Nowata Methodists Podcast

If you’re just now joining us, don’t stress out and try to go back. Just join in midstream and go back as you are able. This isn’t supposed to be a stressful thing, but a joyful thing. This week, we get introduced to a longer genealogy than what came previously. We get some of Genesis and then some of the Gospel of John again. A good spread! Take your time with it, shut down any other distractions, and soak it all in. May God touch you as you are changed by his Word.

Genesis 8

But God remembered Noah and all the animals and livestock that were with him in the ark. 

And God sent a wind over the earth, and the waters began to subside.

The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained.

The waters receded steadily from the earth, and after 150 days the waters had gone down.

On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

And the waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth.

Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground.

But the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, because the waters were still covering the surface of all the earth. So he reached out his hand and brought her back inside the ark.

Noah waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.

And behold, the dove returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

And Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove again, but this time she did not return to him.

In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth. So Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.

By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was fully dry.

Then God said to Noah,

“Come out of the ark, you and your wife, along with your sons and their wives.

Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it.”

So Noah came out, along with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.

Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird—everything that moves upon the earth—came out of the ark, kind by kind.

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.

When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”

Genesis 9

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.

Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things.

But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.

And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:

Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.”

Then God said to Noah and his sons with him,

“Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you,

and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth—every living thing that came out of the ark.

And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:

I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,

I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

And whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is on the earth.”

So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and every creature on the earth.”

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.

These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.

Now Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.

But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.

Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it across their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.

When Noah awoke from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him,

he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

He also declared: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the servant of Shem.

May God expand the territory of Japheth; may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.”

After the flood, Noah lived 350 years. So Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

Genesis 10

This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.

The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.

From these, the maritime peoples separated into their territories, according to their languages, by clans within their nations.

The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who began to be a mighty one on the earth.

He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.

Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites, the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites. And Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,

the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans were scattered,

and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

These are the sons of Ham according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.

And sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth; Shem was the forefather of all the sons of Eber.

The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber.

Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.

And Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

Their territory extended from Mesha to Sephar, in the eastern hill country.

These are the sons of Shem, according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.

All these are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations and nations. From these the nations of the earth spread out after the flood.

Genesis 11

Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.

And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.

And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them.

Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.

This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. And after he had become the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.

And after he had become the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.

And after he had become the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.

And after he had become the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu.

And after he had become the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.

And after he had become the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor.

And after he had become the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.

And after he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

But Sarai was barren; she had no children. And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson

Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

John 6

After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias). A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on the sick.

Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down with His disciples.

Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.

When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”

But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.

Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piece.”

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

“Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”

“Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.

Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.

And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”

So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.

When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,

got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet gone out to them.

A strong wind was blowing, and the sea grew agitated.

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified.

But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

The next day, the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples, but they had gone away alone.

However, some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Him.

When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”

Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”

So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us this bread at all times.”

Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst. But as I stated, you have seen Me and still you do not believe.

Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.

And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.

For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’”

“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus replied.

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—

not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.

Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.

I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.

This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”

At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.

Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”

Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you?

Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?

The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)

Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”

From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.

So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?”

Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil! 

He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For although Judas was one of the Twelve, he was later to betray Jesus.

John 7

After this, Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. He did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jews there were trying to kill Him.

However, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.

So Jesus’ brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples there may see the works You are doing.

For no one who wants to be known publicly acts in secret. Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.”

For even His own brothers did not believe in Him.

Therefore Jesus told them, “Although your time is always at hand, My time has not yet come.

The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.

Go up to the feast on your own. I am not going up to this feast, because My time has not yet come.”

Having said this, Jesus remained in Galilee.

But after His brothers had gone up to the feast, He also went—not publicly, but in secret.

So the Jews were looking for Him at the feast and asking, “Where is He?”

Many in the crowds were whispering about Him. Some said, “He is a good man.” But others replied, “No, He deceives the people.”

Yet no one would speak publicly about Him for fear of the Jews.

About halfway through the feast, Jesus went up to the temple courts and began to teach.

The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man attain such learning without having studied?”

“My teaching is not My own,” Jesus replied. “It comes from Him who sent Me.

If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.

He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is a man of truth; in Him there is no falsehood.

Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps it. Why are you trying to kill Me?”

“You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”

Jesus answered them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed.

But because Moses gave you circumcision, you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath (not that it is from Moses, but from the patriarchs.)

If a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, why are you angry with Me for making the whole man well on the Sabbath?

Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”

Then some of the people of Jerusalem began to say, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?

Yet here He is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying anything to Him. Have the rulers truly recognized that this is the Christ?

But we know where this man is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from.”

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “You know Me, and you know where I am from. I have not come of My own accord, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him,

but I know Him, because I am from Him and He sent Me.”

So they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

Many in the crowd, however, believed in Him and said, “When the Christ comes, will He perform more signs than this man?”

When the Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Jesus, they and the chief priests sent officers to arrest Him.

So Jesus said, “I am with you only a little while longer, and then I am going to the One who sent Me.

You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

At this, the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go that we will not find Him? Will He go where the Jews are dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

What does He mean by saying, ‘You will look for Me, but you will not find Me,’ and, ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”

He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”

Others declared, “This is the Christ.” But still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee?

Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

So there was division in the crowd because of Jesus.

Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him.

Then the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Him in?”

“Never has anyone spoken like this man!” the officers answered.

“Have you also been deceived?” replied the Pharisees.

“Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?

But this crowd that does not know the law, they are under a curse.”

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who himself was one of them, asked,

“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”

“Aren’t you also from Galilee?” they replied. “Look into it, and you will see that no prophet comes out of Galilee.”

Then each went to his own home.

The Gospel of Matthew Chapter 9:1-26, this week we made it through most of chapter 9 of the Gospel of Matthew. Some of the things in this chapter are the healing of the paralyzed man, Matthew the tax collector being called to follow Jesus, questions about fasting, the resurrection of a dead girl, & the woman with the issue of bleeding.

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Our hope over time is to grow a more intentional community of folks dedicated to meditating on God’s word day and night (Ps. 1:2).

In this third episode, we do four chapters from Genesis and two from the Gospel of John. Pray that we are driven into the scriptures more and more, such that we are more in Christ every day. Salvation can be found only in him!

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Genesis 4

1 And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. 

“With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.

2 Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. 3 So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, 4 while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock.

And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.

6 “Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”

8 Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

9 And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 “What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

13 But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment d is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

15 “Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.

16 So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

17 And Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch.

18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech. 19 And Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock. 21 And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

22 And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

wives of Lamech, listen to my speech.

For I have slain a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold,

then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” 

25 And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, h saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

26 And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh.

At that time men began to call upon i the name of the LORD.

Genesis 5

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness. 2 Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.” 

3 When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 And after he had become the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

6 When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh. 7 And after he had become the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.

9 When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan. 10 And after he had become the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.

12 When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 And after he had become the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.

15 When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared. 16 And after he had become the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.

18 When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch. 19 And after he had become the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

21 When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God c 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 So Enoch lived a total of 365 years.

24 Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away. 

25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech. 26 And after he had become the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

28 When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son. 29 And he named him Noah, saying, “May this one comfort us in the labor and toil of our hands caused by the ground that the LORD has cursed.” 30 And after he had become the father of Noah, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 So Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.

32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 6

1 Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.

3 So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”

4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.

5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time. 

6 And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”

8 Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.

13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.

14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 And this is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. 16 You are to make a roof e for the ark, finish its walls a cubit from the top, place a door in the side of the ark, and build lower, middle, and upper decks.

17 And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

19 And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark—male and female—to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird and animal and crawling creature will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are also to take for yourself every kind of food that is eaten and gather it as food for yourselves and for the animals.”

22 So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.

Genesis 7

1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate; 3 and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth. 

4 For seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.”

5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.

6 Now Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his wife, with his sons and their wives, entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 

8 The clean and unclean animals, the birds, and everything that crawls along the ground 9 came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

10 And after seven days the floodwaters came upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons— 14 they and every kind of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and winged creature. 

15 They came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two of every creature with the breath of life. 16 And they entered, the male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 So the waters continued to surge and rise greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters. 

19 Finally, the waters completely inundated the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.

20 The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits. 21 And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished—birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind. 

22 Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.

John 4

1 When Jesus realized that the Pharisees were aware He  was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although it was not Jesus who baptized, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and returned to Galilee.

4 Now He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 “You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 

10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are correct to say that you have no husband. 18 In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 “Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 

23 But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

26 Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”

27 Just then His disciples returned and were surprised that He was speaking with a woman. But no one asked Him, “What do You want from her?” or “Why are You talking with her?”

28 Then the woman left her water jar, went back into the town, and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 So they left the town and made their way toward Jesus.

31 Meanwhile the disciples urged Him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 So the disciples asked one another, “Could someone have brought Him food?”

34 Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

36 Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the hard work, and now you have taken up their labor.”

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days.

41 And many more believed because of His message. 42 They said to the woman, “We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.”

43 After two days, Jesus left for Galilee. 44 Now He Himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown. 45 Yet when He arrived, the Galileans welcomed Him. They had seen all the great things He had done in Jerusalem at the feast, for they had gone there as well.

46 So once again He came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die.

48 Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

49 “Sir,” the official said, “come down before my child dies.”

50 “Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at His word and departed. 51 And while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive.

52 So he inquired as to the hour when his son had recovered, and they told him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

53 Then the father realized that this was the very hour in which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and all his household believed.

54 This was now the second sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea into Galilee.

John 5

1 Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda. 3 On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. 

5 One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.”

8 Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.”

9 Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk.

Now this happened on the Sabbath day, 10 so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It is unlawful for you to carry your mat.”

11 But he answered, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

12 “Who is this man who told you to pick it up and walk?” they asked.

13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while the crowd was there.

14 Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.”

15 And the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

16 Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him. 17 But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.”

18 Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

19 So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.

22 Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, 

23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

24 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

25 Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. 27 And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.

28 Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice 29 and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 

30 I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

31 If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not valid. 32 There is another who testifies about Me, and I know that His testimony about Me is valid.

33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 Even though I do not accept human testimony, I say these things so that you may be saved.

35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light. 36 But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me that the Father has sent Me. 

37 And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form, 38 nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent.

39 You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40 yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.

41 I do not accept glory from men, 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you have not received Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. 46 If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

We are getting this thing off the ground. The first mailing went out yesterday morning and got more attention than a usual post for our church does. My hope over time is to grow a more intentional community of folks dedicated to meditating on God’s word day and night (Ps. 1:2).

In this second episode, we do three chapters from Genesis and three from the Gospel of John. Pray that we establish and grow a steady burn, and that God builds an appetite for his scriptures in the hearts of his people!

The readings are below:

Genesis 1

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.”

And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse  between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.”

And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so. 

12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years. 15 And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.

16 God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.

17 God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, 18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 

21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

22 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 

25 God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. 

30 And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth— everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.

And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.

3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.

5 Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted; for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

6 But springs welled up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.

9 Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:

11 The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there.

13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it runs along the east side of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

18 The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”

19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. 

And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam e no suitable helper was found.

21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. 22 And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. 

23 And the man said:“This is now bone of my bonesand flesh of my flesh;she shall be called ‘woman,’for out of man she was taken.”

24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

Genesis 3

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ”

2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9 But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

10 “I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

11 “Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

12 And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent:“Because you have done this,cursed are you above all livestockand every beast of the field!On your belly will you go,and dust you will eat,all the days of your life.15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman,and between your seed and her seed.He will crush your head,and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman He said:“I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth;in pain you will bring forth children.Your desire will be for your husband,and he will rule over you.”

17 And to Adam He said:“Because you have listened to the voice of your wifeand have eaten from the treeof which I commanded you not to eat,cursed is the ground because of you;through toil you will eat of itall the days of your life.18 Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you,and you will eat the plants of the field.19 By the sweat of your browyou will eat your bread,until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken.For dust you are,and to dust you shall return.”

20 And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.21 And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”

23 Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. 8 He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

9 The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 

12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ”

16 From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

19 And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” 

20 He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”

21 “Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” 

24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. 27 He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ 

31 I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him.  33 I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 

34 I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. 

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

38 Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked.

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”

39 “Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus.

41 He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

42 Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).

43 The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.” 

44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46 “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”

48 “How do You know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

John 2

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.

8 “Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. 

Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone serves the fine wine first, and then the cheap wine after the guests are drunk. But you have saved the fine wine until now!”

11 Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

12 After this, He went down to Capernaum with His mother and brothers and His disciples, and they stayed there a few days.

13 When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables. 15 So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”

17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”

18 On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”

19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”

20 “This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?”

21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

23 While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name. 

24 But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all. 25 He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.

John 3

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people do not accept our testimony.

12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven— the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”

22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them and baptized.

23 Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because the water was plentiful there, and people kept coming to be baptized. 24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

25 Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the issue of ceremonial washing. 26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

27 John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must increase; I must decrease.

31 The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. 33 Whoever accepts His testimony has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

We need to be in our bibles more. This is my (Jeffrey) attempt to facilitate that. I figure if I get something in your inbox every day, then I can say that I have done my utmost to get you engaged with the scriptures.

Substack will give you the option to watch, listen, or read. If you click the video at the top of this page, you can watch me read through it, with the text on screen. You should also be able to simply listen to it either here or anywhere you find audio podcasts. Or you can just scroll down to the bottom of the page here and read it for yourself.

The Bible Reading Challenge website can be found at https://biblereading.christkirk.com/. They want us to use this resource. They are eager for all churches to benefit in biblical literacy from this initiative. If we stick with it, we will cover the whole bible in 3/4 of a year. Pray about committing to this!

I’m using the Berean Standard Bible, a public domain modern translation. It isn’t perfect, but it is easier to listen to and understand than the King James, which is my preferred way to go. I’m trying to make this as easy for you as possible. Just hit play, listen to God’s word, and live your life rightly in response to it.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to make it more feasible for you. God bless you as you attend upon God’s word with me!

Your friend, Jeffrey

Psalm 119

א

ALEPH

1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,

who walk in the Law of the LORD.

2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies

and seek Him with all their heart.

3 They do no iniquity;

they walk in His ways.

4 You have ordained Your precepts,

that we should keep them diligently.

5 Oh, that my ways were committed

to keeping Your statutes!

6 Then I would not be ashamed

when I consider all Your commandments.

7 I will praise You with an upright heart

when I learn Your righteous judgments.

8 I will keep Your statutes;

do not utterly forsake me.

ב

BETH

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to Your word.

10 With all my heart I have sought You;

do not let me stray from Your commandments.

11 I have hidden Your word in my heart

that I might not sin against You.

12 Blessed are You, O LORD;

teach me Your statutes.

13 With my lips I proclaim

all the judgments of Your mouth.

14 I rejoice in the way of Your testimonies

as much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on Your precepts

and regard Your ways.

16 I will delight in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word.

ג

GIMEL

17 Deal bountifully with Your servant,

that I may live and keep Your word.

18 Open my eyes that I may see

wondrous things from Your law.

19 I am a stranger on the earth;

do not hide Your commandments from me.

20 My soul is consumed with longing

for Your judgments at all times.

21 You rebuke the arrogant—

the cursed who stray from Your commandments.

22 Remove my scorn and contempt,

for I have kept Your testimonies.

23 Though rulers sit and slander me,

Your servant meditates on Your statutes.

24 Your testimonies are indeed my delight;

they are my counselors.

ד

DALETH

25 My soul cleaves to the dust;

revive me according to Your word.

26 I recounted my ways, and You answered me;

teach me Your statutes.

27 Make clear to me the way of Your precepts;

then I will meditate on Your wonders.

28 My soul melts with sorrow;

strengthen me according to Your word.

29 Remove me from the path of deceit

and graciously grant me Your law.

30 I have chosen the way of truth;

I have set Your ordinances before me.

31 I cling to Your testimonies, O LORD;

let me not be put to shame.

32 I run in the path of Your commandments,

for You will enlarge my heart.

ה

HE

33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,

and I will keep them to the end. b

34 Give me understanding that I may obey Your law,

and follow it with all my heart.

35 Direct me in the path of Your commandments,

for there I find delight.

36 Turn my heart to Your testimonies

and not to covetous gain.

37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;

revive me with Your word. c

38 Establish Your word to Your servant,

to produce reverence for You.

39 Turn away the disgrace I dread,

for Your judgments are good.

40 How I long for Your precepts!

Revive me in Your righteousness.

ו

WAW

41 May Your loving devotion come to me, O LORD,

Your salvation, according to Your promise.

42 Then I can answer him who taunts,

for I trust in Your word.

43 Never take Your word of truth from my mouth,

for I hope in Your judgments.

44 I will always obey Your law,

forever and ever.

45 And I will walk in freedom,

for I have sought Your precepts.

46 I will speak of Your testimonies before kings,

and I will not be ashamed.

47 I delight in Your commandments

because I love them.

48 I lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love,

and I meditate on Your statutes.

ז

ZAYIN

49 Remember Your word to Your servant,

upon which You have given me hope.

50 This is my comfort in affliction,

that Your promise has given me life.

51 The arrogant utterly deride me,

but I do not turn from Your law.

52 I remember Your judgments of old, O LORD,

and in them I find comfort.

53 Rage has taken hold of me

because of the wicked who reject Your law.

54 Your statutes are songs to me

in the house of my pilgrimage.

55 In the night, O LORD, I remember Your name,

that I may keep Your law.

56 This is my practice,

for I obey Your precepts.

ח

HETH

57 The LORD is my portion;

I have promised to keep Your words.

58 I have sought Your face with all my heart;

be gracious to me according to Your promise.

59 I considered my ways

and turned my steps to Your testimonies.

60 I hurried without hesitating

to keep Your commandments.

61 Though the ropes of the wicked bind me,

I do not forget Your law.

62 At midnight I rise to give You thanks

for Your righteous judgments.

63 I am a friend to all who fear You,

and to those who keep Your precepts.

64 The earth is filled with Your loving devotion, O LORD;

teach me Your statutes.

ט

TETH

65 You are good to Your servant, O LORD,

according to Your word.

66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

for I believe in Your commandments.

67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray;

but now I keep Your word.

68 You are good, and You do what is good;

teach me Your statutes.

69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,

I keep Your precepts with all my heart.

70 Their hearts are hard d and callous,

but I delight in Your law.

71 It was good for me to be afflicted,

that I might learn Your statutes.

72 The law from Your mouth is more precious to me

than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.

י

YODH

73 Your hands have made me and fashioned me;

give me understanding to learn Your commandments.

74 May those who fear You see me and rejoice,

for I have hoped in Your word.

75 I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,

and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

76 May Your loving devotion comfort me, I pray,

according to Your promise to Your servant.

77 May Your compassion come to me, that I may live,

for Your law is my delight.

78 May the arrogant be put to shame for subverting me with a lie;

I will meditate on Your precepts.

79 May those who fear You turn to me,

those who know Your testimonies.

80 May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,

that I may not be put to shame.

ק

KOPH

145 I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD!

I will obey Your statutes.

146 I call to You; save me,

that I may keep Your testimonies.

147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;

in Your word I have put my hope.

148 My eyes anticipate the watches of night,

that I may meditate on Your word.

149 Hear my voice, O LORD, according to Your loving devotion;

give me life according to Your justice.

150 Those who follow after wickedness draw near;

they are far from Your law.

151 You are near, O LORD,

and all Your commandments are true.

152 Long ago I learned from Your testimonies

that You have established them forever.

ר

RESH

153 Look upon my affliction and rescue me,

for I have not forgotten Your law.

154 Defend my cause and redeem me;

revive me according to Your word.

155 Salvation is far from the wicked

because they do not seek Your statutes.

156 Great are Your mercies, O LORD;

revive me according to Your ordinances.

157 Though my persecutors and foes are many,

I have not turned from Your testimonies.

158 I look on the faithless with loathing

because they do not keep Your word.

159 Consider how I love Your precepts, O LORD;

give me life according to Your loving devotion.

160 The entirety of Your word is truth,

and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.

ש

SIN and SHIN

161 Rulers persecute me without cause,

but my heart fears only Your word.

162 I rejoice in Your promise

like one who finds great spoil.

163 I hate and abhor falsehood,

but Your law I love.

164 Seven times a day I praise You

for Your righteous judgments.

165 Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your law;

nothing can make them stumble.

166 I wait for Your salvation, O LORD,

and I carry out Your commandments.

167 I obey Your testimonies

and love them greatly.

168 I obey Your precepts and Your testimonies,

for all my ways are before You.

ת

TAW

169 May my cry come before You, O LORD;

give me understanding according to Your word.

170 May my plea come before You;

rescue me according to Your promise.

171 My lips pour forth praise,

for You teach me Your statutes.

172 My tongue sings of Your word,

for all Your commandments are righteous.

173 May Your hand be ready to help me,

for I have chosen Your precepts.

174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD,

and Your law is my delight.

175 Let me live to praise You;

may Your judgments sustain me.

176 I have strayed like a lost sheep;

seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.

"Let the dead bury the dead"

This week we made our way through chapter 8 of the Gospel of Matthew.

"But Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

The Gospel of Matthew Chapter 7: 13-29. This week we concluded chapter 7 of the Gospel of Matthew and with that the sermon on the mount.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7. This week we made it through the first 14 verses of the chapter.

Money & Worries. This week we are finishing up chapter 6 of the Gospel of Matthew.

Chapter 6 of the Gospel of Matthew is where we we were at this last week. Join us as we discuss the first 18 verses of this chapter.