Click for PDF version Monday Read Matthew 5:1-12 Being the Salt of the Earth One distinctive element of Jesus’ teaching was His use of metaphors and similes. Both are figures of speech, but a metaphor identifies one thing, such as “You are the salt of the earth,” whereas a simile likens one thing to...
Click for a PDF version Monday Read Hebrews 11:1-6; Psalm 46 “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. … By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God … Without faith it is impossible to please [God] for whoever would draw...
Click for a PDF version Monday Read 1 John 4:7-21; 2 John 1:3-6 A popular ’90s song asks, “What Is Love?” That same tune follows with dark, pleading lyrics: “Don’t hurt me, no more.” (Haddaway) The Bible answers this post-Christian, rhetorical appeal and its need comprehensively: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Pleasure-seeking...
Click for a PDF version Monday Read Matthew 28:16-20; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you...
Click for a PDF version Monday James 2:14-17; Luke 10:25-37 This week we are going to be focusing around a passage in James about faith and obedience. To explain true faith, James uses the following four different illustrations: the ill-clad and hungry brother or sister; the believing demons; Abraham, the friend of God; and...
Click for a PDF version Monday James 2:1 Brothers and sisters in the church will show no partiality. When he was a student, the famous Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, considered becoming a Christian. He read the Gospels and was moved by them. It seemed to him that Christianity offered a solution to the caste...
Monday James 1:9-11; Ecclesiastes 5:10-12; Matthew 6:19-21, 19:23-26 Is wealth itself sinful? The Bible does not teach this. One of its most misquoted verses actually states, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10). Money is neutral biblically, but the love of money—like any idol impairing right...
Monday Colossians 2:6-15; John 15:4-6; Acts 16:29-33 Ever heard the taunt, “Christianity is a crutch”? Karl Marx amplified such cynicism, declaring, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” “(Ancient Christian theologian) Augustine … compared the church to a hospital, because it is full of wounded and ill people in the process of being healed.” (Zacharius...
Monday Colossians 1:29 – 2:1 “To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.” (Colossians 1:29-2:1) Paul contends for the church in...
Monday Colossians 1:15-24; Galatians 1:6-10; Ephesians 4:13-16 1:12 Paul’s letter to the Colossians addressed heresy that was creeping into this young church. “[The Colossian heresy] denied that the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Christ … [also rejecting] that the Christian was complete in Christ … [This heresy] tried to supplement the freedom in...
