DAILY BIBLE READING GUIDE (November 1st – 6th)

Monday – Ephesians 4.29

Meditation: Words are powerful things and we are commanded to guard what we say. Words are dangerous. Because the wrong words can cause great damage, we must remember that there is no “free speech” for God’s people. You and I are commanded to stay away from talk that corrupts and instead only talk in ways that will build up. We must guard our mouths, because sins of the tongue are sins that can do great damage to both ourselves and others. Pray that God would give you the grace to guard your tongue.

Tuesday – Proverbs 6.12-19;

Meditation: Sometimes we think that what we say isn’t really that big of a deal compared to all the other sins there are we could be doing, but that is the farthest thing from what the Bible says. God uses some of the harshest language in Scripture to describe how he feels about the sins of our mouths. When our view of sin differs from God’s view, we are setting ourselves up for trouble. Pray that God would help you to recognize just how much he hates this type of sin in our lives.

Wednesday – James 3.5-8

Meditation: The Bible warns us that God hates it when we talk certain ways, because what we say is so dangerous. Words work like a fire and can burn up ourselves, our friends, our churches. We don’t think of our words like that, which is part of the danger. We say what we want to say when we want to say it. God says we must be careful because words can kill. Ask God to help you understand just how careful you need to be with what you say and why.

Thursday – Proverbs 12.17-22; Proverbs 26.24

Meditation: Liars. Nobody likes one, everybody is one. Lying, deceiving are sins that God specifically says are an abomination to him. Lying unites us not with God but with the Father of Lies, Satan. Satan doesn’t care what you lie about. He just wants you to resemble him with your speech. And when we lie, we show which father we believe in, which father we trust in. Pray that God would tie your tongue to him by tying your tongue to the truth.

Friday – Proverbs 11.9; Proverbs 30.32; Proverbs 27.2; James 4.10-11

Meditation: “You won’t believe what I heard about so-and-so.” Well, you won’t believe what the Bible says about people who gossip. Gossip and boasting are nothing more than trying to tear others down or lift ourselves up. God says we don’t have to do that. Trust him, speak the way he tells you to and let him be the one who exalts you. That’s the only exaltation that really matters anyway.

Saturday – Ephesians 4.29

Meditation: What type of talk comes out of your mouth? Do you think about what you say? What should we do with our tongue? 1) Give attention to it. 2) Submit our tongue to God’s word. Pray for God to give you the grace to speak as you should.

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This Week's Sermon

Due to some technical difficulties, there will be no podcast from this Sunday's (October 24) sermons.

Daily Bible Readings October 11- October 16th

Monday- Matthew 6. 25-34

Meditation:  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out for us what life is like in the kingdom of God. It is a life filled with prayer, fasting, love, obedience, evangelism. But there is one thing he says has no place among God’s people: anxiety. Are you an anxious person? Do you often find yourself worrying? That is a sin that in this week, we will learn the Christian cannot and must not accept in their life.

Tuesday – Matthew 6.26-30; Psalm 139.13-16

Meditation: Why should we not be anxious? Jesus gives us two reasons: who God is and who we are. We don’t have to anxious because God is our heavenly Father and he wants to and will take care of us. We also should never anxious because our anxiety can’t accomplish anything. Whether we worry needlessly or not, you and I can’t change anything in our lives. If we will remember God’s great strength and our complete weakness, we will know why anxiety makes no sense for the Christian.

Wednesday – Matthew 6.30-32

Meditation: What is the problem with anxiety? Jesus shows us three things. First, it demonstrates how little faith we have in God. It also shows us where our vision really is. Worrying about these things happens when our eyes are on these things rather than God or his kingdom. Lastly, anxiety is a problem because it means you don’t really trust God. He knows you need these things, why don’t you trust him to give them to you?

Thursday – Matthew 6.33-34; Philippians 4.4-7

Meditation: So what are we supposed to do? Anxiety fills out hearts the easiest when we are idle. Jesus doesn’t tell us to just relax. He tells us seek the right things and everything else he will take care of. We are to seek God’s kingdom. That is where our eyes should be. That should be our worry. If we will fix our eyes on him, then he will give us all that we need and give us a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Friday – Matthew 6.25-34; Matthew 7.7-11

Meditation: This was obviously a problem for Christ’s followers then and continues to be a problem today. So what do you do if you struggle with being anxious? First, believe him. We must understand where anxiety springs from. God tells us that he will take care of us, we worry because we aren’t sure if he really will. We need to start believing what he says. Second, we need to trust him. We can know that whatever God gives us, it will be used by him for our good. Third, we need to repent. Anxiety isn’t just a personality quark, it is sin. As sin, we must hate it. We must run from it and pray that God will protect our weak hearts.

Saturday – Matthew 6.25-34

Meditation: Would you have considered yourself an anxious person?  God helps us here to see that you and I have no reason to be anxious, and that we have no right to be anxious.  We live a blessed life led by our heavenly Father.  Let's live that way.

Podcast Now Available!

This Sunday's sermon (October 10th) is now available on our podcast!

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Podcast now available!

This Sunday's sermon (October 3rd) is now available on our podcast!

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Daily Bible Readings: October 3-9

Monday – Daniel 4.28-37
Meditation: Thomas Watson says, “Pride is the mother of hell.”  Pride is an obvious sin that all Christians know is to be avoided.  However, pride is something that is a struggle for all.  This week we will look at pride to see the heinous nature of this sin.  Pray that God would reveal to you areas of pride in your life.

Tuesday – Daniel 4.28-30; 1 Corinthians 4.6-7
Meditation: Nebuchadnezzar was a man who was filled with pride.  He looked at all he had accomplished and credited himself instead of giving glory to God.  Pride at its core is vertical in nature.  When we fail to recognize God’s hand in our successes but rather take all the credit for ourselves, we are being proud.  We must realize that everything we have is a gift from God, and he is the ultimate source of all our successes not ourselves.

Wednesday – Daniel 4.31-33; Proverbs 16.5; Proverbs 18:12
Meditation: Living in pride is a great danger.  Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way that God opposes the proud.  His entire world was stripped from him, and he became like a madman until he learned that God alone was King.  The reason that pride is so dangerous is that God explicitly says the proud person is his enemy.  We do not want God as our enemy.  Thus, let us be wise and forsake pride.

Thursday – Daniel 4.34-37; Isaiah 66.2; 1 Peter 5.5-6
Meditation: What is the cure for a proud heart?  A big helping of humble pie.  Once Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity was restored to him, he immediately confessed that God alone was the ruler of the universe.  He had learned his lesson well.  No longer did Nebuchadnezzar take praise and glory for himself but now extolled the glory of God.  Ask yourself today  if there is any success or accomplishment in your life that you take the credit for?  If so, do not praise yourself but praise God instead.

Friday – Daniel 4.34; Isaiah 40.1-31
Meditation: One way we can promote humility in our lives is by having a view of God’s greatness.  Those in the Bible who encounter the Living God find themselves humbled before his majestic splendor.  So often, pride rises in our hearts because we forget just how great God is.  Today, think about the greatness of God and be humbled before him.

Saturday – Daniel 4.35; Psalm 8.3-4; Ecclesiastes 3.18-20
Meditation:  Another way we can keep pride at bay and promote humility in our lives is by having a proper view of self.  Whenever we begin to think great thoughts about ourselves, we must contemplate just how little and insignificant we are.  Remember that we are made from the dust, and we will one day return to it.  Remember that we are little more than a vapor, here for a moment then gone.  Be humbled because of your own finitude.