Leviticus 1 | JD Summers

Reading about the sacrificial system in Leviticus can seem barbaric and bloody. But these are graphic reminders that much is required to draw near to God. Our holy God desires wholehearted worship from his people, and he defines what that worship should look like. In his grace, he gives us the means for atonement, paying a price for our sin and purifying us from its stain. And in his kindness, God accepts our worship, imperfect as it often is. Let us wholeheartedly draw near to God in worship and praise for all that he is and has done!

Leviticus | JD Summers

While it is often the point where Bible reading plans fizzle out, Leviticus is a book that is necessary for our faith. We need Leviticus because of its place in God’s story of redemption. It’s important because it contains significant amounts of God’s very words. It reveals God’s holiness, records his provision, and underscores his purpose for his people. In Leviticus, God’s holiness is tantamount, but even as he is shown to be high and lifted up and distinct from us, it also shows his gracious plan to make us holy and enable us to dwell with him.

Dan Rudman | 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4:7-14

The Bible contains real history, a real story. Within that story, God reveals the nature of his love for us. That love is sourced in the Father, manifested in the Son, and brought to us in the Spirit. God’s love is long suffering, sacrificial, and meek. It puts up with difficult people, promotes others even when it costs you, and doesn’t begrudge the success of others. God loves us in this way, and he enables and encourages us to love others. If we have encountered the love of God, let us joyfully pour out that same love to those around us!

Various Texts | JD Summers

God has established the church and given it leaders. In Scripture, the Apostles strove to establish elders in every church, men who would shepherd the flock and oversee it. These men must meet the qualifications set forth in Scripture, qualifications that have a great deal to do with their character and godliness. By God’s grace, let us strive together to identify and encourage men to be developed as elders, all the while seeking to follow the true shepherd and overseer of the church, Jesus Christ.

Various Texts | JD Summers

In a biblical sense, a beautiful church building is not the church. Nor is a group of effective leaders without a flock. At the most basic level, the church is the people who make up the body of Christ. The church needs an identifiable membership, which aligns with biblical teaching and enables the church to do effective ministry. The church needs a regenerate membership, as local bodies must seek to represent physically what is true spiritually. And the church needs a healthy membership, with believers who are pursuing holiness and sacrificial service to one another.

Matthew 28:18-20 | JD Summers

There is something that resonates with us all about being a part of something bigger than ourselves. This is true of the mission of the church, which is part and parcel with God’s mission in the history of redemption. God mandates that believers join in this mission, giving us a message of salvation to proclaim to the ends of the earth. He gives strength and comfort as we carry out this mission, backing us with his authority and making his presence with us known. Let us joyfully embrace God’s mission for the church!

1 Timothy 3:14-16 | JD Summers

In order to function correctly as the church, we need to know what our purpose is. If we have the wrong direction, we risk wasting our lives working on something less than what God has designed for us. The church is God’s family, indicating the intimacy God has shared with us through salvation. The church is God’s dwelling place, his temple where he delights to dwell with us spiritually. And the church is the custodian of God’s truth, the pillar and buttress that must uphold God’s Word in the midst of a world of opposition. Let us embrace God’s good design for us in the church!

Luke 24:50-53 | JD Summers

The incarnation and resurrection of Jesus are essential and wonderful truths, but we should not ignore his ascension either. When Christ ascended into heaven, he gave us a great cause for rejoicing. Jesus has been accepted by the Father, who has exalted him to his own right hand. Jesus has fulfilled God’s promises and provided salvation! This should lead us to worship and to share the gospel, proclaiming our risen, exalted Savior and encouraging one another that he is returning soon.

Galatians 5:22-23 | Steven Parkin

It can be easy to live a life filled with good works that is devoid of goodness. To guard against this lifeless moralism, let us instead press in to know God more. He is the one true source of goodness, and any good thing we have comes only from him. Let us embrace the goodness of God and see it overflow in our hearts to others!

Luke 24:33-49 | JD Summers

As Jesus appears to his disciples, he opens their minds to understand the scriptures and sends them out as messengers of grace. Those who know the truth of Christ are called to testify for Christ. Thankfully, Jesus promised to empower us by his Spirit as we share the good news of great joy with all people.