for the quick fix of what today has to offer.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - What was on your mind as you listened to this passage? Bring that thing before the Lord and invite him to meet with you about it.

2 - There are creatures in the world that can see parts of the color spectrum that it is hard or impossible for the human eye to see. This picture of Jesus invites us to see with eyes that are more open to the hope that is around us. Ask the LORD to help you see… to give you eyes to behold Jesus.

3 - As you begin to behold Jesus, the image of the invisible God, what might you need to hand over to him today? Take some time to set somethings down before our faithful King.

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Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)

Read by: David Luginbuhl

If you are listening to this episode on the day it was published, it is election day in America. If you are listening after the election, then you know how things have turned out, maybe. This day comes, or came (for those of you in the future) at an inflection point of social anxiety and stress in this country. There have been inflection points in the past, and there will be more in the future. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is one of them.

And it’s in moments like these when the words of Scripture can find the most leverage in our hearts and minds. And it’s passages like today’s, that remind us of who we are in Christ. They have reminded the church for generations of the unshakable reality that broke into the world when Jesus stepped out of the tomb--that we have been redeemed, rescued, and brought into the Kingdom of Light.

Whether you’re feeling frustrated, worried, tired, or all of the above; whether there is peace or unrest in the days or weeks following this episode, it is incumbent upon you and I as followers of Jesus to point the way towards God’s Kingdom.

In light of this significant moment, we’re going to shift towards an even more formal Lectio Devina and read the passage three times and allow some space to simply reflect. Thanks for listening.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you as you listened?
What does this passage mean for you? What does it mean for us?
Pray for yourself and followers of Jesus as a whole, that we embody and enact the truth of this passage.

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Colossians 1:1-8 (NIV)

Read by: David Luginbuhl

My wife and I have what some people might call a garden here at our home in Alabama. We grow herbs and some struggling strawberries, tomatoes, and a few other things. Folks who don’t garden might be impressed, folks who do garden might scratch their heads and think that we might not know what we’re doing. They’d be mostly right. But then my wife did something.

She came home one day with a bag of Gladiola bulbs from Aldi of all places. She stuck them in the ground and to our delight we watched this towering flower grow and blossom over the course of the summer. But we were even more amazed at what happened next, we began to pull out the bulbs to store them for next year, and they had begun to multiply 10 fold!

Like these gladiolas, the church at Colossae had been planted and was growing. But when Epaphras came to Paul to tell him how the church was doing, it was like he pulled this plant up by its roots and saw all the wonderful fruit that was multiplying.

----------REFLECT----------

As you heard Paul's words, was there a body of people or a person that came to mind? Take a moment to thank God for them.
Have you ever had the experience of helping someone grow in their faith? Who is the person who helped you grow in your faith? Take a moment and reflect on the good fruit that has come from that.
The Colossians grew to understand God’s grace from Epaphras. Perhaps the LORD would bring someone to mind who might grow to understand God’s grace because of you. If someone comes to mind, pray for them and consider a next step.

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Learn more about the situation that surrounds Paul letter to the Church at Colossae, it's outline, and it's how it might speak to us today.

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Philippians 4:10-23 (NIV)

Read by: Joanna Wong

The circumstances of Paul's writing to the Church in Philippi will help us capture the depth of the final words of this letter. It’s subtle, but careful reading shows us that after a long while Epaphroditus shows up with gifts from Philippi while Paul is in prison. Imagine being locked away, alone, and then all of a sudden you hear your name being called by the guards and then you see your the face of a beloved friend come to care for you.

What do you say to friends like that, who see what they have as yours? Who come to your aid, who take every opportunity to show you care? And still even when this isn’t the case, Paul says that he’s able to endure any circumstance through Christ’s strength. This passage comes as an encouragement and a challenge in the year 2020.

----------REFLECT----------

What Part of this passage encouraged you most?
How does Paul’s gratitude towards the Philippians challenge you when you consider the ways that others have met your needs? And how might you, like the Philippians, meet the needs of a friend today?
To be content in every circumstance. There is so much in our lives that is working against contentment, drawing us to make our desires into necessity and our necessities into commodities. Where do you struggle to be content? Ask the Spirit to speak into that now.

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Philippians 4:1-9 (NIV)

Read by: Clayton Cullaton

The work of the LORD restoring us in his image looks like things being made right in our relationship with others, our relationship with the world, and our relationship with the LORD. Today's passage talks about peace, but Paul as a Jewish man had more in mind when he talked about peace than the tranquility or calmness that comes to our minds.

There is a concept called shalom, which means peace, but it also means wholeness, it means things are as they should be, it includes justice, it includes holiness. Today’s passage speaks of shalom in all three areas of life: relational life, vocational life (our life in the world), and our spiritual life.

----------REFLECT----------

What portion of this passage was most comforting to you?
Paul pleaded that these two women would be of the same mind in the LORD, that they would reconcile their difference in Christ. Where in your relational life do you need to ask God for restoration? With a family member, a classmate, a colleague, or a friend? Ask the Lord for what you need to take a first step towards that restoration.
Paul encourages the Philippians to bring their anxieties to the LORD in prayer in every situation. This can be hard because there are so many situations these days. But what if we had a go-to one-line prayer? Maybe you could craft one now. It could be something like. LORD help me with _____________(Name the situation), we need your ________ (name a character trait of the LORD as an expression of faith). So Lord please help me make this decision, we need your wisdom. Amen. Try that now and see if you can’t come up with a simple format that you can use consistently.

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Philippians 3:10-21 (NIV)

Read by: Rachel Kim

Just before today’s passage, Paul declared that all the righteousness that he could claim from his life before Christ is to be counted as loss for the sake of knowing Christ. And it's in today's passage that he describes what the knowing Christ looks like. And to most of us, it's shocking, because it’s not all rainbows and unicorns, (if you’re into that sort of thing.)

Rather it’s about resurrection, and when it comes to following Jesus, resurrection is preceded by the cross. As the Philippians face the execution of their friend and their own potential persecution, Paul urges them to press on towards the resurrection. Which is not some kind of escape from the world, but is indeed the hope of new and real life on the other side of whatever this life might have in store for us. This view of things changes everything.

----------REFLECT----------

What about this passage stirs up hope in you?
The hope of resurrection allows Paul to face suffering of all kinds because he knows that even the worst that the world can do to him is not final. So, though he faces potential execution, he presses on towards that hope. How does the hope of a real embodied life after death reshape the way you might face pain in the present age?
With tears in his eyes he writes of those who are enemies of the cross of Christ, of those whose god is their stomach. In contrast he says that Christ has taken hold of him. What areas of your life are you ruled by your stomach, your own appetites and desires? And what would need to change for Christ to take hold of you?

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Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church

Philippians 3:1-9 (NIV)Read by: Rachel Kim

What comes to mind when you hear the words “the flesh” in Scripture, often we think of lust, gluttony, drunkenness. . . But in this case Paul uses the term to refer to ethnic boundary markers. The Israelites were set apart in the early days through male circumcision, and even after Gentiles were grafted into the family of God by the work of Jesus, some Jews were still obsessing over this “mark” as the way to indicate who was in and who was out, who was righteous and who was not. Paul says they’ve got it wrong.

You see, God made a covenant with Israel, that he would be faithful to bless them and through them the world as he restores creation to its intended order. Being righteous was about being included in that promise. So in today’s passage Paul launches into his resume or righteousness, of doing all the things necessary to be included in that promise, but says that it was all loss in comparison to simply knowing Christ.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in this passage?
Paul listed the many things he had to boast in--his ethnicity and genealogy, his zealous defense of truth, his passion for keeping the rules… What in your life tempts you to be self-righteous? Is it your ethnicity or family background? Your zeal for making your point and challenging people you see as wrong? Or being on the right side of whatever set of rules you ascribe to? What would it mean to value knowing Christ above these things?
Paul here tells the Philippian church to watch out for the dogs, the evildoers, the “mutilators of the flesh.” He’s talking about the Jewish Christians who were convinced that those who followed Jesus still had to follow Torah--so much so that they insisted on grown men be circumcised after conversion! Are there things beyond following Jesus that your church or tradition has insisted on in order for people to belong? Have you been a part of that in some way? Take a minute to either repent for your participation or forgive those who wronged you.

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Philippians 2:19-30 (NIV)Read by: Valerie Cullaton

Sometimes we think about the apostle Paul and imagine that all of his writings were just these abstract theological essays, but today’s passage reminds us again that we’re reading a real letter--to the church at Philippi, from Paul, imprisoned and dependent on others for his care.

Unlike our modern prison systems, prisoners in those days weren’t provided food or other basic needs by the state. They had to depend on friends to send what they needed for survival.

So, as you listen, imagine the sights, sounds and smells of this scene. Try to imagine the scene, and as you imagine, try to step into the situation.

----------REFLECT----------

What image or feeling stood out to you in the passage?
Paul’s affirmation of Timothy echoes his call to the church at Philippi in the beginning of this chapter-- “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others.” What would it look like for you also to take on this mindset? What might need to change? What might stay the same?
In this passage we get a 3D look at Paul. His intimacy with Jesus and understanding of the gospel didn’t separate him from real needs like hunger and pain or real emotions like anxiety and sadness. Have you ever heard or believed that being a Christian means you have to smile all the time? Try to let that go. . . and ask the Lord to meet you in your real needs and emotions today.

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Philippians 2:12-18 (NIV)

Read by: Clayton Cullaton

Have you ever been in a situation where something happened and you realized that you were the person who had to be in charge? Maybe you were used to leaning on a parent or grandparent, a leader or mentor, a supervisor or colleague, but this time they aren’t there. It’s up to you to figure it out. I had a moment like this as a young leader in InterVarsity. A group of friends as I decided to lead a summer bible study. And it got way bigger than any of us anticipated. And when things went sideways, there was that collective moment when we all realized that we had to step up and get serious about our leadership and trust in Jesus as leaders.

Paul sees this kind of thing as inevitable for the Philippians, and he’s exhorting them to get serious about their allegiance to Jesus, or, as he says, “to work it out with fear and trembling.”

Listen now to Paul’s encouragement from Philippians 2:12-18.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of Paul’s exhortation stood out to you in this passage?
Any good coach knows how to tell their team where to focus their attention in a way that resonates and inspires. But it always speaks to an area that needs improvement. So, which encouragement resonates with you? “Get serious about your faith?” “Don’t argue or grumble?” Or, “hold firmly to the word of life?” Ask the Lord to help you this week with one of these.
Paul seems to encourage them by telling them how joyful and faithful he will be--even if the worst comes of his situation (that is, if he’s put to death). His faith likely inspired the Philippians. What about you? Who’s faith inspires yours? Take a moment to thank Jesus for them and consider reaching out to tell them that.

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Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV)

Read by: Kathy Haug

In a world of division and hubris, the picture of Jesus in today’s passage stands out as a different way to be human. Listen carefully to the passage, and you can hear Paul practically begging this church to be like Jesus.

This passage confronts head-on our notions of self-reliance, personal freedom, and desire for power. Jesus did life differently. He showed us what it means to be truly human. In Romans 8 Paul also writes that we are to be conformed into the image of the Son. This is the character description of that Son. It ought to challenge us to our very core, calling us into utter dependence on the Spirit of the LORD.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this passage challenged you the most? What part bbrought you the most comfort?
Pauls says if there’s any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in his spirit or tenderness and compassion… in your relationships with one another have the mindset of Christ... So how are your relationships today? What would it look like for you to value these individuals above yourself today?
We who follow Jesus believe that what Jesus accomplished on the cross is the most powerful act anyone has ever performed. It is the act upon which the entire history of the cosmos turns towards redemption. Yet, it was at the same time the deepest act of humility the world has ever seen. When you are motivated to be strong, to be powerful, to make a difference, do you move towards humility or something else? What would it look like for you to emulate Jesus’ humility today?

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Philippians 1:20-30 (NIV)

Read by: Morgan Folgers

As we listen to today’s passage, we’ve got to remember that Paul’s writing from a roman prison. It’s reasonable for him to think he might not make it out alive. Yet, what we hear from him is confidence and purpose no matter what the circumstances, and no matter the results. He’s able to genuinely encourage his friends because he has situated his life around Jesus, which allows him to see real victory on either side of the sword.

This passage challenges much of what we assume ought to come from following Jesus. It’s easy to assume that it will be nothing but blessings and flourishing, but Paul tells his friends that it’s actually been granted, like a gift, to not only believe in Christ but to suffer for him. This turns so much of what we expect about God upside down.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Have you ever had someone ask you whether you had something in your life worth dying for? In this passage Paul says he has that--the chance to be with Christ would be a gain. However, Paul also has something worth living for, that is the mission of proclaiming the good news of the true king to those who haven't yet heard. What about you? What is it in your life, when you're feeling pressed on all sides, that’s worth living for even through the suffering?
Paul encourages them, no matter what happens, to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. This encouragement indicates that it might be tempting to do otherwise, to live a life that departs from the gospel if pain or loss or persecution came to the Philippians. In the ways that you feel pressed today, what does it mean for you to live a life worthy of the gospel. What might need to change?

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Philippians 1:12-19 (NIV)

Read by: Sarah Ammen

In today’s passage Paul echoes the words of Joseph way back in Genesis chapter 50--that circumstances meant for evil are being used by God for good. We wrestle in our modern minds with how to understand this idea. So often we’ve heard the saying, “Everything happens for a reason,” which implies that maybe God is the one causing the difficult circumstances. But another way to think about it that seems to be more in line with God’s character, is that while he always allows humans to have agency in the world, he never allows evil to have the final word.

Listen now to Philippians 1:12-19.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Philippi was a Roman colony known for its allegiance to Caesar, so needless to say, there was a lot of resistance to the supposed “good news” of a Jewish King who claimed to be the ruler of the whole universe. What allegiances are threatened by this same gospel in our culture today, in our nation, in our towns, in our own lives? Where is there resistance to the idea that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not?
Is there an area of your life where you feel like things aren’t going the way you had hoped or where grief, disappointment, or just evil seems to have taken charge? Ask the Lord to give you eyes to see how he is at work. Ask him to give you faith to trust that he has not abandoned you.

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Philippians 1:1-11 (NIV)

Read by: David Luginbuhl

Are you the type of person who likes to start projects but has a hard time finishing them? A lot of things in life feel like they get off to a good start, then get stalled or sidetracked. Money runs out, people get tired, circumstances change. . . But Paul here emphasizes an aspect of God’s character that is consistent throughout Scripture and applies to big things and small. God is one who finishes what he starts. He is faithful, and he is not limited by circumstances, budgets or energy.

Listen now to Philippians 1: 1-11.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
Paul’s affection for the church at Philippi seems to stem from their “partnership” in the gospel. More than just common belief or sympathy for a cause, they are committed with him--in vision, in action, and in a generous sharing of their resources, to tell the world about its new King. Would you describe yourself or your church as “partners” in the gospel?
For Paul and in the Jewish understanding, the head and the heart were not separated, as we think of them today. Love was not purely emotional, but tied up together with truth, knowledge, and wisdom, resulting in moral discernment for the good of those involved. Are there relationships in your life that need to grow in this kind of love? What might that look like?

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Clayton gives us a brief idea of the situational context for the Letter to the Philippians.

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Ephesians 6:18-24 (NIV)

Read by: Jess Steere

In the previous passage, Paul tells the churches in Ephesus to put on the full armor of God--the defenses at their disposal to defeat the schemes of the enemy. Today, as Paul closes out his letter, he adds something to these pieces of armor--prayer. Prayer--in the Spirit, on all occasions, and about everything. Sometimes we might feel like we are fighting battles alone, but the reality is that we are surrounded by other warriors, and if we will live into this new community formed by Jesus and filled with his Spirit, we will be able to fight not only for ourselves, but for one another, together, in power and strength.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Prayer is a mysterious thing. And the connection between our prayers, the stuff going on in the quote “heavenly realms” and the things--big and small--in our world, is really beyond us. Yet Paul asks these believers to pray. How can you enter into prayer today? What do you want to talk to God about?
The mention of Tychichus reminds us that this is a real letter, written from a real person to real people. We are, essentially, reading someone else’s mail. If you were writing a letter to a friend far away, who might you mention? Is there a friend who has been especially faithful to you in times of pain or struggle? Consider finding a way to thank them today.

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Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV)

Read by: Brennan Takayama

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul has intricately formed a framework of God’s mission in the world. The new humanity--diverse in ethnicity and social status, unified as a new family, mutually submissive in all relationships for the sake of living as light in a dark world. Living a new kind of life--one submitted to the loving wisdom of their risen Savior--sounds great, right?!

But in today’s passage, we get a reminder that this won’t be easy. We won’t automatically become these kinds of humans. Temptation, trials of all kinds are still a part of daily life. We’re still in that “already, but not yet,” but now, with a King who defeated death, we have the defenses we need to fight against every evil that comes our way.

----------REFLECT----------

What image stood out to you the most in this passage?
Truth, justice, the message of peace, faith, salvation, and the gospel message itself. We have at our disposal everything we need to live the life we are called to, and yet these are called pieces of battle armor for a reason! Where in your life or where in the world do you feel vulnerable or exposed to attack?
Our modern minds might have a hard time with Paul’s discussion of “the heavenly rulers and authorities. But our skepticism of things we can’t see or touch has produced a unique spiritual blindness in our culture. As Christians we might feel like we have to choose between prayer and activism, but what if the fight is on both fronts? What if it’s all connected? Is there a place of pain in the world that you feel especially drawn to fight against?

Ask the Lord to equip you to join him in that fight.

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Ephesians 6:1-9 (NIV)

Read by: Clayton

If the modern understanding of Paul’s gender roles makes our stomachs turn, then today’s passage is maybe even more troubling to our ears. But again, we have to take off our 21st century headphones and try to hear Paul’s words the way his original audience would heard them.

We have to understand too that Paul saw our ultimate future entering into the present. It’s the “already, but not yet.”

The way the first century Christians understood Jesus’ death and resurrection was that it began something--a reversal of evil, a pushing back of the power of sin and death in our world through the conquering of it in the eternal, spiritual realm. By challenging the normal relationships of children and parents, masters and slaves, Paul is calling the first-century church into a new way of being human--a way that looks to the future, when all things will be made right--and brings that future into the present, in tangible ways, like signposts pointing the rest of the world to the way of the coming Kingdom.

Listen now to Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 1-9.

----------REFLECT----------

What ideas surprised you in this passage?
How can we apply this passage in the relationships of dominance and subordination that we find ourselves in--as parents or children, teachers or students, bosses or employees?
Slavery talked about in Scripture wasn’t usually the kind of chattel slavery we’ve experienced in our country. Sometimes it was unjust and cruel, for sure, since people have been evil at every point in history. But it was common--as common as electricity or running water is to us now. Life was hardly imagined without it. In all the ways the Western Church has failed in its interpretation of this issue in order to maintain economic power, do you find any comfort in Paul’s words here to the church at Ephesus that so radically challenged the status quo?

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Ephesians 5:21-33 (NIV)

Read by: Rev. Corey Savage

Today’s passage is one that many of us might roll our eyes at. It’s a passage that has been abused and misused by those who understand maleness as dominance at whatever cost. But in order to understand what Paul was talking about, we have to understand the world he was talking to. And for that we have to check our modern biases at the door.

In Paul’s day and for many centuries before after, women were regarded as inferior--their bodily rhythms making them “impure,” and burdensome. Headship and leadership were a means of dominance and power. In this passage, Paul radically turns the cultural norms of his day upside down. The king to imitate is now Jesus, not Caesar. The way of headship is sacrifice, not dominance. A wife is no longer a subservient, inferior being, but rather a treasure, like the church is to God--worthy to be loved, served, and cared for.

Listen now, with open ears, to Ephesians 5:21-33.

----------REFLECT----------

What ideas bristle your modern ears? Why do you think that is?
Think of some of the most popular role models for men and women in our culture. In what ways do their attitudes and behaviors compare with the portrait Paul is painting of husbands and wives?
Relationships of mutual submission don’t mean that no one leads or that nothing gets done. What it does mean is that the needs and desires of the other are always forefront in our minds. It means allowing our selfish impulses to take a backseat. It means allowing vulnerability to be a space where love grows, instead of shame, imitating the way of Jesus that leads to life and wholeness. Is there a relationship in your life that needs to grow in mutual submission?

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Ephesians 5:13-20 (NIV)

Read by: Rev. Corey Savage

If you’ve ever gotten a song stuck in your head you know that the only surefire way to get it out is to get another one in--even better if it’s one that you actually like, better still if it’s one that feeds your soul and makes you feel stronger, deeper, or more full of love. Music has a way of shaping us, of speaking to us in places words cannot reach.

In today’s passage, Paul tells the Ephesian Christians to sing to one another. While that might sound weird to our modern ears, the point is this: the world is constantly offering cheap substitutes for meaning, activities and habits that are easy to get stuck in our lives but produce nothing of substance. As a community of Jesus followers, we have a responsibility to constantly remind one another of who God is, what he has done in and through Jesus, and what that means for our lives. To sing a new song in place of the old.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
Paul here contrasts light and darkness, things that are alive with things that are dead. And he calls these new believers to fill their lives with things that matter. Are there things in your life that are just meaningless, things that don’t bring life? What might it be like to replace those thoughts or actions with things that produce flourishing--in yourself and others?
Most of us try our best to keep our sins and failures a secret, we want to look like we have it together to maintain our belonging or status. But the irony is that our sins and struggles really only have power over us when we keep them in the dark. And if they stay in the dark, we can’t really be known by anyone. Are there areas of sin, pain or struggle that you fear exposing to the light? Ask the Spirit to give you the courage to share those with a trusted friend or mentor today.

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Ephesians 5:1-12 (NIV)

Read by: Eric Peterson

The cultures of Paul’s day were not so different from our own in a lot of ways. We can totally relate to the evils Paul calls out and warns against like sexual immorality, obscene joking, and greed… We see them in leaders in government and business; we see them in our families, coworkers, and even sometimes in our churches. Paul here encourages the Ephesian church to remember that their inheritance in Christ gives them a different identity as well as a different vocation--that of Israel, that of Jesus--children of God purposed to be a blessing to others, reflecting God’s love, forgiveness and justice as light into a dark world.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Why do you think Paul says that immorality, impurity, and greed indicate idolatry? Are there ways you are living that might indicate you’re worshiping something besides God?
We are all tempted towards greed, consumption, materialism, and self-gratification veiled in sexual liberty, but in Christ we are called to live differently, and every day it’s a choice. Are we going to live by the moral standards of our culture or by the standards of the kingdom of light? So what would have to be different in your life today for you to live by the standards of the kingdom of light?

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Ephesians 4:25-32 (NIV)

Read by: Karissa Bodoh

Have you ever found yourself believing that God is like us, that he might act in the world out of bitterness or spite? In seasons where you feel distant from God, do you imagine him passive aggressively holding onto your faults and failures? Or do you imagine him acting like parents, teachers or coaches who haven’t acted fairly, or friends who have lost your trust?

In the chaos and ambiguity of our world it's easy to project onto God things that we most fear about each other. But thankfully God isn’t subject to our insecurities and shortcomings, he’s quick to forgive, and quick to love. Is that easy or hard for you to hear right now?

----------REFLECT----------

What guidance in this passage felt particularly relevant to you?
Paul says that those who steal shouldn’t stop stealing just because. Yeah, stealing breaks trust with those who are robbed, but there’s more. If we steal instead of working, we also have nothing to give to those in need. We aren’t just saved from something, but for something. Is there a sin in your life that needs to die in order for something life-giving to grow?
God is compassionate and kind. And in Christ he forgives us. The LORD is committed to remaking us in his image, not the other way around. We are restored in his image both when we fail and allow him to shape us, and when we forgive others like he forgives. Where in your life do you need to accept God’s kindness and compassion and forgive yourself. . . or someone else?

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Ephesians 4:17-24 (NIV)

Read by: Karissa Bodoh

As we look towards the next three chapters, Paul’s desire seems to be to help these new believers flesh out their common calling of living a life that mirrors their Lord--really becoming the image-bearers of God that they were always meant to be. They needed (and we need today) constant reminders of the new life we have been given in Christ and what it means to live like our Savior.

As we continue to work our way through the letter to the Ephesians, it would be a fitting question to ask yourself, what parts of my life are not aligned with the redemption story that the LORD has written through Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

Was there an image that stood out to you in this passage?
Do you have a favorite sweatshirt or pair of jeans? You know- the ones that are so soft they almost feel like they're a part of your body when you’re wearing them? Sometimes that’s how our habits are. Comfortable. Easy. But Paul here calls Jesus’ followers to put off the old self, for the sake of becoming a new kind of human. Is there something in your life you know you need to put off, even if it’s hard and outside your comfort zone?
We hope that this podcast has been a gift to you as a way to individually connect with Jesus daily. But as these letters remind us, living as God’s new humanity is a communal thing. Do you have people walking with you as you flesh out these things in your life? Do you know someone who might need that kind of community? What’s one thing you could do right after this podcast to move towards community?

NEW HUMANITY VIDEO

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Ephesians 4:1-16 (NIV)

Read by: Jonathan Hollins

Today’s passage opens up the second half of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. After praying for them and reminding them what story they are living in, he begins to call them to live differently, in light of that story, the gospel, the good news of Jesus and his Kingdom. He calls them to unity, not uniformity, oneness, not a loss of identity, self-donating love aimed at mutual flourishing of the whole church .

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
Many of us are overly concerned with knowing our specific calling or vocation. We might feel lost when we are in a job we don’t like, or feel like God might be somehow holding out on us, or maybe something’s wrong with us? But the calling Paul is talking about is the general vocation of every Christian-- including you and me. It’s following Jesus in the everyday things of life, in every moment and every circumstance. How might that distinction give you both peace and direction for your life today?
Paul says that the Lord has given gifts to his people--grace that gives us what we need to to love one another and build up God’s people. Take a moment and ask the Lord what gifts he has given you that he might want to use for the flourishing of others?

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Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)

Read by: Champ Hollins

Today’s passage is the middle point of Ephesians, the prayer towards which the first half builds and from which the rest of the letter proceeds. Ephesus, as we’ve talked about, was a bustling metropolis known for many things, but maybe most notably the temple to the Greek goddess Artemis, goddess of fertility. But when Paul writes a letter to this area so deeply shaped by the worship of a goddess who they thought was the origin of life, he begins a prayer by saying that God the Father is the one from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its name. The grand story he reminds them of is meant to challenge each part of their lives.

As we try to make sense of these letters, we have to do our best to understand what they would have meant to the original hearers, then from the content, through the context, assign significance to our lives today.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
When Paul wrote this letter, people usually prayed standing up, with their hands lifted to the heavens. Kneeling was what they did when they saw a Roman official pass by, or, of course, a king. In the first line, Paul is communicating that God is King, not Caesar. Who are you kneeling to today? To whom are you giving your allegiance? A political party, a social movement, a means of success, or to Jesus and his Kingdom?
Paul here expresses a deep longing for Jesus’ followers to really know God--inside and out--who he is, how he loves, and how he changes everything. Where in your life do you long to experience more of your Maker and King? Bring that longing to the Lord today.

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Ephesians 3:1-13 (NIV)

Read by: Livi Hollins

In today’s passage, Paul unpacks his calling from God to share that the inheritance of Israel is now available to the rest of the world--to those who the Jews called, “the Gentiles.” Churches in and around the city of Ephesus were diverse in ethnicity and socio-economic status. But the real sign that this church was something new was the fact that Jews and Gentiles were walking in faith together, on an even playing field.

The inheritance promised to the Jews, to rule and reign with God was now being extended to anyone who would put their trust in Jesus. He refers to this news as the mystery that has now been revealed in King Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Most go to church with people who look like us or live lives similar to us. Somehow, we often forget the incredible mystery of the beautiful diversity that was revealed in the early church. In what ways might your church or community of believers need to renew its understanding of what God intended the Church to be?
Another incredible gift of the Messiah is the ability to approach God with freedom and confidence, knowing that forgiveness is joyfully offered through Jesus and that we are God’s children. Is there anything in your life that you’ve not felt confident to bring before the Father? Can you allow him access to that today?

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Ephesians 2:11-22 (NIV)

Read by: Scotty Hollins

In today’s passage, Paul is continuing to remind the Ephesians of the bigger story of God, how Jesus is the climax of that story, and how his life, death and resurrection has changed everything. The calling of Abraham’s family to show the world who God is was carried forward and radically accomplished in Jesus. The temple--that utterly important place where heaven and earth met--was reconstituted in Jesus’ own body. The barrier between Jews and Gentiles was broken down, a new temple is being built with each person who’s added to this new multi-ethnic family of Jesus followers.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
The Gentiles were actually very religious, worshiped many gods, made lots of sacrifices… yet Paul says that they were “without hope and without God in the world.” Do you know people who are very religious yet seem hopeless? Have you ever felt that way?
This is one of the many places where Paul presses this new family of believers who are prone towards prejudice to believe that they belong to each other. And this challenge is just as needed today. What are the ways that you struggle to believe that you belong to believers who might be different in culture or ethnicity? What’s one step you can take today to lay down prejudice and live into the peace Jesus has made between you and his followers who are different from you?

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Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)Read by: Sylvia Hollins

Today’s passage is one we might have heard a lot if we grew up in church. But whether you’re familiar with it or not, remember Paul’s prayer at the beginning of the letter--for the Ephesians, but also for us--that the eyes of our hearts would be opened--to know the hope we’re called to, the riches of his glorious inheritance in us, his incomparably great power for those who believe. Ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart today.

----------REFLECT----------

What descriptive words or contrasting ideas stood out to you in this passage?
Before the gift of Jesus, we followed the way of the world. We listened to and followed our own desires and thoughts above all else. But even now in Christ, we can’t pretend that this isn’t still a temptation. What areas of your life are you tempted to choose what you want, even if you know it’s leading you away from Jesus?
It might seem like this passage is meant to tell us how terrible we are. But while we indeed are hopeless without God, that’s not where the passage leaves us. No matter how wretched we are or have been, the goodness of God’s love--demonstrated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus--is more powerful, more merciful, and more beautiful than we could ever imagine. In what areas of your life do you need to receive the kindness and goodness of the Lord?

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Ephesians 1:15-23 (NIV)

Read by: Lauren Ann Watka

In today’s passage Paul prays that the Lord would open the eyes of the Ephesians' hearts. It’s hard to imagine Paul talking about eyes being opened without thinking back to his first encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9. He met the risen Jesus there and was blinded for three days, until Ananias came and prayed for him to regain his sight. And it says that “he rose, was baptized, (which is an image of the resurrection) and, taking food, was strengthened.”

Later in Acts 9 there is another story of eyes being opened. A disciple named Tabitha had died. And after Peter prayed for her she was raised back to life! The text says “she opened her eyes… and Peter gave her his hand and raised her up.” These two passages could tell us a lot about what Paul means when he prays that the Ephesians would have the eyes of their hearts opened to know the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

----------REFLECT----------

What encouraged you about this passage?
Asking that the eyes of our hearts would be open implies that there might be something that has them blinded. Paul asks that for this they would receive the Spirit, who gives wisdom and revelation. The Greek word for “revelation” is apokalypseos which means to open or uncover. Right now, ask the Spirit to open, uncover, reveal or apocalypse what your heart might be blind to today.
Jesus is seated far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked. These days it can feel like that is not the case, but therein lies the need for Paul's prayer--that we would see it. What difference would it make in your life, if you lived out of the knowledge that Jesus truly is in charge? What would you do differently today?

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Ephesians 1:1-14 (NIV)Read by: Sarah Ammen

The apostle Paul is writing this letter to a group of churches in and around the ancient city Ephesus. He’d planted churches there, but now is imprisoned, and is writing to encourage and exhort the church to live as good witnesses in society; especially as they overcome the challenges of persecution, division, and the temptation to give their allegiance to something other than Jesus.

As the letter opens we hear a long Jewish style poem, praising God for carrying out his promises to Israel in and through Jesus. With this Paul starts the first half of the letter designed to help the Ephesians to remember the bigger story that they are living in--the story of God’s faithfulness in King Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

In what ways does this passage cause you to be grateful for God’s love? Bring that to the LORD with thanksgiving.
As Paul retells the story of God’s covenant faithfulness, he helps the Ephesians see that when God chose Israel, he had them in mind! That reality extends to us today. We too were adopted, and not just for our own sake! Like Israel was chosen as a people through whom God could bless the nations, we have been chosen for the sake of what God wants to accomplish through us. In what way might God want to bless others through you or your community this week?
Paul calls the Spirit a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, the genuine life in a new creation that is given to us by Jesus. One scholar calls this deposit a down payment: a part of the promised future coming forward into the present. What difference will it make in your life today to know that you will receive, in full, the promise of new creation?

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As we begin our series through the Prison Letters, Clayton talks a little bit about the letter the the Ephesians, Ephesus at the time of it's writing and points us to some resources that are linked below to go further.

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John 21:15-25 (NIV)Read by: Stacy Rafferty

Have you ever smelled something, and in that very instant you’re taken back to a specific time and place? I mean, you can see it, taste it, feel it, hear it! There are certain smells that can bring us back to some of the sweetest moments in our lives, or to some of the darkest.

John is careful to point out that the fire that Jesus and the disciples gather around is burning charcoal. This is significant because the last time that Peter was around a charcoal fire, he was denying Jesus, afraid to be recognized as one of his disciples. As Peter he sits down around this fire, Jesus intends to replace those memories of shame and guilt with restoration and redemption.

----------REFLECT----------

What surprised you the most about this passage?
Peter kind of takes offense at Jesus asking him three times if he loves him. But Jesus was seeking a full restoration, giving Peter an opportunity to answer these three questions the way he would have wanted too when he denied him. How do you do with trusting in Jesus’ ability to fully restore you from your failures?
The picture that Jesus paints of Peter’s future is pretty bleak. Being dressed by others and being led to a place where he won’t want to go. He’s saying this to describe the death of a man who cut another guy's ear off in defense of Jesus. It’s not the future Peter had in mind when he began following Jesus. What about you? If you knew that following Jesus would take your life to a place that was undesirable to you… would you still follow him?

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John 21:1-14 (NIV)Read by: Summer Richardson

Imagine what it must have been like to be the disciples at this point in John. You’ve been following Jesus for a few years, and then he gets brutally murdered, then he shows up behind closed doors…. And then leaves… What do you do now? What’s next?

The disciples did what most of us do in times of uncertainty, we go back--to what’s comfortable, or to what’s “sensible”--like the disciples in this passage... going fishing. But life after the resurrection of Jesus isn’t the old life. It’s a new kind of life for the disciples, for you listening to this right now. It’s the miraculous entering into the ordinary. Heaven and earth coming together in our daily things- in our day to day work even.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of the disciples' reactions stood out to you in this passage?
It’s dawn again, and like Mary at the tomb, Peter and the other fishermen do not recognize the risen Jesus in the morning light. Can you think of a night you spent working or studying or caring for something or someone, or crying? And when morning comes you feel no closer to being done that you were at dusk? Maybe you’re in that dark night right now. What if Jesus is waiting to talk with you in the light of dawn… how do you respond?
In the Jewish world, it was the host or the head of the family who passed out the bread. Jesus here reminds the disciples of his place in the family- in their lives, and in the world. He is the generous Host, longing to share his abundance with us. Where in your life do you need to move from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance? Ask the Lord to meet you on that shore.

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John 20:21-31 (NIV)Read by: Kathy Haug

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning…. These are the first words of Johns Gospel… he continues in talking about this Word… this one who was with God… saying: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

In today’s passage… the Word has been raised from the dead, and he makes his dwelling among the disciples once again. Except this time it’s in a locked room. And it’s there, behind doors of fear and self-preservation that the eternal Word speaks the words “peace be with you,” as he breathes new life into the disciples… just as he did in the beginning in the garden.

----------REFLECT----------

What part of this interaction between Jesus and HIs disciples stands out to you?
Thomas tends to get a bad reputation for asking questions of Jesus in this moment, of needing proof. But in reality… he’s the very first to lean into the promise of Jesus being the word that became flesh. And as he reaches out to touch the body of a man who he saw die but who is now alive and in the flesh, his whole concept of life and death is transformed. How does the physical resurrection of Jesus change the way you think about death knowing that we will also be raised?
Thomas recognized Jesus by his scars. We often imagine and perhaps long for a life after death that does not include the scars of this life. However, in this passage and in the future we have in Jesus, the presence of scars is proof of healing. So, what wounds in your life, do you long to be transformed into scars in the resurrection?

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John 20:1-20 (NIV)Read by: Kathy Haug

Darkness and Stillness. After the longest Sabbath they had ever known, shock and pain hung in the air. Their hearts were broken. Their eyes were red and swollen from tears. A horrifying passover, the silence of Saturday, and still no appetite for lamb or bread. How could this be? Was it all a nightmare? Maybe He wasn’t who they thought he was. What hope was there now? But he was like no one they had ever known! He did things, said things that they never imagined that they would see or hear.

Sabbath was ending. Night was almost over, the sun was about to rise. The first day of the new week is about to begin. And perhaps the only place she felt like she could be was near him, near the place where he lay. To grieve, to cry, to remember. . . So Mary got up and went to the tomb.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment stood out to you in this passage? What image, What emotion?
Have you ever wondered why Jesus is mistaken as a gardener? John starts the gospel off with the words “in the beginning” and follows the creation narrative through all the way to Jesus laying to rest on the 7th day of the week. And now it’s the first day of a new week when Jesus shows up as a gardener… John’s trying to help us see that when Jesus stepped out of that tomb… the first day of new creation had begun and he is the gardener. In what ways have you seen Jesus as a gardener of new creation in your life, planting seeds, pulling weeds, watering, pruning?
As characteristic of John’s gospel, Mary doesn’t at first recognize Jesus, yet he engages her pain. “Woman, why are you crying?” Are there people in your life who are in pain? How might Jesus be calling you to engage their pain, even if they don’t yet recognize him?

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John 19:28-42 (NIV)Read by: Clayton Cullaton

Throughout the Gospel of John we’ve been paying attention to the “signs” performed by Jesus--each one a picture of what it looks like when heaven and earth come together. The blind see, the sick are well, the dead are raised…

Some see the crucifixion itself as one of these signs, which forces us to ask the question: how is this a picture of what it looks like when God’s space and our space overlap and interlock? We may be tempted to look away at this moment and say this whole thing makes no sense, but if we have eyes, we can come closer and see… We can see that for these two spaces to be brought back together as they were in the garden, as they will be in new creation… all the evil and death that exists in the world has to go somewhere… it has to be dealt with…

----------REFLECT----------

What were your primary emotions as you listened to this passage, how did your body respond?
John offers us extraordinary details that are painfully specific and deeply physical. Sometimes we can think of the crucifixion of Jesus as a purely theological event, but it was physical and historical. Take a few moments to remind yourself that this actually happened, consider the sights, the smells, the sounds…
The passage in Zechariah that John quotes here is a prophecy about the Messiah--and how God will bring about redemption and deliverance to the world through the Messiah’s suffering. Do you believe that God can bring redemption through suffering in your life? Ask the Spirit to meet you in the places where you need deliverance and redemption, even in your suffering.

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John 19:17-27 (NIV)Read by: Adriana Abuchar

For generations the people of Israel would celebrate the Passover the same way. Passover lambs were traditionally hung up on hooks to be flayed. The Passover in today’s passage leaves Jesus naked, hanging from a cross. The Passover was about longing for redemption, about waiting for Messiah to come and reign.

Caiaphas unknowingly prophesied that “it would be better for one man to die for the people.” Pilate perhaps unknowingly makes the announcement to the whole world “This is the King of the Jews.” It doesn’t look the way they imagined, but Messiah has come. And somehow God’s purposes for the restoration of the world are being born in and through his suffering.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
How does the idea of a suffering Savior align with your understanding of success? How does it challenge? How does it comfort?
How will you respond today to the suffering love of Jesus?

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John 18:38-19:16Read by: Clayton Cullaton

People who’ve studied the Bible over time have pointed out that John’s gospel is outlined to match the 7 days of creation in Genesis 1. From the first verse saying “in the beginning” the outline continues through to the end of the Gospel. More on that later! But for now we find ourselves on the 6th day of the week, Good Friday, matching the 6th day in Genesis when God breathed life into Adam.

This passage brings the new Adam into his final hours. “Here is the man!” Pilate tells the Jews. John is intentionally trying to point out that the entire story of Scripture has been leading up to this moment.

There are enough layers of meaning in John’s gospel to study it a hundred times and still find new things, but for now, take a bird’s eye view. Quiet your mind, and put yourself in the scene.

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in the passage?
The Jewish leaders had tried to stone Jesus a few times before, and finally they’re getting what they want. Jesus is mocked, ridiculed, and beaten. The compassion of Yahweh is acted out through this Son of the Father in complete solidaritywith those who are mistreated. In what area of your life does this bring you comfort today?
These days, the word authority makes us cringe. We’ve been told that true freedom is getting to do what we want when we want, to have autonomy. But Jesus, this true image of God, this new kind of human, expresses his freedom and his authority in his willingness to lay down his life. How is the Spirit asking you to respond to this kind of King?

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John 18:28-38 (NIV)Read by: Clayton Cullaton

I remember when I was a young boy, the 4th of July would come around, and the air was full of two distinct smells: barbecue in the afternoon and the smell of fireworks in the evening. Take away all the other senses and I bet I could have told you what day it was.

In today’s passage John tells us that it’s early in the morning on the Passover. The Jewish leaders are actively avoiding defiling themselves so they can partake of the passover meal. As Jesus is being brought before his executioners, the Passover lamb is being prepared in the temple, and all across Jerusalem the smell of each household’s passover meal is filling the air. Everyone knew what day it was, but few knew that it was about to be radically redefined around Jesus, who at the beginning of this Gospel was called the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

----------REFLECT----------

What word of phrase stood out to you in the passage? Consider why that might be.
Pilate and the Jewish leaders were trying to keep their hands clean while condemning the only man with truly clean hands. Are there ever moments in your life when you have ever felt motivated to keep your hands clean rather than doing what’s right?
Jesus tells Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world. Too often we’ve taken this to mean that His kingdom is somewhere else, and not associated with this world. Rather, we must learn to hear Jesus say that though His Kingdom is not from here, it is indeed a kingdom that is uniquely and powerfully FOR here. In what ways do you long for Jesus’ Kingdom to come more fully in our world?

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John 18:15-27 (NIV)Read by: Valerie Cullaton

In today’s passage, we see two scenes running alongside each other and interwoven--Jesus’ interrogation before the high priest and Peter’s denial. Two pictures full of contrasts. A warm fire illuminates the face of Peter while he attempts to hide in the shadows. . . to not be noticed. And Jesus, on the other side of the door, a cold slap in the face while he states plainly that all he has done has been in the open. No secrets, no hiding.

Peter’s denial is familiar to all of us, but thankfully this is the first of two significant stories where Peter is asked questions around a fire.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
In our increasingly turbulent culture, following Jesus seriously can often put you at odds with people on various sides of the issues. Admitting that you are one of Jesus’ disciples (as this passage puts it) can be a daunting task. Whatever the issue and who you’re talking to , the risks of being misunderstood, or stereo-typed are varied and numerous. Have you ever been afraid to identify with Jesus. What caused you to be afraid?
Peter was one of Jesus’ closest and most loyal disciples, and even he didn’t really understand the kind of Kingdom Jesus was inaugurating. In what ways has your understanding of God’s Kingdom been challenged as you’ve engaged the Book of John so far? In what ways do you want to grow your understanding of His Kingdom?

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John 18:1-14 (NIV)Read by: Jess Steere

Through the gospel of John, Jesus has been making these “I AM” statements. “I am the bread of life,” “I am the light of the world,” I am the resurrection and the life,” “I am the way the truth and the life.” This phrase, I am, is a reference to the story that the people of Israel are celebrating the very night that Jesus was arrested, the passover.

In Exodus 3, Moses was called by God in the wilderness to go to pharaoh and say “let my people go” he asked God the question “who should I say sent me?” and God said, “tell them I AM sent you.” In that same passage God referred to Israel as his son. Sisters and brothers, today’s passage is a stunning inversion of the first passover. The God who sent Moses to set Israel (God’s son) free… is now sending his son, Jesus, to be taken into captivity, to set the world free.

----------REFLECT----------

What word of phrase stood out to you in this passage? Ask the LORD why.
Peter draws his sword and cuts off a man’s ear in defense of Jesus, and Jesus corrects Peter and tells him to put the sword away. Have you ever reacted in situations where Jesus was dishonored or attacked, only to wish you had responded differently?
The I AM who set Israel free is being taken into custody by Israel, in order to set them and the rest of the world free. What kind of God does such a thing? How do you react to the character of such a God?

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John 17:13-26 (NIV)Read by: Marvin Gates

So far in this section of John’s gospel, Jesus has gone from teaching his disciples to praying to the Father. The prayer that John records in today's passage tells us a lot about the nature of God’s purpose in sending Jesus. Remember when Jesus told Nicodemous that God so loved the world that he gave his only son?

In Jesus’ prayer we see that same love being reflected back to the Father. Because of God’s love, we are to remain in the world rather than be taken out of the world. This runs in contrast to some of the ways we can tend to think about what it means to be a Christian, but consider that Jesus prayed the words that you are about to hear, less than 24 hours before his execution.

----------REFLECT----------

Which of Jesus' requests stood out to you as you listened to this passage?
What would it look like practically for us to not be taken out of the world but to be protected from the evil one? What about you, today, what would it look like? What might need to change? What might need to stay the same?
Jesus prays that we would be one just as he and the Father are one. These days it can feel like we are more divided than we ever have been? Take a moment and allow the Spirit to bring to mind a relationship that needs to move towards unity.

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John 17:1-12 (NIV)Read by: Marvin Gates

Have you ever had the experience of overhearing someone while they are praying? Or maybe finding an old journal and seeing someone’s innermost thoughts, prayers written out. In our culture it’s increasingly rare, even in the closest relationships, to let someone know about our thought life or prayer life. In today’s passage we are given the incredible opportunity to sit down with Jesus’ disciples and just listen to the prayers of Jesus--to a conversation he’s having with his Father.

As you listen, maybe close your eyes if you can. Imagine you’re in the room. What might you be feeling? Thinking?

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
What did you think about Jesus’ definition of the phrase eternal life? Did you feel dissonance? Confusion? Comfort? Surprise? Why do you think that is?
How might the LORD be inviting you into communion with Him today? Are you willing to share with him your innermost thoughts?

----------CONNECT----------

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John 16:25-33 (NIV)Read by: Courtland Hopkins

Think of your favorite living public figure, celebrity, writer, musician, or leader. You know, the one who has millions of twitter followers, who is a household name. You got’em? Now imagine you get their phone number and you shoot them a text, and before you have a chance to put down your phone it begins to ring and it’s them on the line. You answer and they say hello like an old friend who has been waiting for an update on the weekend, and as you talk to them you can hear the joy in their voice.

This is the kind of relationship Jesus begins to describe in today’s passage. One afforded to them because they love Jesus and are convinced that he came from GOD. It is in this conviction that Jesus encouraged them to place their hope as he prepares them to witness his arrest, trial, and execution.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage? Why do you think that is?
What about this passage encouraged you? What about it was new for you?
What is your response to this passage? How is the LORD leading you right now? What could this passage speak to your life today?

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John 16:16-24 (NIV)Read by: Courtland Hopkins

When my wife and I found out that we were pregnant with our first child, we anticipated a lot of things. But the sheer volume of advice and stories of other’s experience was not one of them. I can remember fathers telling me what it would be like when I first laid eyes on my newborn, what it would be like to hold her, and how everything would change. And they probably saw, as it usually went, my mind wandering off, scarcely able to imagine what to expect.

In today’s passage, the disciples cannot fathom the next 24 hours, much less the next three days. By their next Sabbath, they will have seen Jesus crucified, placed in a tomb, resurrected, and appearing to them to teach and eat fish. It’s like what all the dads said who’d tried to prepare me: “You’ll see.” Jesus says the same today, in the midst of our grief and pain, and endless ambiguity.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or image stood out to you in the passage?
What about this passage encouraged you? What about it surprised you?
In what way is the LORD inviting you to respond to this passage today? How might things need to be different?

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John 16:1-15 (NIV)Read by: Jess Steere

Today we tend to hear the word “judge” and think of something bad, like “don’t judge people,” or “I don’t want to be judged!” But throughout their history, the Jewish people asked, even pleaded with God to judge them, because their understanding of judgement meant getting their case before someone who could do something about it. They were asking to be heard, to be considered, to be helped.

In today’s passage, Jesus talks about the Spirit like a lawyer--proving the world wrong in all the ways it thinks it’s in the right. Not believing in Jesus after having seen him. . . guilt. Imagining that they have justice (or, righteousness) on their side when Jesus has already been exalted with the Father. . . nope. Wrong. And finally, when the world thinks judgement is on their side, the condemnation falls not on Jesus, but on death itself.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or image stood out to you in the passage?
What about this passage encouraged you? What about it challenged you?
How is the LORD inviting you to respond to this passage today? What might need to change? What might need to stay the same?

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John 15:18-27 (NIV)Read by: Christy Gates

In our context, particularly in the West, many Christians don’t really know what it’s like to be persecuted. Our churches are often places of comfort--places we go to get a weekly dose of “feel good.” But the early followers of Jesus (and, in fact too many Christians around the world today) knew what it was like to be hated by those around them, by those who had seen and heard Jesus but wanted to maintain their own power and privilege instead.

Today’s passage is a call for seriousness. Jesus’ words to the disciples are meant to say, in a sense, “Get ready.”

----------REFLECT----------

What word or image stood out to you in the passage?
What about this passage encouraged you? What about it challenged you?
How is the LORD inviting you to respond to this passage today? What might need to change? What might need to stay the same?

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John 15:1-17 (NIV)Read by: Clayton

In the early days of Israel’s covenant with Yahweh, the image of a vine and a vineyard was used to describe Israel. God had brought a vine out of Egypt and planted it in the promised land. Israel’s psalmists used the image in their poetry and Israel’s prophets used this image as a way of calling out the sin and corruption of God’s people.

In today’s passage Jesus calls himself the “true vine.” He’s saying that he is the true Israel, the one in whom God’s covenant rests, and through whom God is extending his redemption as a blessing to all the nations. It’s in Jesus, this true vine that they must remain, if they are to belong to Yahweh.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or image stood out to you in the passage?
What about this passage encouraged you? What about it challenged you?
How is the LORD inviting you to respond to this passage today? How can you stay connected to the vine? How can you actively respond to Jesus call to love?

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John 14:15-31 (NIV)Read by: Craig Bowler

Imagine what might have been going through the disciples’ mind when they heard Jesus was going away. Some might have guessed what he meant, others are still confused, but regardless, they were probably starting to freak out. The man they had given up everything for--the man they believed to be the Messiah- was leaving.

In today’s passage, Jesus addresses those fears. Another will come--a helper, a comforter, an advocate. The Greek word here, parakletos, is rich with meaning. The comfort of the parakletos isn’t just hugs and Hallmark cards. The parakletos takes up the cause of the needy. The parakletos will fight for you. And the parakletos will live in you.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage? Why might that be?
What places in your life and in the world around you need an advocate?
Where in your life do you need to hear the words “Do not let your heart be troubled” or “do not be afraid”? Where might Jesus be asking you to lean into the strength and comfort of the Helper?

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John 14:1-14 (NIV)Read by: Craig Bowler

Imagine we were Christians living in the first century. For most of us, our first encounter with the Gospel of John would have been hearing it read at a gathering of our house church. Once the story had made its way through Jesus washing the disciples' feet, we begin to hear it as if we were there in the room with the disciples and the LORD.

Throughout the next few chapters in John we want to make a little more space at the end of each episode to reflect on the words of Jesus. There is so much in each passage so we are asking the Holy Spirit to guide each of you as you respond. But as we usually do, we’ll give you a little historical context up front.

In today’s passage, there are some famous verses that could stand to be read with a bit more context. Jesus tells the disciples that His Father’s house has many rooms, and that he’s going to prepare a place for them. Often these verses are read and preached as Jesus talking about mansions in heaven, some cloudy utopia in the sky. But did you know that the last time Jesus talked about his Father’s House, he was talking about the Temple, the place where God’s presence dwelt, where heaven and earth met?

What if Jesus is talking about New Creation, the place where heaven and earth are overlapping and interlocking? What if he’s talking about his death and resurrection when he talks about going to prepare a place, knowing that it’s through this that New Creation is about to burst into the world? What if he’s talking about the Holy Spirit that will fill each Jesus follower, making them a new temple?

----------REFLECT----------

What word or image stood out to you in the passage?
What about this passage encouraged you? What about it challenged you?
How is the LORD inviting you to respond to this passage today? What might need to change? What might need to stay the same?

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John 13:31-38 (NIV)Read by: Clayton

Imagine knowing you only had a few days left to live. Who would you want to talk to? What would you want to tell them?

Jesus has said that his “time has come.” And so today’s passage brings us into what some have called the farewell discourses. Judas has left the room, and John devotes the next four chapters to telling his readers the intimate details of Jesus’ last conversation with his disciples.

As you listen, try to imagine that you’re in the room. What do you see and hear? What do you feel?

----------REFLECT----------

What words or phrases stood out to you in the passage?
This scene presents a contrast between Judas and Peter. Judas’ devotion to Jesus is in many ways just a front. We don’t know much about his motives, but we do know that he is secretly planning to betray Jesus. Judas is easy to hate. Peter, on the other hand, has his heart in it. He really really wants to understand, and he truly believes that his devotion to Jesus is solid. And yet, Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him too. Have you ever committed something to Jesus that you turn around and fail to deliver immediately? Bring that to the LORD who loves you today.
Jesus tells his friends that the world will know that they are his disciples because of the way that they love one another. How are we doing at that? How clear is it today that we are Jesus disciples? Ask the Lord to bring to mind other believers that you need help loving.

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John 13:18-30 (NIV)Read by: Clayton

Throughout the Gospel of John, the duality of light and darkness has been weaving in and out of the narrative. In today’s passage those two forces are embodied by characters who are close to Jesus. John, the beloved disciples representing the light, and Judas who represents the darkness and in the end walks out into it.

Remember, Jesus and his disciples are celebrating the Passover, when Yahweh instructed the people of Israel to sacrifice the spotless lamb so that death would pass over their household. One other cultural detail that makes this passage come alive is that dipping a piece of bread in the dish and passing it to someone was a sign of special friendship. Jesus, in the very act of deep trust and friendship, is betrayed.

----------REFLECT----------

What disciple stood out to you the most in this passage?
Again, to be passed a piece of bread after it was dipped in the dish was a special sign of friendship. This passage opens up the possibility of being offered the gift of friendship by the light of the world, yet still in the end walking out into darkness. Wherever you’re at today with Jesus, pause and consider your response to his offer of friendship.
This passage is full of contrasts: light and darkness, Jesus and the satan, John and Judas, the beloved and the betrayer. We see the depth of Jesus' love in that he opens himself up to the risk of betrayal in his actions towards Judas. Love is vulnerable because you risk betrayal. Take a moment to bring the relationships where you fear betrayal before the LORD. Ask him to fill you with love.

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John 13:1-17 (NIV)Read by: Christy Gates

In today’s passage Jesus will share the Passover meal with his disciples commemorating Israel's liberation from Egypt, their redemption from empire. This scene might be familiar to many of us because of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous imagining of the scene. But his painting doesn’t give us the right idea in terms of the world Jesus lived in.

Instead of the disciples sitting on stools with the legs under the table, they would have been almost lying down at the table, with their feet resting behind them away from the table. And just before the meal Jesus begins to do something they couldn’t have imagined, going from one disciple to the next around the outside of the table washing their feet. The job they would have expected a servant or slave to do.

----------REFLECT----------

What moment of this scene would have made you the most uncomfortable?
Jesus calls his disciples to do as he had done for them, yet one of the things that he did was wash the feet of a man that was about to betray him. How does this land with you? How willing are you to wash the feet of those who’ve done you wrong, or who likely will?
Knowing that the Father had put all things under his power, knowing that he’d come from God and was going to God, he stood up and humbled himself to the point of the lowest of servants. There is a lot of talk about power and identity in this cultural moment. How does Jesus' use of power challenge the way you see power and identity.

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John 12:37-50 (NIV)Read by: Liz Pate

Today’s passage recounts the last moments in John’s Gospel where Jesus is in public and not in custody. Right after this the scene shifts to a private room where he will share the Passover meal with his disciples, where he will wash their feet and be betrayed by Judas. The story is about to zoom in and slow way down. But first John uses this scene as a summary of Jesus’ ministry so far.

Remember chapter one, how it’s a kind of road map for the book. The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… he came to his own but they did not recognize him… He is the light of the world that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Keep these things in mind as you listen to John summarize the first half of his story about Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

What images stood out to you from this passage? Why do you think that is?
The Jewish leaders would not acknowledge their faith in Jesus for fear of being removed from their faith community. Do you ever fear associating with Jesus? Consider how much of that might be due to desiring honor from people over honor from the LORD.
Jesus draws a contrast between hearing his words and rejecting his words, not keeping them versus not accepting them. So on the one hand there are those of us who hear and trust and agree, but then we just struggle. And then there are those of us who reject Jesus’ words, not trusting, not agreeing, and rather than struggling with them, we flat out deny their authority over us. Which are you more inclined towards?

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John 12:20-36 (NIV)Read by: Liz Pate

Just before today’s passage the pharisees were frustrated by how the whole world was going after Jesus. In today’s passage we see just that. God- fearing Greeks come to worship in Jerusalem and are wanting to meet Jesus. This is it, this is the thing that tells Jesus that his time has come. But instead of meeting with them, instead of stepping out into the fame and glory that the people want to shower him with, he steps away. But why?

These Greek worshipers had the right idea, get to know Jesus… But Jesus knew that in order to really satisfy their request, it could not be by the path of power, fame, and self-absorbed honor. If Israel was to finally live up to it’s calling to be a blessing to all the nations… it would require a representative to do what Israel could not do for themselves, through weakness, sacrifice, and humility.

----------REFLECT----------

What tensions or contrasts surprised you in this passage?
Jesus sees his death and resurrection as a seed dying in the ground and coming out of the ground with new life that produces many more seeds. As we follow Jesus, our life is like a seed. It only produces fruit if we are willing to part with it and place it in the soil of humble, sacrificial, self-giving love. Otherwise, we hold the seed in our hand and it produces nothing. How might Jesus be calling you to offer up your life to be planted today?
Jesus speaks of his own death in this passage. He says that when he is lifted up--another way to translate that is to say, when I’m exalted, he says that then he would draw all people to himself. He is calling the crucifixion his exaltation. How does this paradox challenge your worldview when it comes to power, honor, and esteem?

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John 12:12-19 (NIV)Read by: Stacy Rafferty

If you grew up in church, you’re familiar with Palm Sunday--the day when churchgoers, often just the children, march around with palm branches. It’s cute, parents snap photos; it’s something to do with Jesus coming into town on a Donkey and people shouting “Hosanna,” and it marks the Sunday before Easter.

Today’s passage takes us there--to the palm branches, to the donkey. . . but in light of what we’ve seen so far in John’s gospel, there is nothing cute about this scene. Murders are being planned. Revolution is in the air. National security is on the line, and a Messiah unlike what many imagined chooses this moment to officially announce himself as Israel’s Savior.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
The palm branches were a reminder of Israel welcoming the Macabee kings in Jerusalem, about 200 years earlier. They were a sign of military might, and rescue from an oppressive state. And yet, here is Jesus riding not on a strong horse with a shield and a sword, but on a young donkey. What might these two symbols being juxtaposed in this scene tell us about Jesus?
The word Hosanna means Save Us! While the people of Israel were longing for a leader to save them from the Roman Empire, we too face modern empires that use similar tactics, abusing power, exploiting the vulnerable. What would it look like for you to cry out Hosanna today? How might this humble king bring you hope?

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John 12:1-11 (NIV)Read by: Smiley Abrams

Today’s passage might be a familiar one, but seeing its place in the full context of John’s gospel might be a new experience for you. Regardless, as you listen today, remember what’s come before, and consider what’s ahead. As we did with the story of Lazarus’s resurrection, let’s imagine ourselves in this scene. What do you see, smell, hear? Notice how your body might react to those things and what feelings come to the surface for you. . .

----------REFLECT----------

This passage begs us to see ourselves in the characters: Martha--the ever-faithful servant-heart, Mary the extravagant giver. . . and Judas--the one who seems to be concerned for the poor and eager not to waste what could be given. Who do you find yourself connecting to? Why?
Jesus quiets Judas’ rebuke of Mary, and accepts her gift as the anointing for his burial and saying, “the poor will always be with you.” How have you heard people interpret this verse? Is Jesus saying we should or shouldn’t care for the poor?
Many people have misread this verse as an excuse to neglect the poor and it’s a scandal. Because Jesus is actually quoting Deuteronomy 15, where God commanded his people to be continuously generous to the poor and to cancel all debts every 7 years. . . and on the 7th seven year cycle to let the land rest, to return land to its original owners and to set the captives free. It was called Jubilee. Jesus is saying that this is the work that he’s about to do… this is what his kingdom looks like. In Jesus this jubilee has come and it is also not yet. In what areas of your life have you tasted it? In what areas of your life are you still longing to drink of it?

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John 11:45-57 (NIV)Read by: Anthony Rajski

By this point in John’s gospel, it seems that for many the way Jesus is inaugurating God’s kingdom could be a fulfillment of long-awaited hope. For others they see him as a serious threat to national security. Jesus has confounded the expectations of just about everyone he’s encountered with healings, teachings, and miraculous signs, and now he has raised his friend Lazarus from the dead.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
In this passage Jesus’ understanding of his vocation and the desires of the Jewish leaders are actually beginning to intersect. Have you seen God at work in your life even during seasons or experiences that were unjust or painful? What did that look like?
It often feels like the political sphere is the most powerful and primary--and that in order to have control we must figure out how to leverage power in that realm. How does Jesus’ interaction with the political world challenge you? How does it shape your view of power?

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John 11:33-44 (NIV)Read by: Joshua Settles

Death is something we often try to push to the back of our minds. And as Christians, we’re often taught that to grieve with hope means holding yourself together--that “being strong” means not allowing yourself to really acknowledge the pain that comes with loss. But that’s not how it was in Jesus’ day, or how it is in most of the world today. . .

One familiar verse in this passage has more depth than we realize. In this passage, John says that Jesus wept, that he was “deeply moved and troubled,” but the greek phrase actually describes the snorting of an angry horse. Jesus is not just crying silent stoic tears… He’s sobbing.

As you listen to the second half of the story of Lazarus, try to put yourself in the scene. Imagine the sights, smells, sounds and emotions.

----------REFLECT----------

What emotions were brought up in you as you heard this story?
As you imagined Jesus sobbing aloud, like the snorting of an angry horse, consider how this image informs your understanding of Jesus? How might it challenge your view of God?
The resurrection of Lazarus is the seventh sign in John’s gospel, and the one that most forcefully pulls back the veil to see what God is up to as he makes his dwelling among us. Jesus had said that Lazarus’ sickness ‘would not end in death,’ and yet he did fact but was raised by Jesus! . . . What would change about the way you lived if you knew death was not the end?

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John 11:17-32 (NIV)Read by: Joshua Settles

You know that feeling. . . that gut-wrenching feeling, wishing that you could go back in time and do (or not do), say (or not say) whatever it is that you. . . regret. If only. . . In today’s passage, we feel the pain of Lazarus’ sisters and the warmth of their tears as they grieve before Jesus. Lord, you could have done something. Why didn’t you come?

As you listen, reflect on your own journey of longings unsatisfied, of regrets, of hopes deferred. Alongside Mary and Martha, listen and bring those things honestly before Jesus.

Here’s John chapter 11, verses 17-32.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Many Jews believed in a final resurrection and a new creation--where all the dead would rise and where all the wrongs would be made right. By claiming to actually embody this future hope, Jesus is asking Martha to grab hold of it, and to pull it from the future right into the present. How might Jesus be asking the same of you today?
Like Martha, bring all of your “if onlys” to Jesus today.What new perspective is Jesus offering you? How might you see the world, your story, your past. . . and your future differently in light of this passage?

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John 11:1-16Read by: Rachel Edgar

Today’s passage leads us into the final and most powerful sign in John’s gospel, showing his readers exactly what it looks like when heaven comes to earth. Remember the other signs? The common becomes extraordinary; the hungry are fed. Inequity is exposed and rebuked. The sick recover, the lame walk, and the eyes of the blind are opened. What else is there to undo. . . but death itself?

This passage can be so familiar that it’s claim is lost on us. Jesus brought a man back to life. As you listen try to place yourself in the story among the mourners.

----------REFLECT----------

What image or phrase stood out to you in the passage?

When he heard that Lazarus was sick, Jesus chose to stay where he was for 2 more days, then he left. His waiting caused anxiety in Martha and Mary, and his going worried his disciples. In what ways are we tempted to make Jesus’ plans for him, rather than trusting and following him, even when it feels like we’re walking in the dark?

Death is an imminent threat not only to Lazarus, but to Jesus himself. Stones are still ready and waiting to be thrown at him in Judea.But Jesus knows this story ends in resurrection? Where in your life do your fears of death need to be met with the hope of resurrection? Ask the Lord to meet you there now.

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John 10:22-42Read by: Clayton

Over 150 years before the events in today's passage took place, a king named Antiochus Epiphanes (which literally means “God manifest”) led his armies in the occupation and severe persecution of the Jewsish people. If genocide and the order to halt the performance of Jewish rituals wasn’t bad enough, Jewish priests were ordered to sacrifice to idols. A priest named Mattathias Maccabee killed the priest that stepped forward to make this sacrifice and it sparked a revolt.

At the end of the war the Jews reclaimed the temple and dedicated it, re-establishing Yaweh’s dwelling place with them and setting up Jewish rule. This moment is commemorated each year by the Jews as the Feast of dedication or Hanukkah. This is the kind of leader that many jews expected in the messiah. So when Jesus is spending time with the poor and talking about including Gentiles, we can see why this would be alarming to those listening.

----------REFLECT----------

What surprised you in the passage? What questions came to mind?
Jesus gives assurance for the safety of his sheep because of his relationship to the Father. For his Jewish opponents, this statement was worthy of death, but for Jesus’ followers it was the best kind of hope. Can you see the hope of being claimed by Jesus? What anxiety and fear can you let go of today, knowing that no one will snatch you from his hand?
Jesus’ words here are incredibly controversial. Twice in this story his opponents try to kill him. He is claiming to be both Israel’s true King and the embodiment of their God. How might these claims be hard for even us to hear? Where is there dissonance? Where is there comfort?

Ask the Spirit to meet you in whatever feelings come up for you--to bring clarity, hope, and peace.

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John 10:11-21 (NIV)Read by: Savannah Aldridge

On today’s episode Jesus continues describing himself as the shepherd--the good shepherd. He uses this image to talk about what kind of King he is and what his reign looks like. There is intimacy and trust between him and his people and between him and the Father; they are known by one another. There is protection; he stands between his people and those who want to use or devour them.

These words were good news to those who heard them first and they come as good news to us today for those who have ears.

----------REFLECT----------

What image, word or phrase stood out to you?
The sheep know the shepherd's voice. And Jesus the good shepherd knows his sheep. He knows them in intimate detail. In what areas of your life are you feeling unknown? How might you invite the good shepherd into those places today?
Jesus says he has sheep that are not of this pen. He’s likely referring to the gentiles. Most Jews hearing this would have brisseld since most either saw gentiles as unholy or their oppressors. Pause and express gratitude for Jesus’ act of gathering you into the fold. Then ask, who might you be tempted to write off from being brought in? Bring that before the Lord.

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John 10:1-10 (NIV)Read by: Andy Kim

In today’s passage the questions about Jesus continue. Is he a prophet or is he a false teacher? Could he be the long-awaited Messiah? Jesus tells the Pharisees a parable about sheep and a shepherd, which in the ancient near east would have been like us talking about scrolling through Facebook or going to a grocery store--it was familiar, and everyone can relate. But even in the commonplace, there’s a meaning below the surface. In the Hebrew Bible, the relationship of a king with his people was often described by the image of a shepherd with his sheep. . .

Listen as Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd and King in John 10:1-10.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you notice in the passage? What surprised you? What questions came to mind?
Jesus is calling himself Israel’s true king. Some people are hearing his voice, recognizing it, and following him. Some are not. Through the sea of voices pouring into our lives, are you able to make out the voice of the Shepherd? What does he sound like? What does he say?
Jesus also calls himself the gate--it’s the picture of a shepherd lying down in the opening of the sheep pen at night, keeping the sheep in and the predators out. He is the Protector and Defender. Where the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, Jesus comes offering abundant, overflowing life. Have you received the offer of Jesus’ life? What might need to change for you to receive it? Ask the Spirit to help you.

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John 9:18-41 (NIV)Read by: Valerie Cullaton

God’s new creation has entered the world in the person of Jesus. He has made his dwelling among us and he is making all things new. Just as the world was made through him, it is now being remade. . . through him. He is the brush moving towards the canvas, the violinist in the silent concert hall, the sunlight shining into the garden, bringing together all the potential of what could be, into something that is.

Today’s passage is part two of the story of Jesus healing the man born blind.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you? Ask the Lord why.
There’s a lot of fear in this passage. The Pharisees were afraid of their entire belief system being torn apart. The man’s parents were afraid of being blacklisted by the Jewish community. In what areas of your life do you experience fear? Whose approval are you afraid of losing?
This story helps us see that there’s more than one way to be blind. Often we need to be healed of a narrow vision. Sometimes we are unable to see the image of God in others. . . or in ourselves. Where do you need Jesus to help you see what’s real? Do you need healing in your imagination to be able to see what could be? What will be? Bring these needs to the LORD.

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John 9:1-17 (NIV)

Read by: Clayton

In today’s passage John tells us about another sign--another remarkable and tangible piece of evidence that God’s reign has broken into his damaged and darkened creation through the person and light of Jesus. As you listen, take note of the theme of blindness. What do the characters in this story see? What do they miss?

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?

Many in this passage believed and many would still believe today that this man's blindness was caused by sin. But Jesus confounds that assumption by showing us (as one scholar writes) that chaos and pain can be the raw material that a loving and wise and just God uses in making his new creation. How does that challenge your perspective? How might it offer you hope?

The response of the Pharisees to this miracle is to dig in their heels, to appeal to rules, rather than a willingness to be healed of their own blindness. Can you connect? Ask the Lord to wash your eyes and show you the signs of his rule and reign around you today.

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John 8:48-59 (NIV)Read by: Rachel Edgar

As we move through John’s Gospel, the words from the very first verses ought to be ringing in our ears. Remember: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was with God in the beginning.”

These words can unlock the meaning of Jesus’ words in our passage today. Jesus is preeminent, meaning that he surpasses all others. He is before and therefore greater than all. As the tension between Jesus and the Jewish Leaders becomes greater, we see what true honor and true power looks like. Keep in mind that Jesus intends to die for these people who are looking for a way to kill him.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage? What was challenging? What was comforting?
When Jesus says he was “before Abraham” he is rebuilding the Jewish leaders’ world view around himself. Has your worldview been challenged by and re-centered around Jesus? What has that felt like?
As we come to the end of Jesus' words during the Feast of Dwellings, remembering God’s provision in the wilderness, he has tried to tell people that he is living water, bread of life, light in darkness, true freedom. This season in our society has been like a wilderness. In what ways do you need Jesus’ provision today?

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John 8:31-47 (NIV)Read by: Anthony Rajski

Even if you haven’t read today’s passage, you’ve probably heard it in pop culture: “The truth shall set you free”… So what does that mean? These days there’s plenty of debate around what truth is, or even what freedom is. We say : live your truth, or you do you.

It’s possible that we’ve lost the Hebrew meaning of the word truth in this passage, it’s been replaced with Greek or modern definitions. In Hebrew, truth is about integrity, fidelity to your word, and often was a reference to Yahweh himself. These days have rigid factual data driven by accuracy, or pliable subjective stories based on experience. In this passage truth transcends all of that. And Jesus is using the word to refer to himself.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you? Ask the Lord why.
Jesus challenges the Jewish leaders, who were supposed to be experts in Torah, saying that they had no room for Jesus’ words. Consider us. Could Jesus ever level that towards your life?
Jesus’ truth challenged these Jewish leaders, and their failure to hold to his teaching and do what it said caused Jesus to say that they did not belong to God. This is no small thing, Literally every part of the Jewish way of life was designed around their belonging to Yahweh. Where does your acceptance of Jesus’ truth place you in relationship to God?

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John 8:12-30 (NIV)

Read by: Courtland Hopkins

Today’s passage invites us to imagine ourselves back at the Feast of Tabernacles. For Israel, this celebration remembered the 40 years they spent in the wilderness when Yahweh dwelt among them. Sound Familiar? From the very beginning of John’s Gospel Jesus was introduced as the Word that became flesh and made his dwelling among u s. The things that Jesus says about himself in this passage are key to understanding the larger arch of John’s Gospel narrative.

----------REFLECT----------

What did you notice in the passage? What surprised you? What questions came to mind?
While the Jewish people remember their wandering after Yahweh in the wilderness, Jesus says, “whoever follows ME will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.” What’s the significance of this parallel to Israel’s story?
The more Jesus claims authority, the more threatened the Jewish leaders seem to feel. Are there areas in your life where Jesus’ authority threatens your autonomy and control? Where in your life might the Spirit be calling you to lay autonomy or control today?

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John 8:1-11 (NIV)Read by: Tammy Eckhart

So far in John’s gospel we’ve seen many signs--healings, miracles of food transformation and multiplication--events that reveal what it looks like when God’s space and human space overlap. Abundance and wholeness. In today’s passage, we see yet another picture of what God’s kingdom on earth looks like. Isaiah spoke of it as valleys being lifted up, and the mountains being made low. It’s a level playing field, a place where both self-righteousness and self-hatred have no welcome. It’s a place where the singular standard of perfect justice exposes our sin, covers our shame, and calls us into humility and repentance.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
Have you been ashamed, exposed by a situation you got caught up in--or felt a fear of exposure? Can you hear the words of Jesus for you today? What shame do you need to lay at his feet today? Where in your life do you need to experience his redemption?
The pharisees are trying to entrap Jesus. In an effort to catch Jesus defying the law they break it themselves by failing to bring the man who was also caught in the act of adultery. Then they pretend to be motivated by holiness, but it’s really just about destroying Jesus' reputation. Have you ever been caught in a situation where if your motives were exposed, you would be the one dropping the stone and walking away?

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John 7:37-52 (NIV)

Read by: Tammy Eckhart

Today on Daily Read, the people who have come to see Jesus find themselves divided over who they think Jesus is. Some say he’s a prophet, others Messiah, and others just think he’s deceiving people. For those who lean towards thinking that he’s deceiving people, they do so because of what they think about where he’s from, and how they have been reading Scripture.

This passage exposes how vulnerable we are to twisting Scripture to fit the narrative we believe. The Pharisees' prejudice towards Galilee causes them to misread Scripture and risk missing out on the living water that Jesus is offering.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage? Ask the Holy Spirit: why that word or phrase?
Many people across Israel felt contempt towards Galilee because of the influence of Gentiles and the empire over the past 150 years . . . is there a people group that you’re tempted to hold in contempt? How might this prejudice keep you from seeing where God might be at work?
The Pharisees say, “prophets do not come out of Galilee.” They are wrong. In fact, both Jonah and Hosea, two famous prophets came from Galilee. Their prejudice is causing them to conveniently leave out parts of Scripture. Have you ever done this? Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you about this.

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John 7:25-36 (NIV)

Read by: Ashley Crutcher

Jesus is in the process of flipping the script, changing the paradigm, turning things upside down for the people of God. The way that many have understood important aspects of their faith, like the Sabbath law, has driven them into bonds of restriction and judgment, rather than releasing them to flourish with rest and order--so much so, that some are willing to break God’s commandment against murder in order to maintain the boundaries that have defined their belonging and identity. It is misunderstanding at best, hypocrisy and evil at worst. The discussion at the Feast of Tabernacles continues in this passage.

---------- REFLECT ----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?
Many Jews assumed that the Messiah would appear mysteriously, that no one would know where he’s from. They’re skeptical of Jesus. He’s almost… too human for them. They could only handle one or the other- god or human, not both.

What does the humanity of Jesus say about the values of Yahweh?

Having heard Jesus’ teaching and having seen his miracles, many in the crowd believed in him. What words and signs have you experienced from the Lord in your life? Sit quietly and ask him to remind you of the ways he has met you.

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John 7:14-24 (NIV)

Read by: Jhamal Mathis

Remember when Jesus healed the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda back in chapter 5? It happened on the Sabbath, and many Jewish leaders marked that moment as evidence of Jesus attempting to trick God’s people into disobeying the law. In today’s passage, the public debate about Jesus’ identity and vocation is coming into focus. Jewish leaders are looking for opportunities to prove that Jesus is a false prophet, a deceiver, and thus a threat to the people. Jesus’ words in this passage carry with them a challenge for teachers of the law and for who might follow him. They did then and they do today.

----------REFLECT----------

What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?
One of the reasons people are suspicious of Jesus in this passage is his lack of formal religious education. In our culture, we tend to trust folks with big degrees, from certain universities. Are you able, or willing, to hear truth from someone with less education? Do you need to repent of thinking knowledge and truth are exclusive to those who have the right training?
Sometimes spiritual leaders use their platform in order to build their own reputation. Perhaps this kind of leadership has burned you…. Perhaps you are this kind of leader. . . Other times we accuse leaders of pushing their own agendas because we don’t want to hear what God is saying through them.

No matter where you land, how might choosing God’s will show you the truth today?

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John 7:1-13 (NIV)

Read By: Charis Chiu

By this point in the gospel of John, Jesus is the talk of town. Some people love him, others hate him. After calling himself the bread of life (in chapter 6), many turned away and no longer followed him. But those who stuck with him seemed to understand, at least in part. They were beginning to grasp that the cost of following him was worth it.

So we come today to chapter 7. Jews from all over are heading up to Jerusalem for the 8-day celebration of the Festival of Tabernacles, commemorating God’s faithfulness during their time in the wilderness.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage? 2. Have you ever been anxious for Jesus to get on with showing up in some way in your life. Have you ever had to realize that God doesn’t work according to our time tables? How do you wrestle with waiting on the LORD?

3. People wouldn’t say anything about Jesus for fear of the leaders. In what parts of your life are you most nervous to associate with Jesus. Examine that and present it to him now.

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John 6:60-71 (NIV)

Read By: Anna Li

Jesus has shown himself to be the new prophet, surpassing Elijah, Elisha and Moses in power. He has declared himself to be the new manna--the ultimate bread from heaven, sent by God the Father to give eternal life to the whole world. And he has given a hard teaching to his followers -- that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood to be united with him and to be counted in the future resurrection.

----------REFLECT----------

Can you think of a time when you’ve been challenged by a hard teaching of Jesus? Have you ever wrestled to the point where you’ve considered no longer following Jesus?
As people were turning away from following Jesus because of this hard teaching, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you want to leave too?" Peter answers, "To whom shall we go?" What about you? As we wrestle with what it means to follow Jesus in the midst of his hard teachings: loving our neighbors, caring for the poor, seeking first his kingdom… What alternatives do you entertain, and how do they really compare to Jesus?
Jesus says that no one can come to him unless the Father has enabled them. We can hear this as a harsh reality, or a tender recognition of the cost of following Jesus… In what ways might you need to ask for help from the LORD when it comes to following Jesus.

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John 6:41-69 (NIV)

Read By: Anna Li

Today’s passage begins in the middle of a conversation between Jesus and his followers. He has just given a puzzling speech, comparing himself to the manna sent from heaven--but elevated as a new manna: Manna that’s able not only to satisfy physical hunger, but spiritual hunger as well. To the woman at the well, he declared himself to be living water. Now he is “the bread of life.”

Sometimes people get tripped up on this passage because at first glance it’s kinda strange. But we can be pretty sure that Jesus isn’t calling his disciples to cannibalism. We have to keep in mind that as John writes this gospel he’s doing so with the benefit of hindsight, knowing that as this story progresses these very people will sit with Jesus at the last supper and eat his body, the bread, and drink his blood in the cup.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage? What did you find encouraging, what did you find challenging?

2. John understood Jesus’ words about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in light of the Eucharist; the Lord’s supper itself is a sacred sign of participation with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Believing in the Son and binding ourselves to his death and resurrection are the menu options on this table. What might keep you from participating in Jesus death and Resurrection today?

3. The parallel between the grumbling in this story and the grumbling of the Israelites in the wilderness is unmistakable. We too tend towards disbelief and discontent. In what ways have you found yourself grumbling to God in your life? What would it look like for you to submit that to Jesus today? What would need to change?

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John 6:25-40 (NIV)

Read By: Anna Li

If you're a disciple of Jesus up to this point in the story, you’ve watched as he’s broken all your categories. He heals a royal official’s son, heals a paralytic, tells an outcast Samaritan that he’s the Christ, feeds thousands of people, and now he’s just walked on water. As a disciple you’d have been hoping for a new Moses, or a new David, so you’ve probably got some questions for Jesus.

As we continue into John chapter 6, we enter a long conversation between Jesus and his followers. Pay attention to the ways Jesus is reshaping their expectations and understanding of the LORD, his gifts, his purposes, and the coming king.

-----------REFLECT----------

1. What stood out to you in this passage? How might God’s Spirit be meeting you in this passage?

2. Jesus is asked about the “bread from heaven” that the LORD provided Israel in the wilderness. They wanted Jesus to call down bread from heaven, but he tells them that he IS bread from heaven. Have you ever asked for something from Jesus, when what you needed was Jesus?

3. When Jesus talks here about eternal life, he isn’t just talking about time… in terms of it never-ending, but also a quality of life--a connection to the life of Christ that begins the moment we believe in him and carries all the way through to our never-ending bodily resurrected life. How does that reality change the way you might think about your life? What would it mean for you to have eternal life?

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John 6:16-24 (NIV)Read by: Ashley Crutcher

The Jewish people were waiting and looking for Messiah, the anointed one of the LORD. And the Messiah they pictured was probably a political leader like King David, leading them in battle to take back Jerusalem, and a prophet like Moses who would lead the liberation from Roman occupation.

After Jesus miraculously feeds the thousands with just a few fish and loaves, John tells us that Jesus withdrew to a mountain by himself, to avoid being made king by force. In today’s passage the turbulent waters make clear that Jesus is anything but weak. The LORD held back the sea in the Exodus, and all throughout the Psalms we see raging and still streams…

----------REFLECT----------

1. How did the disciples' understanding of Jesus expand in this passage? What stories from the Old testament come to mind as Jesus seems to have control over water?

2. When the disciples initially see Jesus, walking towards them on the water, in the middle of the storm, they are frightened, and apparently don’t recognize him. Are there storms in your life that make it difficult to recognize Jesus?

3. When the disciples let Jesus into the boat, they immediately reach their shore--their destination. Out of the storm, onto dry land. In what areas of your life do you need to let Jesus into your boat? How can you place your trust in the one who can order chaos?

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John 6:1-15 (NIV)

Read by: Anthony Rajski

What would it be like to live in a world where there was more than enough?

If you were a Jewish person in Jesus’ day, you would have grown up on the stories of God providing manna for Israel in the wilderness, baking ingredients for Zarephath’s widow, and Elisha feeding 100 people with 20 loaves of bread. Each one is a story of God providing more than enough!

But if you were a Jewish person on the day of the story in this passage, there was nowhere near enough--at least not that you had access to. Caesar and his taxes, the puppet jewish leaders. . . the whole situation would have left you longing for the LORD’s anointed one to come and bring his justice, and by force if necessary. Because like the stories of you’ve grown up on, when the LORD shows up… no one goes hungry.

----------REFLECT----------

John opens the chapter with a note about it being Passover and then proceeds to tell a story about Jesus providing abundant bread in the wilderness. What could it mean for Jesus to perform this sign, so close to the celebration of Israel’s rescue from slavery in Egypt?
As one of Jesus’ 7 signs in John, this story calls us to come and see what it looks like when God’s space and human space overlap. What kind of space does it create in this passage? What does it look like, feel like, sound like, smell like, and taste like when heaven and earth come together?
Jesus knew that he was going to perform this sign, but he is intentional about including his disciples in the work. How does this story expand the boundaries of what you see as the things that God can use in your life to create spaces of abundance, generosity, and hope?

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John 5:31-47 (NIV)

Read by: Karissa Bodoh

In the very beginning of this Gospel, John lays out some key themes meant to guide us through the narrative. If you don’t have time read the first 18 verses in John chapter 1, here are some highlights that are important for today's passage.

First is that Jesus came from the Father to his own but will not be recognized by them. Second is that those who do believe will have the right to be born of God. And third is that while we have seen Moses, we haven’t seen the Father. But He has been made known to us in Jesus.

At this point in the story, John is asking us as the hearers: can we recognize him? Do we believe? Do we know him?

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?

2. Jesus tells the Jewish leaders he’s speaking to that even though they study scripture and set their hopes on the Torah, they are missing the very thing it all points to. In what ways might people do this kind of thing today; knowing scripture, but missing Jesus?

3. What about you? What could cause you to miss Jesus? Is it not being able to see past the light of people talking about Jesus? Could it be the way you read scripture? Or maybe desiring the glory and praise of others? What might hinder the life Jesus offers you?

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John 5:16-30 (NIV)

Previously in John, Jesus has been performing signs and wonders, and some on the Sabbath. Sabbath was and is an absolutely central part of Jewish life. On the 7th day God entered his rest, so on the 7th day of the week His people enter into rest. They do this in remembrance of the LORD and in anticipation of the age to come.

And with that anticipation was a growing conviction by Jesus’ day: a belief that God the Creator would raise the dead, bringing people back to bodily life to face the consequences of evil done or to share in eternal life. In this passage Jesus signals that this work has begun in him.

----------REFLECT----------

1. Jesus says that because the Father is working, he’s working. What would it look like for you to say: "Because Jesus is working, so are we."? What would need to change?

2. What would it mean for you to honor Jesus today?

3. "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me HAS eternal life and will not be judged, but HAS crossed over from death to life," says Jesus. If you believe, eternal life starts now. In what ways might you still live as if this gift of life is only for the future? What would it look like to live in it now?

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John 5:1-15 (NIV)

Read by: Derekah Kingery

Healing shrines were common in the ancient world. Someone in need of healing would show up, purify themselves in the adjoining fountain or source of water and then go make their supplications for healing at the shrine.

Up to this point in John’s Gospel, whenever Jesus and water show up together in the same story, you find these eternal upgrades. Think back. Chapter1: Being baptized with water upgrades to being baptized with spirit. Chapter 2: Jars full of water are now full of wine. Chapter 3: Being born of a woman becomes born again by water and spirit, and chapter 4: Water from a well is surpassed by living water. And now we come to Jesus meeting a man at the edge of the healing pool...

----------REFLECT----------

This man had been sick for so long, it would probably have been hard to imagine restoration. Is there anything in your life that’s been hurt or broken for so long that it’s hard to imagine being whole?
The Jewish leaders overlook this man’s obvious restoration as they worry about his breaking Sabbath regulations. Jesus sees beyond this man's immediate restoration and exhorts him to yet a deeper restoration by saying, “do not sin any more…” He cares about both. Take a moment to identify the additional deeper, perhaps less obvious ways you need restoration.
Jesus is more effective than the pool at healing, and hints at being more effective than the temple at dealing with sin. As the third sign in John, what does this story teach us about what it looks like when heaven & earth come together?

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John 4:43-54 (NIV)

Read by: Eric Peterson

Today’s passage tells the story of the second sign that Jesus performs in John’s gospel. Now remember, these signs are clues that remind us to think back to chapter one, when Jesus was calling people to come and see, and telling them that they would see what it would look like when Heaven and Earth overlap!

But there’s a problem that happens when those who’ve come to see have really only done so for the wrong reasons. They want to witness wonders, but withhold belief. They are missing the whole point. But then there is this royal official.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - The people of Galilee welcome Jesus because they want to watch a performance. The Royal Official takes Jesus at his word, without seeing. What’s your tendency: do you come to Jesus to see signs, or do you come prepared to take him at his word?

2 - The royal official is anything but passive in this passage. He begs, he trusts, then he sees a miracle. But he also remembers, he remembers when he asked Jesus and connects the dots. Take a moment to remember the ways that Jesus has been true to his word in your life. Can you connect some dots?

3 - The signs in John’s Gospel work so that it’s us who come and see. And this sign, like the others, shows us what the world can look like when heaven and earth overlap. In this case, an innocent boy lives and does not die. In what ways do you long heaven and earth to come together today?

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John 4:27-42 (NIV)

On today’s episode of Daily Read, we pick up on the third and final section of the story of the woman at the well.

When John first introduces us to the woman at the well through this tense cross-cultural moment with Jesus, what with her being socially ostracized with a complicated marital status, you don’t get the impression that this would be the first evangelist to the Samaritan people. But you’d be wrong.

For most of us, the agrarian life of the 1st century is extremely difficult to imagine. But there is a reason that most agrarian cultures in the world hold celebrations at harvest time. Imagine the waiting, imagine that your very sense of time is based on where you are in relationship to harvest. In this passage, John’s gospel is telling us that harvest time has come! Not just for the Samaritans, but for the whole world.

----------REFLECT----------

1. You can almost image the disciples scratching their heads when Jesus tells them to look at the fields. In what ways do you struggle to see the harvest fields today?

2. This Samaritan woman doesn’t really have the credentials one might expect in a representative of Jesus, but her testimony transforms her town. How does this story challenge how you see who’s fit to represent Jesus?

3. Up until now in Chapter 4, Jesus is talking about water that doesn’t come from wells and food that we don’t know about…. What would it look like to bring your thirsts to Jesus and ask him for a drink? What would it take to become satisfied by the food that he eats?

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John 4:16-26 (NIV)

As we continue on in the story of the woman at the well, we have to hold in our minds the tension present already in the social realities between Jews and Samaritans, men and women. But then we have to layer onto that the story particular to this Samaritan woman. Her showing up at the well in the heat of the day was no accident. It was a clear signal that she was probably a social outcast. Typically you’d go in the morning or evening to get water. But we’re about to discover why she didn’t. And she’s about to learn something that would change everything.

----------REFLECT----------

1. This woman’s shame caused her to change the subject with Jesus. How does shame impact your relationship with Jesus?

2. In the midst of talking about mountains with a woman that probably hadn’t been able to worship for a long time because of her status, Jesus signals that she would soon worship the Father, and suggests that she could be a true worshiper. What social outcasts among you need this kind of invitation?

3. Even the Samaritan woman has a longing for Messiah, trusting that he’ll explain everything. You can almost imagine the questions she’s holding deep down. What are some of those deep questions for you? What is it that you are desperate for Jesus to make sense of?

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John 4:1-15 (NIV)

In the time of Jesus it would have been socially risky for a man to be alone with a woman other than his wife. If it was unavoidable, it would be all the more scandalous to actually talk to her. In today's passage Jesus obliterates those boundaries.

And what’s more, he does so with a Samaritan. Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to find a group of people occupying the central section of their territory. These were the Samaritans, who, claiming to be the true descendants of Abraham, wanted nothing to do with Jews. Likewise, Jews avoided the Samaritans at all costs, traveling way out of the way so as to not have to travel through that part of Judea.

----------REFLECT----------

1. Jesus gladly risks his reputation to associate with a Samaritan woman. How has Jesus risked his reputation to associate with you?

2. How might following Jesus require you to risk your reputation for today?

3. As we’ll see in the next half of this story, this woman was ashamed to come to this well each day. In what area of your life do you long to drink of living water so that you’ll never be thirsty again?

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John 3-22:36 (NIV)

As we move to the next passage in John’s Gospel, it’s as if the camera pans over to a scene when John the Baptist, who we’ve met before, is faithfully doing his work of baptizing repentant Jews. The difference is that this time Jesus is not an unknown figure; rather Jesus himself is baptizing somewhere else and his popularity is growing.

John alludes to a Jewish wedding tradition where the friend of the groom would wait at the gate and announce the coming of the groom. If we let it, this passage can challenge our desire to be the main event, when perhaps, we’re called to play a supporting role in a bigger story.

----------REFLECT----------

1.Have you ever felt like the disciples in this passage? Have you ever felt obsolete?

2. Consider where you are in your life. In what ways are you and your community called to play a supporting role to the work of Jesus?

3. We can also tend to want to be the main event in our own lives… What would it mean for you to live today in light of the Father placing everything in Jesus’ hands?

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John 3:1-21 (NIV)

In today’s passage we meet a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Pharisees were a sect of Jews who responded to the oppression of Israel by doubling down on Jewish regulations and identity markers like food laws, circumcision, and ritual purity… all in an attempt to separate the truly faithful Israelites from those whom they saw as the the unfaithful compromisers.

In this passage Jesus names a new identity marker and redraws the lines of belonging to include the whole world. In fact, the Greek word for world in this passage is the wordCOSMOS. Jesus is telling Nicodemus that He has come to redeem and restore not just one small well-regulated sect in Israel, but the entire created order.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stands out to you in this passage?

2. If you’re a Christian, it can be easy to forget the irony of following a crucified servant king. Like the serpent and Moses’ staff, reflect on the strange gift of the crucified savior being our source of redemption and renewal.

3. Consider the implications of Jesus' words, "For God so loved the COSMOS." How does that affirm your understanding of God? How does that stretch your understanding of God?

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John 2:13-25 (NIV)

After the wedding at Cana, where Jesus turns water into wine, John the author takes us to a scene in the Temple at Passover. Now, it’s important to note that Passover was the celebration of God’s redemption of Israel from the Egyptian empire. Every year, for thousands of years, the Jewish people would commemorate this event while feasting on the Passover lamb, as a way of celebrating but also longing for God to do it again; and this time once and for all.

In today’s passage Jesus enters the Temple, which was the center of worship, yes, but also of politics, society, and national identity. The LORD promised Israel that he would dwell in this temple. But in the narrative that John has been telling so far… The WORD has made his dwelling somewhere else, he has been called the lamb of God. And this draws direct contrast between what’s happening in Jesus and what is going on in the temple on this passover.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you?

2. What parts of this passage reminds you of the narrative of the Hebrew Scriptures?

3. According to John's gospel so far, the arrival of Jesus upsets the status quo. Sometimes with delight and joy, and sometimes with confusion and questions. In what area of your life might you need Jesus to upset the status quo? In what area might you be nervous for him to enter?

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John 2:1-12 (NIV)

New Testament scholar NT Wright talks about the John’s Gospel as “a kind of treasure hunt, with careful, sometimes cryptic clues laid for us to follow.” John set the scene for us in Chapter 1, and he ended with a peculiar word to Nathaniel referencing Jacob’s ladder in Genesis 28. He says that Nathaniel will see heaven opened, with angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man!

He’s talking about them seeing heaven and earth come together--God’s space and human space becoming one. Throughout the book and in today’s passage, these moments are marked by what John calls signs--Signs Jesus performs that should ring a bell in your mind to remember the first chapter and see that it’s happening, and we are invited to come and see. Come and see heaven and earth together... God's space and human space together... In and through the person of Jesus of Nazareth!

----------REFLECT----------

What stands out to you in this passage?
If this sign reveals God's glory in Jesus, what is it that we learn about that Glory?
According to this passage, when heaven and earth come together, shame is replaced by honor, sorrow by joy. In what areas of your life do you need honor in place of shame, joy in place of sorrow?

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John 1:43-51 (NIV)

In today’s passage Jesus continues to call disciples. And so far in the Gospel, as people encounter Jesus, we’ve watched as they react. Some are skeptical, some decide to follow, and some don’t even recognize him. Today we’ll see Jesus run into the prejudice that potentially existed within the Jewish community--how some people from one town looked down on people from another. How will Jesus respond?

----------RESPOND----------

1. When the Word becomes flesh and makes his dwelling among us, it confounds our expectations. Like Philip, how have you responded to other people's prejudice, and how it might keep them from following Jesus?

2. Like Nathaniel, what prejudices or biases do you carry that might keep you from following Jesus?

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you what you need to come and see.

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John 1:29-42 (NIV)

Have you ever waited for something for a really long time? Is there something that you’ve longed for your entire life? In today’s passage we meet the first disciples of Jesus who, as Jewish people, would have been longing for Messiah since the time they were children. A set of priests, Levites, and Pharisees have already written off John the Baptizer … How would they respond to the moment when Messiah comes?

----------REFLECT----------

What stood out to you in this passage? What does it mean?
How might the Lord be inviting you to respond today?
What in your life keeps you from following Jesus, from responding to his invitation to come and see?

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John 1:15-28 (NIV)

In the beginning of John's gospel, he’s doing his best to try to show how the story of Jesus is the continuation of the long story of God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel, and through Israel, a blessing to the world. He starts in the very beginning, moving to Moses and the law, to the coming of Jesus, and then we meet John the Baptist. This guy is in the wilderness calling people to repent and believe, and he’s seen here quoting the prophet Isaiah, announcing the coming of the Lord. But what will it mean? What will it look like?

----------REFLECT----------

1. What surprises you about this passage?

2. What word or phrase stands out?

3. What parts of this passage remind you of the whole of the story of Scripture?

4. The Priests the Levites and the Pharisees all fail to see John for the messenger that he is because of their fixed categories of what a messenger of the LORD would look like. What fixed categories do you have that might keep you from seeing a message from the LORD when it shows up?

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Ms. Skip McDonald is a long time InterVarsity Staff, an author, a nursing and mental health professional, and a dear friend. We sat down with Ms. Skip to talk about daily rhythms with Jesus and how they impact our mental health.

Enjoy a lighthearted conversation about important things!

RESOURCES:

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John 1:1-14 (NIV)

For the coming weeks we’re going to spend some time in The Gospel of John, as a way to sit in the larger message that biblical authors have when they weave these stories together. John's Gospel, we’re told at the end, is written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah (or anointed King), and that by believing, you may have life in his name. The gospel opens with a soaring introduction to Jesus that ought to leave us in wonder.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stands out to you?

2. How does this passage fit with the whole of scripture?

3. How is the Holy Spirit inviting you to respond?

4. What will it look like to respond? What will need to change? what will need to stay the same?

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Psalm 68:1-10 (NIV)

Some psalms were thought to be songs that the people of god sang during processions as the ark of the covenant was returned from battle. They were songs of victory. If you’ve ever been in the midst of a fight or struggle. It’s psalms like these that can stir your soul.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stands out to you?

2. Ask the LORD what this phrase might mean?

3. How is the LORD inviting you to respond to him?

4. What will it mean to respond? What might need to change? What might need to stay the same?

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Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)

It’s likely that the Letter to the Ephesians is written by Paul who is writing from prison. He’s encouraging churches throughout a region to hold fast to their faith and pursue unity. In chapter three he records a prayer for these early believers who faced persecution and suffering.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase resonated with you?

2. Ask the LORD what that might mean?

3. How is the LORD inviting you to respond to this prayer?

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2 Cor 4:1-12 (NIV)

2 Corinthians is one of the letters the apostle Paul writes to the church at Corinth. This letter in particular is encouraging them with the surprising comfort that comes from the resurrection. He’s also dealing with the fact that his authority is in question because of the suffering that he and his companions are experiencing. He defends himself against those claims by arguing that in fact, it’s very much the opposite. It’s in his sufferings that His strength is perfected.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What challenges you in the Passage?

2. What encourages you?

3. Bring to mind the moments in your life when you are most aware how fragile you are, when the hope of Christ is really carried around in a jar of Clay. What keeps you from believing that you are not crushed, that you are not abandoned, that you are not destroyed?

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Psalm 5 (NIV)

The Book of Psalms is a collection of ancient Hebrew poetry. These poems and songs were used by Israel for generations before the time of Jesus and have been critical to the prayers of the Jewish People and Christians ever since. These psalms teach us about God for sure, but they can also give us language for prayer. The help us connect with God.

As we reflect today, try to walk away with one phrase that can be a new part of the language of your prayers.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What language from this psalm might inform the language of your prayers?

2. For which areas of your life does the language of this song help you pray?

3. Take a moment and use the language of this psalm to pray to the Lord.

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Isaiah 59 (NIV)

Towards the end of the book of Isaiah, the Prophets testifies against the people of God. They have collectively failed to uphold justice and righteousness… and the LORD intervenes. We might be tempted to hear this passage as individuals… As if it’s written to us individually. But remember that this is being written to a whole people. It’s not just you, it’s we… it’s us.

As we come to the end of our series on Justice, may you bring this passage to mind as you recall the way the LORD responds to Injustice. This is a longer passage that usual, but we need to hear it as one full thought.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What images stood out regarding the lack of justice?

2. What images stood out to you about the LORD's intervention?

3. What would it look like for you today to walk in the Spirit of the LORD, with the LORD's words on your lips?

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Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)

We long for Biblical Justice in our world. And in this country especially, we ache for the wickedness of racism to be snuffed out and for its victims to be vindicated. We long for Jesus to reign in power…. We long for His Kingdom!

Prior to todays passage in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has been talking about the Kingdom of God. And after telling his disciples how much it would cost them to pursue it… he says they have to lay down their lives… he encourages them to be persistent in praying for justice by telling them a parable.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What part of this passage encourages you the most to not give up?

2. Consider the character of the unjust judge and the character of our Father in Heaven, what's the difference?

3. What would it look like today for you to be persistent in your calling out to the LORD for justice?

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James 5:1-11 (NIV)

The Book of James is a letter that has challenged the Church throughout history and it’s no different today! The letter exhorts the church to put their faith into practice. As American Christians we slip into thinking that if we could just figure out what we believe, then we’ll have arrived. What we miss is that Jesus didn’t just save us from something, he saved us for something!

----------REFLECT----------

1. What stood out to you in this passage? What comforted you? Where did you eel stretched?

2. How is the Father asking you to respond to this passage?

3. What do you need from the father in order to respond to this passage? Ask him for what you need.

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Isaiah 9:1-7 (NIV)

As we continue on in our series about Justice, we turn to a passage from the prophet Isaiah that tells of the coming of the anointed King. There is a familiar verse that might remind you of Christmas, but often the surrounding verses proclaiming justice are not remembered.

----------REFLECT---------

1. What strikes you about God's Character in this passage?

2. What words or phrases in this passage cause you to hope?

3.Given the realities of society today, in what way do you long for the LORD to reign over his kingdom establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness?

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Psalm 52 (NIV)

----------REFLECT----------

1. Bring to mind the word or phrase that stood out? Why did it stand out, what does it mean?

2. Ask the Lord how He might be asking you to respond to this passage? What do you need from him? What might need to change in your life?

3. When you think about your life, in what ways have you trusted in something like "your great wealth?" Or where have you "grown because of the destruction of others;" whether explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly? Confess those things to the Lord who is faithful and just.

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Romans 12:9-21 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul is writing this letter to a Jesus shaped community in Rome that was severely divided. At first this community consisted of Jewish Christians and Gentile christians alike. Then the roman emperor expelled all the jews from Rome and when they returned the Jewish christians returned to a church that was very non jewish. There were deep divisions over jewish customs and freedom in christ. So Paul wrote this letter to help unify the church in Rome. In chapter 12, he charges the community with a challenging call to love and forgive one another. No matter where you are, this is a deeply challenging invitation to the way of justice.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or Phrase stands out to you?

2. What part of this passage challenges you the most?

3. Bring to mind the parts of your life or the people in you life that make it challenging.

4. Ask the Lord to help you live out this love.

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Micah 6:6-8 (NIV)

As we’ve experienced the response to the killing of George Floyd, many people are waking up to the systemic injustices that are latent within our nation’s systems. Many people are wondering how to respond. Whether that wondering comes from a place of utter fatigue or whether it comes from a place of ignorance and frankly being a little late to the show, the prophet Micah reminds us of a challenge the Lord leveled at Israel.

---------- REFLECT ----------

1. What word or phrase stands out to you? Ask the LORD why?

2. What might this word or phrase mean?

3. How might the LORD be calling you to respond to this passage? How can you say, yes Lord Jesus?

4. As you consider what it might mean to say yes to Jesus in response to this passage, consider the cost. What might need to change in your life? How might you need to repent, how might you need to act?

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Isaiah 58 (NIV)

----------REFLECT----------

What word of phrase stood out to you in the passage?
How does this passage challenge your relationship to justice?
How might the lord be calling you to respond to the passage?

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Psalm 126 (NIV)

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1. What word or phrase stands out to you?

2. What might this word or phrase mean?

3. How is the LORD inviting you to respond?

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Psalm 125 (NIV)

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stands out to you?

2. What might this word or phrase mean?

3. How is the LORD inviting you to respond?

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Psalm 124 (NIV)

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stands out to you?

2. What might this word or phrase mean?

3. How is the LORD inviting you to respond?

----------MORE----------

Here is the prayer offered at the end of the episode:

From: Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world.

Have mercy on us.

Grant us peace.

For the unbearable toil of our sinful world,

we plead for remission.

For the terror of absence from our beloved,

we plead your comfort.

For the scandalous presence of death in your creation,

we plead for the resurrection.

Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world.

Have mercy on us.

Grant us peace.

Come, Holy Spirit, and heal all that is broken in our lives, in our streets, and in our world. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (10/29/10)

Exodus 33:12-18 (NIV)

At this point in Exodus, God has heard the cries of his people, he’s rescued them from the hands of the Egyptians, and he has brought them out into the wilderness. Their time in the wilderness has been full of moments of disobedience and repentance. God providing, the people failing and God showing mercy. But at this point in Chapter 33 the LORD has instructed them to go ahead into the promise land but has told them that he does not plan to go with them. This causes the Israelites great distress, and Moses goes to the LORD to plead for mercy on their behalf.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What stood out to you about Moses’ posture towards the LORD?

2. What struck you about the LORDs posture towards Moses?

3. Where in your life today are you being called, knowing that if the LORD does not go with you it will be a disaster. Ask the LORD today, to send His presence with you, ask him to give you rest?

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Luke 12:22-34 (NIV)

At this point in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus has been calling people to Follow him, he’s been sending out his disciples to announce the good news of the Kingdom, and now he’s on a long journey to Jerusalem where his Kingdom announcement will create a confrontation with the powers . So along the way, he begins to teach the people around him about what this Kingdom will look like.

----------REFLECT----------

1. As you listen, allow the holy spirit to draw your attention to a particular word or phrase. And ask the Lord why that word, why that phrase?

2. As the passage is read again, think about what this word or phrase might mean within the context of Jesus’ teaching.

3. As you hear the passage one last time, ask the LORD how he might be inviting you to respond to him today. What might need to change? What might need to stay the same?

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Ephesians 1:3-14 (NIV)

Paul is writing this letter to gentiles in Ephesus while he’s in prison. The first half of this letter is a soaring exhortation to the Ephesians about the gospel and how all of history had been leading to this moment. In today’s passage Paul is praising God for his faithfulness to his promise to gather his covenant people, which now even includes the gentiles! Sometimes this passage can drag us down into endless discussions of predestination and God’s will… but in that we can miss the point.

The Lord of all creation has done what he always said he would do. He’s has redeemed humans through his faithful love and has made a way for all people to know him. Not just one ethnic group.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What stood out to you in this passage. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you know why.

2. When you hear this passage read again, pay attention to who you are in relationship to the Father, the son, and the holy spirit? What does it do to you know your status in relationship to the trinity?

3. As you listen again, ask the Father how he is inviting you to respond. What needs to be different? What might need to stay the same?

----------CONNECT----------

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Psalm 27 (NIV)

----------REFLECT----------

What word of phrase stand out?
What does this word or phrase mean?
What might the LORD be inviting you into? How is He inviting you to respond?

----------CONNECT----------

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Isaiah 11:1-9 (NIV)

Prior to this point in Isaiah, Yahweh has been looking for the qualities of justice and righteousness among his people Israel, but instead of Justice he found bloodshed, instead of righteousness, he heard a cry. The reign of the kings of Israel had failed. They needed a new kind of king. This passage is among those that introduce that king and describe what it will look like when he shows up.

----------REFLECT----------

This passage tells of the coming of Jesus, and the same Spirit that rested on the Jesus lives in us, if we follow him. In what areas of your life do you need God’s spirit to give you wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, and knowledge of fear of the Lord?
How do you respond to this description of Jesus? Where do you feel hope, where might you feel tension?
This passage ends with a picture of the reign Jesus brings—a place of safety, security and peace for all creation, because “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD.” What image stands out to you and gives you hope for the future?

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Mark 8:27-9:1 (NTE)

At this point in the gospel of Mark, Jesus has been traveling and announcing the Kingdom of God. And as he’s been teaching, performing signs and wonders and casting out demons, he’s been calling people to follow him. But he’s alluded to this motif in Israels prophets about having ears to hear or eyes to see…. And Mark situated todays passage between to stirrings about seeing and blindness.

This passages engages us with similar questions of how able we are to see Jesus for who he is and to take account of our willingness to follow him.

----------REFLECT----------

1. Just as Jesus asked his disciples, think about your own answer to the question. Who do you say Jesus is?

2. In our world of self-promotion, Jesus’ call to “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me” is about the most counter-cultural thing we can imagine. However, seeing ourselves as God’s beautiful, well-made creations and loving ourselves is essential to our ability to love others. How then, should we read and understand this command from Jesus? How do you deal with the tension between self denial and your sense of dignity?

3. When you think about your life, what kind of sacrifices might Jesus be calling you to make in order to follow him today?

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Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV)

Today’s passage comes from Matthew 5, and up until this point Jesus has been announcing the Kingdom. And for Jews at this time, there would have been a wide range of expectations for what Jesus meant by “The Kingdom.” As word has spread about Jesus, people begin to gather around him to hear his teaching. They are being oppressed by the romans, they are dealing with Jewish tax collectors and royalty who have sold out to Rome, as well as religious leaders who are convinced that Messiah will only come once Israel gets it’s act together.

So when a crowd gathers on a mountain side to hear Jesus teach, he is speaking into all these narratives and presumptions about what the kingdom is supposed to look like.

You and I be also bring presumptions to the table when it comes to Jesus and his kingdom, we have our own ideas of what it should like like when Jesus is in charge. And if we are honest the words from Jesus’ sermon on the mount will challenge and shape us. Just like it has for all the generations before us.

---------- REFLECT ----------

1. How do you react at Jesus saying, “Blessed are those who mourn?” There is blessedness in seeing the pain, seeing injustice and brokenness in the world. The comfort of God is available to us as we mourn. Where in your life do you need to acknowledge pain, injustice or brokenness?

2. The word righteousness here means "rightness," "justness"—that things would be right—in our lives and in the world. What are you seeing or experiencing today that needs to be set right? How do you thirst for righteousness?

3. Our desire for things to be set right cannot proceed without mercy, purity of heart, and the desire for peace. Where in your life can you extend mercy, where in your life can you be an agent of peace?

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Proverbs 3 (NIV)

The book of Proverbs is Hebrew Wisdom literature meant to help God’s people becoming wise.

It’s a popular book, but a few things can be confusing about its content if it’s not clear up front.

And that’s the fact that for an ancient Hebrew, if they hear in scripture the words “my son.” Most of time that will mean Yahweh is referring to Israel, which includes all of God’s people. It might be tempted to make that gender inclusive because it seams like it's only advice for men. But you risk losing the significance of Israel being called God’s son way back in Exodus and the reality that God’s inheritance was always meant to go to all nations men and women alike. So there’s a lot there to talk about but for now just know that when it it refers to my son, think all of God’s people, and remember that reading scripture is always a cross cultural experience.

Second is the personification of wisdom. Wisdom is presented as a woman throughout proverbs. So when you hear language referring to “HER.” think wisdom which makes us behave and become like God, which is what image bearers where made to do.

----------REFLECT----------

1- What word or phrase stood out to you in your hearing? What caught your attention about it?

2- As you think about your life today, In what way does this passage come as a comfort to you?

3- In what way does this passage challenge you in your life today? What might need to change? what need to stay the same?

----------CONNECT----------

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Isaiah 61:1-9 (NIV)

This passage reminds us of what the LORD HAS DONE, what he is DOING NOW, and what he yet WILL DO in the future.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you in your hearing? What strikes you about it?

2. Has the LORD comforted you lately? Has he provided for you as you’re grieved? Has he bestowed upon you beauty instead of ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair? If so, pause and give thanks to him. If not, bring your grief to the LORD as you simply tell him how you feel.

3. Pause and take the risk to ask the LORD for restoration. Maybe it's the first time you’ve asked, maybe you’ve asked more that you can count. Ask him now, and as you do, ask him how he’d use you. What would need to be different? What would need to be the same?

----------CONNECT----------

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John 8:1-12 (NIV)

Today we turn to the Gospel of John. Jesus has been traveling around Judea, teaching, healing, and getting confronted by religious leaders. We pick up one morning after a long day of Jesus being challenged and accused by these teachers of the law and Pharisees. Jesus walks back into the temple and begins to teach. . . and something incredible happens.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - Have you ever stood in a place of shame, facing condemnation? Feeling exposed? Feeling judgement?

2- Have you ever stood in a place of condemnation over someone else? Feeling self-righteous…. Feeling superior?

3- If you’re following Jesus, what would it look like today to have the light of life. What would need to change? What might stay the same?

----------CONNECT----------

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New Daily Episodes will continued on Sunday May 10.

Until then catch up or revisit some of the episodes that you enjoyed!

We want to bring you the best podcast we can, and with what we've learned so far, there are some adjustments that we'd like to make to set things up for the long haul.

Thanks so much!

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John 5:1-9 NTE

What if all the time we spend working out of our own strength to get our needs and longings met, could in an instant be met by Jesus?

----------REFLECT----------

1 - What words or phrases stood out to you in this passage?

2 - When Jesus asked this man if he wanted to be healed, the man answered with what kept him from getting the job done. He’d been trying the same thing for 38 years. What needs or goals or desires do you have that simply can’t be met in your own strength?

3 - What would it look like today for Jesus to speak into that situation. What would have to be different? What would you have to do or stop doing?

----------CONNECT----------

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Psalm 8 NIV

This Psalm speaks to the tension we experience in how small we feel in comparison to the created world, yet how incredibly important we are to the LORD. To the psalmist both are true, and that truth is good news to us today.

---------- REFLECT ----------

1 - This psalm call us to maintain a delicate balance of how we think about humans and our place in the LORDs created order. How do you typically think of yourself? Do you lean towards insignificance or do you tend to feel really important?

2 - For many of us, when we hear the psalmist talk about flocks and herds and animals in the wild being under our rule, it doesn’t really connect to our lives. Those were the day to day things for the psalmist. So what are the things that you have that you have been given to steward. Do you have clothes that need folding, plants that need tending or dishes that need washing? How do you use your resources, your time, your money, your food, your power?

3 - When we remember the creation of the world we have to come to terms with the fact that God didn’t need us to create any of it. Rather he wants us, to rule and to steward it with him. How does the reality that God is mindful of you and that he wants you effect you this day?

---------- CONNECT ----------

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Philippians 2:1-11 NIV

There are many things this Pandemic is exposing, and one of them is our society’s need to understand humility and love of the other. Whether you lean towards taking your liberty in your own hands and doing what you want regardless of the cost. Or if you lean towards a kind of isolation that disables you from serving anyone. . . We need help looking like Jesus.

---------- REFLECT ----------

1 - How would you compare your posture towards the needs of others, to Jesus’ posture towards others. In what ways might you be focused on your own interests rather than the interests of others?

2 - The foundation of Jesus’ humility in verse 5 is the reality of his equality with God. For us Paul suggests in verse 1 that being united with Christ is our foundation for humility. How does knowing who you are in Jesus impact your willingness to humble yourself in the service of others?

3 - So today, out of the confidence of who you are in Jesus, what power, or authority, or agency do you actually have right now? Who are others in your life in need of service and love? And how might Jesus be inviting you to be like him, and willingly obey the Father in the service of others?

---------- GO DEEPER ----------

Strong & Weak - Andy Crouch
Playing God - Andy Crouch
Humility - Andrew Murray

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Humility (Essential Christian Classics)

Passage >> Psalm 73:21-26 NIV

For the first half of this psalm the psalmist recounts the ways that they were outraged and disturbed by the success and profits of the wicked while they, who has remained pure in heart, were slipping and nearly losing their foothold. Verses 21-26 come as the conclusion to a lot of anger and confusion. Bring those things to the LORD wherever you are today.

---------- REFLECT ----------

1 - What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage? What about it stood out?

2 - Have you ever been troubled so deeply by something that you lost your ability to think straight? Reflect on a time like that, and as you do, pause to acknowledge the reality that in that moment and in this moment, God ’s presence is with you and he’s holding your hand.

3 - What would today look like, if in all the ways that your flesh and heart fails, God was a your strength?

What would be different?

what would be the same?

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Passage Link: Psalm 51:1-17 NIV

If you long for God bring revival to anything in this world, you must recognize that it will include you. God will need to deal with us in the process and a part of God dealing with us, is him dealing with our disobedience. This psalm is written by Kind David after he was confronted by Nathan after having committed adultery with Bathsheba.

---------- REFLECT ----------

1 - In what ways does this psalm give voice to your experiences of needing God’s compassion and mercy?

2 - Bring the LORD your broken spirit and contrite heart. Ask Jesus to purify your heart. To renew a steadfast spirit within you.

3 - What would it look like to live with the joy of salvation restored today? What would be different? What would be the same?

---------- CONNECT ----------

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Romans 8:18-30 NIV

Something is not right in the world. We are confused, sad, and just plain old mad... and so we long for new life to come NOW.

Inspired by Greg Jao’s talk on InterVarsity Live this week our passage for today is Romans 8:18-30 NIV.

May the LORD meet you as you listen:

----------REFLECT----------

LORD I Feel.... ( pause and confess honestly to the LORD how you feel about the state of creation today )
LORD I wish.... ( pause and give voice to your longing for justice… express honestly how you wish things were today )
LORD would you please.... ( what is it that you would ask the LORD to do about it, trusting his righteousness and justice? )

----------Connect----------

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Passage: Psalm 30 NIV

When you are down, remember the ways that the LORD has lifted you up. Allow this Psalm to lend voice to your soul today.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - How does this passage connect to the whole of scripture?

2 - What is the holy spirit’s invitation to you through this psalm today?

3 - Pause and ask the LORD to help you respond faithfully to Him today.

----------CONNECT----------

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Isaiah 43:1-7 NIV

This season has been a kind of exile for us. We have been uprooted from our "normal" lives. Some of us are separated from loved ones, or stuck in places where we do not want to be. In Isaiah 43 we receive God’s promises to Israel to return them from exile; to gather them from a far. He reminds them of His love for them, that he formed them and that he will rescue them.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - What tensions does this passage raise for you?

2 - What is it in your life that are like rivers and fires for you and for the people that you love?

3 - Pause and remember the ways God has redeemed you. Then take a moment and be invite God’s presence there where you are right now.

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Colossians 1:9-20 NIV

Paul writes this letter to encourage the the Colossian church to not waiver from the hope that they had first heard. With hardship they encounter increasing pressure to compromise their allegiance to Jesus and give into false teaching. This letter is fit for us today. As we face pressure as God’s people, it can be tempting to settle for what's comfortable over what's true and compromise our commitment to Jesus.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - Take a moment and think of a few things that you can be thankful for, and ask the Spirit to grant you endurance and patience where you need it.

2 - How does the knowledge of that deeper reality affect the way you see your sin, your pain, and the difficult circumstances you might be in?

3 - How does the picture of Jesus if verses 10-20 give you hope today?

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Mark 5:21-43 NIV

Sometimes in the midst of fear, faith is hard to come by. This passage comes as a reminder that Jesus is about restoration even in the face of suffering and fear.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - The Woman with faith was desperate, but also free from her need to impress anyone. How do you think this empowered her actions and bold faith in the Power of Jesus?

2 - Jesus’ words to Jiarus are "Don’t be afraid, just believe?" How would you have responded? Or maybe, how HAVE you responded when that’s been said to you?

3 - How does Jesus’ tenderness towards both of these "Daughters" affect you? How does it challenge? How does it comfort?

----------CONNECT----------

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Exodus 3:1-15 (NIV)

So far in the biblical narrative, God’s desire to rule the world through his image bearing humans didn’t go so well. But despite human rebellion on individual, corporate, and societal levels, God is not willing to give up on his purposes. So he chose Abraham, through who he promised to create a people who God would use to bless the nations…. But they are a hot mess too and and they fumble around… a lot. Through honor and shame, God’s chosen people find them selves in Egypt enslaved to an oppressive pharaoh. Moses managed to flee and finds himself tending a flock in the wilderness away from the pain of the Israelites.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - The place you are standing is Holy Ground for the Spirit of God is with you. Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to be present to you right now.

2 - What about the world today? What misery would the LORD see? What cries would He hear? What suffering would He be concerned with? Take a moment to reflect on ways that little pharaohs still hold people captive today.

3 - Pause and pray to this same LORD, for chains to be loosed, for idols to be brought low, and for the rescuing power of the resurrection to be poured out in our world.

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Psalm 46 (NIV) It’s a familiar verse . . . “be still and know that I am God.” But how many of us are familiar with its application. We’re reminded in times like theses how powerful the psalms can be in our lives. We only have to let them be so. Meditate on today’s psalm not only throughout the day but throughout the week. ----------REFLECT---------- 1 - Consider the ways that you’re experiencing trouble. In what particular ways do you need God to be your refuge? 2 - The Psalmist depicts God as a fortress, a place where there is peace despite wars raging around it. Petition the Lord to bring peace to the places those places of trouble in your life. 3 - Pause this podcast, or plan a few moments today, to be still before the LORD. Allow yourself to be aware of his goodness and his delight in you. ----------CONNECT---------- PRAY WITH SOMEONE >> CONNECT WITH STAFF >>

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Psalm 139:13-24 (NIV)

On Today’s episode of Daily Read, we’re continuing on with part 2 of our weekend edition on Psalm 139. Have you ever had your hair braided, or worked on a really large puzzle? It’s a painstaking labor of love. Now imagine not only braiding the hair or guiding the puzzle pieces into place, but that you drew out where each hair follicle would grow, or that you painted and cut each piece of that puzzle by hand. The Creator of the Cosmos was even more involved when you were made.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - When you hear “you are fearfully and wonderfully made” how does that challenge you're thinking about yourself? How do this both affirm and correct your thinking?

2 - As a reflective exercise, replace the word unformed with attributes about yourself: "You saw my __________ body."

3 - Pause and ask the LORD to Search you and know you today, to see if there is any offensive way in you.

----------CONNECT----------

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Psalm 139:1-12 (NIV)

Have you ever considered the implications of what it might mean to be truly known by God. Reflect today as we open Psalm 139.

---------- REFLECT & PRAY ----------

1 - Pause and reflect on the reality that the God who created the cosmos is acquainted with the breaths you’re taking right now.

2 - How has the LORD been present to you in the midst of darkness in your life?

3 - Reflect on the claim that the darkness is as Light to the LORD? How does that hit you? Is it challenging, comforting, frustrating? Whatever it is, take that before the LORD today.

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Philippians 4:4-13 (NIV)

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:7

We need that right now more than most times! Sit back and connect with Jesus through the Word!

----------Reflect----------

1 - Paul instructs his friends to "Rejoice in the LORD always." Take a moment to express your delight in God.

2 - Where are you currently experiencing anxiety? What petitions might you present to the Lord?

3 - Write down or bring to mind the things that you can name that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Taking Paul's advice, keep these things before you in the coming days.

4 - Finally, when can you remember a time when the Lord gave you the strength you needed? Pause and ask Him to give you the strength you need for today.

----------Connect----------

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Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)

We all react differently to storms. But if one thing unify us, it’s that we are ALL not in control, and there his nothing we can do nothing to stop them when they come. Jesus however calms the storms and acts like the disciples should have expected it! Let learn from this story together.

-------- Reflect --------

1 - How do you respond to storms in general? And how would you have responded if someone told them to stop and they listened?

2 - What stories from the Old Testament does this remind you of?

3 - Bring to mind a situation in your facing today that seems chaotic and out of your control. What would it mean for Jesus to be on your boat in the midst of that storm. What changes for you knowing that the God who controls the wind in the waves knows and loves you?

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Lamentations 3:19--33 (NIV)

Dr. Soong Chan Rah, in his book Prophetic Lamentsays, "lament and praise must go hand in hand."

Our ability to respond to a broken world will only go as far as our ability and willingness to lament over pain and suffering.

Make space today to hold in tension our lament and our praise.

1 - In what ways have you been afflicted lately? In what ways have you been wandering? Pause and without rushing, recall to your mind the things that have caused you to be downcast and grieved.

2 - Pause and express thanksgiving to the LORD for his compassions. Not disregarding your suffering, but through lament bringing those things before the LORD.

3 - What is the Holy Spirit's invitation to you through this reading today?

------------ Resources ------------

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Genesis 22:1-18 (NIV)

Abraham's trust in the LORD is inspiring. But that kind of trust comes at a high cost. Are we willing to pay that cost?
What about Abraham's trust in the LORD inspires your trust in the LORD?
What good things from God are you most tempted to distort and idolize?
How far are you willing to trust God, and how does that trust impact those around you who look to your trust in God?

---------Links----------

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Psalm 1 (NIV)

For trees to be healthy, they need healthy roots, to have healthy roots, you need good soil.

Be encouraged today, the LORD delights in you, and is inviting you to push your roots down just a little deeper into him.

Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t bear fruit immediately.

It will come in season, for now stay faithful, he will watch over you

Reflect & Respond

1 -This psalm invites us to imagine ourselves like trees. Today if you were a tree, would your leaves be withered, or would you be bearing fruit in season?

2 - The Law of the Lord in this passage could be understood as God’s word in scripture. Pause and take stock of your relationship with God’s word. How does it line up to this psalm? What adjustments could you make to delight in the “law of the lord” and meditate on it day and night?

3 - Think of all the things you’re doing today or tomorrow. Let the list come to mind, or make on if that’s helpful. Know this. The LORD cares about all of the ways we spend out time. From your work, to your rest, to your play, pray… and ask the lord to watch over you on your way.

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John 20 - Holy Week Pt. 7/7

The resurrection is an unrelenting affirmation of God’s faithfulness to set the world right. He has not abandoned us to what we have made of things. Rather he is committed to restoring us and setting us in a new creation to rule and reign with him in the age to come. He is Risen!

1 - In what ways to you rejoice in the hope of new creation today?

2 - Who might the lord send you to today to tell of the ways that you have seen him?

3 - What hope does the physical resurrection of Jesus give you?

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Psalm 31:1-5, 14-16 NIV - Holy Week Pt. 6/7 v.5 "Into your hands I commit my spirit." As we remember Holy Saturday this year, we need the LORD's help committing ourselves into his hands. May you meet Jesus in Psalm 31 and take refuge in the one who overcame the grave. 1 - Acknowledge the ways that you need to take refuge in the LORD. Express these thing to the LORD in some way, whether though prayer, journaling or song. 2 - What would it take for you to trust the LORD today in the midst of fear? 3 - Could you be honest with Jesus today about how you really feel about the state of the world you find yourself in? He’s not at risk of being overwhelmed by you, because he has already overcome the grave. For more information visit: ivalabama.org intervarsity.org

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John 19:1-24 - Holy Week Pt. 5/7

The Cross both enables Jesus to empathize with the pain we’ve suffered, and qualifies Jesus to absolve us from the the pain we’ve caused.

A man who should have been honored was shamed and humiliated.

A man who was innocent, was wrongfully tried, wrongfully convicted, and brutally murdered as if he was guilty.

Yet on Good Friday, a King was enthroned.

Consider the follow questions as you remember the cross this Good Friday.

1 - Think of the pain you’ve suffered. How might you take comfort in the empathy of Christ’s cross today, how might His wounds be a source of healing for you?

2 - Think of pain you’ve caused. Given your shame, given your guilt, how might you take comfort in the justice of the Christ’s Cross today? How has his bearing your shame and guilt liberated you?

3 - There is a tragic irony in this passage. The story is set up as a kind of upside down enthronement of a King.

What difference should it make in your life today, that we follow a crucified King? What might need to to change to align with this reality?

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John 13:1-12 (Holy Week Pt. 4/7) --- Maundy Thursday --- Jesus turns the picture of power and influence on their heads, and he does it even before the one who would betray him. We must learn to receive this kind of love from Jesus and love others like Jesus. Reflect

First - Jesus knew Judas would betray him, yet he washed his feet. How has Jesus washed your feet even in the midst of betrayal.

Next - If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, you have already been washed and you belong to him. But we need a daily washing of those parts of us that get dusty and dirty… our personalities, our bodies, our minds. In what ways do you need Jesus to wash your feet today?

Finally - All things had been put under Jesus power, yet he took the lowly place of servant. How does Jesus use of his power and influence challenge your relationship with power and influence. How can you do as Jesus does in your life today?

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Open a bible, and reflect today on what you have to offer the LORD as you, like Mary, anticipation the resurrection.

How would sharing a table with Lazarus shape your posture towards Jesus? 
Why is resurrection such a threat to those in power? 
Mary knows that Jesus will be departing soon, so she takes the opportunity anoint Jesus with an a costly perfume. A perfume that she no longer needs because of the hope of resurrection. What is your costly perfume? What is it in your life that you can pour out before Jesus in anticipation of the resurrection?

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“Jesus burst into tears.” These words of empathy hold deep potential to shape the way we experience loss and death.

Have you ever been grieved by death. Have you ever felt like Jesus wan’t there when he needed to be?  
Jesus said “I am the resurrections and the life… anyone who believes in me will live even if they die, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never every die. Do you believe this? Reflect on this words and what they must have meant to Martha.  
When Jesus saw Mary and her fellow mourners crying, he burst into tears… how does this shape your understanding of Jesus as he relates to our experience of loss and death?

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The servant of the LORD is introduced in Isaiah 42. In anticipation of Easter, consider (1) the delight of the Lord, (2) our longing for specific attributes of the servant, and (3) how we should take part in the “new thing” God is doing.

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The LORD is my shepherd...

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Is it Daily “Reed” or Daily “Red” - find out where it comes from here. With a surprise interview and a word about what to expect in a typical episode.

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We need to be reminded daily of the words of Jesus. Get a taste of what Daily Bread is all about, and subscribe to catch our first episode.

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