top of page

In the Beginning: Day 1

Read: Genesis 1 & John 1:1-18

​

Talk about it  (Click here to add thoughts to the community message board)

  • What do you think it means to be “made in God’s image”? How does it make you feel?

  • What do you learn about Jesus (or The Word) from these verses?

  • How do you think Genesis 1 and John 1 are connected? (Flip to pages 13–15 if you want to reread Genesis 1.)

  • Who was John and what was his job? 

  • What does this passage say about why Jesus came? 

​

Closing Thought

 In Genesis 1 we saw how God created everything, and everything God created was good. In John 1, God reveals even more of himself through his Son, Jesus. Because Jesus is the light of the world, we can travel through our lives with his light guiding us, showing us faith, hope, and love, even in the darkest times. The whole world is illuminated with the true light that gives light! Through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we can find meaning and light in a world of darkness. 

​

Prayer Prompt

The passage we read today talked about the light shining in the darkness and how the darkness has not overcome it. Sometimes it feels as if the darkness in our world overpowers the good. Let’s pray today that God would show us his light, his hope, and his peace, even when things feel hopeless, dark, and scary. You might also pray Psalm 23, one of the most beloved poems in the Bible. God’s light triumphs over darkness and will never leave us. 

 

Optional Activity: Shine a Little Light 

Gather a candle and a match and come together in one room of your house. Draw the shades and turn off lamps until the room is as dark as you can make it, then light the candle. How did the darkness make you feel? What happened to the darkness when the candle was lit? How did the light make you feel? Talk about how God is described as the light of the world, the true light that gives light, and think some more about what that means for us.

The Lost Son: Day 2

Read: Luke 15:11-32

​

Talk About It

  • How does the father respond to his younger son when the son asks for his inheritance?

  • What is the father’s response when he sees his younger son coming home?

  • How does the older son react to the party given in his brother’s honor?

  • Do you relate more to the older son or to the younger son? Why?

  • Which son does the father love more?

 

Closing Thought

At first it seems as though the younger son is the foolish one and the older son is the good one, but both sons miss the mark. The younger son makes poor choices and then tries to figure out how to get back into his father’s favor, and the older son feels entitled and jealous of the father’s love and celebration. What the Father wants is for both sons to return to him. He wants both sons to love him and to love one another. Jesus told this story so people could understand God better. God is the Father in this story. The Father’s love is so big that he has no trouble welcoming back the son who made lots of poor choices. The Father’s love is so big that he doesn’t hesitate to find the son who feels like his good behavior should have earned him greater favor. The Father’s love fills every heart and shouts, “You are worthy, you are worthy, you are worthy!”

 

Prayer Prompt

Pray through Psalm 139, a poem about how intimately God knows us, how present God is with us, and how committed God is to guiding us through the Holy Spirit to a life filled with faith, hope, and joy.

 

Optional Activity: Feast!

Let’s celebrate how big God’s love is and how much he wants us to keep returning to him. Plan a meal of your favorite foods. Prepare the feast together, and when you’re ready to dine, give a toast to celebrate something special about each person around the table.

The Burning Bush: Day 3

Read: Exodus 3:1-4:17​

​

Talk About It

  • If you saw a bush on fire and it began speaking to you, what would you say or do?

  • What does God ask Moses to do? How does Moses react?

  • Have you ever felt like someone was asking you to do something greater than you thought you were capable?

  • What are some ways Moses addresses the fears of Moses?

  • Have you ever experienced God speaking to you in your fears?

 

Closing Thought

In this story, Moses doesn't just argue with God, he flat out tells God "no thanks!" It is here that we see God's love and patience in a new way. First God tells Moses that "I will be with you" and then says "I am who I am" so basically God is saying "You can trust that I will be with you through everything but I am exactly who I say I am - God!" God reassures Moses that God will walk with him through the difficult things and they will work together. God can do amazing things through us when we follow God's call, even when it's difficult. 

 

Prayer Prompt

It takes courage to trust God to not leave us when things get tough. Take time to thank God for being with you always and for all the wonderful things God has and can do through you. 

 

Optional Activity: Fire!

With nicer weather upon us, considering spending time outside around a campfire. Take time to share stories about experiences you have had where you knew that God was with you and working through you. 

The Burning Bush: Day 4

Read: Mark 4:35-41

​

Talk About It

  • How do you think the disciples felt when the storm started?

  • Have you ever been scared around lots of water or by a storm?

  • What do you think your reaction would be if you saw someone command wind & water to be still and they listened?

  • How do the disciples feel after this experience?

  • Have you ever experienced God calming your fear amid a 'storm' - whether physical or emotional?

 

Closing Thought

The disciples would have known the stories of God we have been studying from the Old Testament. They would have remembered God separating the waters in the creation account. They would have known the story of Noah and the flood, the story of Moses and the Israelites crossing the sea. So when they saw Jesus, who had just taught them a bunch of new ideas about the kingdom of God, taming the waves and calming the storms, they recognized there was something really different about him. He was someone to be taken very seriously. There were many people before Jesus and after Jesus who were good teachers. But Jesus shows his disciples (and us) that he is more than just a good teacher—he is Lord of the Universe, Lord of the storms. These and other miracles elevate him far above the teachers of the day and help his disciples and followers (and us!) trust Jesus as the Son of God. In this story Jesus proves himself trustworthy and ever-present, even when we are afraid and experience doubt.

 

Prayer Prompt

God’s protection and faithfulness appear everywhere in the Bible! Let’s remind ourselves of his protection and shelter by praying through Psalm 91.

The Temptation: Day 5

Read: Matthew 4:1-11

​

Talk About It

  • When was Jesus tested—when he was strongest, or when he was weakest?

  • What kinds of things did the Devil use to test Jesus?

  • What did Jesus use to answer the Devil?

  • What do you learn about Jesus from these verses?

  • What kind of things are you tempted by? How are those the same or different from Jesus?

 

Closing Thought

When Jesus comes out of the wilderness after forty days and nights, he is prepared to face the Devil’s test. The Devil’s questions are filled with shortcuts and taunts. He says that, as the Son of God, Jesus should be able to make things happen to serve himself (turn stones to bread). He should be able to avoid the pain of this world (by throwing himself off a cliff and being rescued by angels). He should be able to take charge and rule over everyone (by worshiping the Devil instead of God). But Jesus was fully human and fully God. Even though he could turn stones to bread, be saved by angels, or immediately rule over everyone, he isn’t that kind of God. He doesn’t take the easy way out. Instead, he is a God of freedom. He is a God of justice. He is a God of patience and mercy and service. The Devil tries to get Jesus to do things to meet Jesus’s human needs and wants (food, safety, power), but Jesus says no way, I’m not that kind of God. I’m not here to serve my needs; I’m here to serve my Father and what it is he calls me to do.

Often times, the things that we are most tempted by reflect some form of need in our own life. We are tempted by food when we are hungry. We are tempted by lust when our need for intimacy and connection aren't being met. We are tempted to steal when our resources are low. We are tempted to lie when our hearts are fearful of rejection and we aren't feeling accepted. This is a reflection of the human condition. Jesus was no stranger to this - yet he refuses all the things Satan offers. What strength! 

 

Prayer Prompt

Thank God for his example in Jesus of how we can rely on God and on the direction of his Word to help us navigate tests and temptations. Pray that God will provide you with clarity and direction as you interact with others. Open your ears to what God is saying through the still, small voice that shows us the way and says to walk in it.

​

Optional Activity: Share God's Bread with Others

The Devil tempted Jesus with bread. After forty days in the wilderness, Jesus was likely starving for something good to eat. Choose a friend, neighbor, or maybe even a stranger to buy (or bake, if you’ve got the time and energy!) a loaf of bread or other form of baked good this week. Make a card and include it with your gift, then deliver it to their home. 

The 'Blessed': Day 6

Read: Matthew 5:1-20

​

Talk About It

  • When you think of being blessed, what comes to mind?

  • How does Jesus define being blessed by God?

  • What does salt do for food? What does it mean to be “the salt of the earth”?

  • What does Jesus say about the Law the Israelites had been following?

​

Closing Thought

This portion of scripture comes from Jesus's most famous 'sermon' - the Sermon on the Mount. Rather than beginning this famous sermon with traditional Jewish teaching on the Laws of Moses, Jesus begins by redefining what it means to be a follower of God. Followers of God are the “salt of the earth,” they mourn, they are meek, and they are persecuted. They are not like the proud and self-righteous, rule-worshipping, religious leaders of Jesus’s day. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus pushes against the priests and teachers of the Law who have made the rules of God so strict the people have no way to operate under them. He doesn’t throw out the Law; he makes the focus about the heart, not the head. He says, okay, you want to earn God’s favor? Here are the stakes: God is perfect. God has Big Love for all of God's children over all of the earth. Love with that kind of love. And then Jesus goes and loves with that kind of love, all the way to the cross, all the way to resurrection.

 

Prayer Prompt

Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 11:28–30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Praise God that his overarching commandment is to love, and that love is what steers our hearts and saves our souls. Take time to thank God that Jesus walked this earth and died on the cross to save us from ourselves, from the burden of sin, and to show us the way to love.

​

Optional Activity: Pass the Salt!

Try and add a little bit of salt with each of your meals this week. Take a bite of food without salt. Then take another with some salt. What does the salt do to the flavor? With this in mind, think about what it means to be “the salt of the earth.”

Give it Away: Day 7

Read: Mark 10:17-27

​

Talk About It

  • What was Jesus challenging the young man to do in order to get eternal life?

  • Why do you think Jesus says that it’s hard for people who “have it all” to enter God’s kingdom?

  • Do you find it easy or hard to part with your stuff?

  • What makes you want to hold on to things?

  • How do you think the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” applies to wealth and “having it all”?

  • The disciples are pretty flabbergasted by this teaching because it’s impossible to meet this standard! How do you think God makes it possible?

  • Does this mean we’re supposed to give everything away? Should we buy anything?

​

Closing Thought

The disciples are amazed at this teaching. It just doesn’t seem possible. In fact, they call it impossible. And Jesus says, you’re right. This is impossible for you to do all on your own. But with God, all things are possible. But how? As we’ve been reading the teachings of Jesus, the main message Jesus delivers is one of the heart. He’s asking, what is it that you say and do? Is it motivated by love, or is it motivated by self-interest? God’s way is love, not self-interest. So when Jesus sees that the rich young man has been seeking to follow God’s way all this time, he loves him for it, but he also challenges him to go even further. Do all the right things, follow the law, and love your neighbor as yourself by using your wealth to help.

 

Prayer Prompt

Pray about your stuff. Thank God for what he’s given you. Ask him for guidance about what your family should do with money. Pray that God will help you follow Jesus, even with the stuff you own.

​

Optional Activity: Listen and Give!

Ask God this week to tune your ears for opportunities to give something away to someone in need. Do you know someone who is moving for the first time and needs furniture? Maybe you have a table they could use or an extra couch. Listen and look for opportunities to be generous with what you have, and when the Holy Spirit nudges you, act!

Take Courage: Day 8

Setting up the Scene

Forty years before today’s story, Moses sent a group of men to scout the land God had promised them. They spent forty days exploring the food, the ground, and the cities. When they returned, they told Moses that the land was great, but the people there were fierce. We’ll be destroyed, they said (see Numbers 13:27–33). They lacked faith to enter the Promised Land, so instead of entering in, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Today’s story begins with the current leader of Israel, Joshua, sending in just two spies to scout the land. God told Joshua to be “strong and courageous” and to take the Promised Land.

​

Read: Joshua 2

​

Talk About It

  • What do the two spies learn from Rahab about the people of Jericho?

  • Why do you think Rahab hid the spies?

  • When have you needed to be strong and courageous? Was it difficult? Why was it hard?

  • Have you ever done something you knew was right even though your friends or family thought you were wrong? 

​

Closing Thought

The Israelites in today’s story were raised in the desert, toughened up by suffering and endurance, and taught to rely on God day in and day out for everything—even their daily food and water supply. Because the two spies had practiced trusting God every day for the last forty years, when big things happened that required even greater trust in God, they were prepared. Trusting God requires practice. Even when our circumstances don’t seem fair, our God is fair. Even when bad things happen, our God is good. Even when the way seems uncertain, our God is the Way.

 

Prayer Prompt

Thank God for his promise in Joshua 1:9 that God will be with you wherever you go, and ask God for the courage and strength to overcome fears. Tell God you trust him and know that whatever happens, he will be with you.

Setting up the Scene

When we left the Israelites they were just about to enter the Promised Land through Jericho. After Jericho, the Israelites fought hard to secure the land God had promised them. During that time, military leaders and judges rose up to lead the people through different trials, but soon the Israelites would ask God for an earthly king to rule over them instead of God himself. Today we’ll read about the arrival of a prophet who will listen for the word of the Lord and show Israel the way to the king God has chosen for his people.

​

Read: 1 Samuel 1

​

Talk About It

  • Have you ever wanted something so bad it hurt? What was it?

  • How was that longing satisfied? Did it just go away, or did you get what you longed for?

  • Do you think it’s okay to ask God for things? What’s okay to ask from God?

  • We’ve been doing a lot of praying with these talks. What do you think it means to pray?

​

Closing Thought

Some people think only pastors or priests can talk to God, but Hannah and many others throughout the Bible show us that ordinary, everyday people can talk to God through prayer. Our prayers don’t ever have to be perfect—in fact, most of the recorded prayers in the Bible aren’t scripted, perfect, clean versions of what we think God would want to hear. Instead, they are angry, sad, hopeful, grieving, praising, wailing, dancing outpourings to the God Who Hears. Any of us can pray to God the way that Hannah does, begging him to stop ignoring her, bargaining with him to grant her the desires of her heart. We can pray to God when we feel angry. We can pray to God when we feel scared. We can pray to God when we are joyful. We can pray to God when we are sad. We can pray to God when we don’t know what else to do. There is no script for praying!

​

Prayer Prompt

Let’s read together Hannah’s song that is written to praise God for what he did in 1 Samuel 2:1–10. This song is like a prayer of praise to God. If you would like, you can take time to write your own prayer of praise, thanking God and confessing how great God is! 

Power of Prayer: Day 9

bottom of page