Living Faith Devotional 7

4/2-4/8 Matthew’s Gospel Holy Week Reading Plan
Introduction
This is a week unlike all the others throughout the year. This is Holy Week. The biblical word that is translated as “holy” can also be translated as “consecrate,” “dedicate,” and “hallow.” You are strongly encouraged to set this week apart from the others throughout the year. Draw closer to Christ during his journey to the cross as we await the celebration of his resurrection on Sunday, April 9th. This week we will read chapters from Matthew’s Gospel documenting the last week of Jesus’ life before his resurrection. The chapters will end with the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday. You are invited to join us for the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worship services at 7:00 pm in the AUMC Chapel, as well as to participate in the Lenten Walk that is a guided prayer time focused on the Last Words of Christ from the cross. The walk is located on the AUMC property and begins near the chapel and fellowship hall entrances Door 12 and 13. There is a Lenten Walk devotional booklet and a map to guide you through the prayer journey with our crucified Savior available in the large box near the cross. In regards to this Living Faith Devotional, if you continue using it we will complete the Gospel According to Matthew by April 15th. If you did not begin reading it earlier in the Lenten season, you are encouraged to watch two videos on Youtube about this gospel account before you read the chapters this week. The links and video titles are listed on Palm Sunday of this devotional.

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Living Faith Devotional 6

3/26-4/1 Matthew’s Gospel Lent Reading Plan

Introduction2

Our journey with Jesus in the Gospel According to Matthew will continue this week as he teaches using various parables and does miracles. If you did not begin reading Matthew earlier in the Lenten season, you are encouraged to watch a brief video on Youtube about the Gospels before you begin today:

The Gospel by the Bible Project:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzq_X1NNaA

 

*If you do not have a Bible, consider downloading the YouVersion Bible App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play for your smartphone or tablet. You can also use www.BibleGateway.com to look up and read various translations of Bible verses online for free.


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Living Faith Devotional 5

3/19-3/25 Matthew’s Gospel Lent Reading Plan
Introduction
As the journey as apprentices of Christ continues, this week we will conclude our reading and studying of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount then proceed further into Matthew’s Gospel. If you continue using this devotional by April 15th, we will finish reading the entire Gospel According to Matthew. If you did not begin reading it during the past few weeks, you are encouraged to watch a brief video on Youtube about the Gospels before you begin:
The Gospel by the Bible Project:
 
*If you do not have a Bible, consider downloading the YouVersion Bible App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play for your smartphone or tablet. You can also use www.BibleGateway.com to look up and read various translations of Bible verses online for free.

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Living Faith Devotional 4

3/12-3/18 Matthew’s Gospel Lent Reading Plan
Introduction
Our journey with Jesus in the Gospel According to Matthew for this week is a continuation of reading and studying portions of the Sermon on the Mount as we seek to live what Christ teaches us. If you continue using this Living Faith Devotional by April 15th we will finish reading all of Matthew’s Gospel. If you did not begin reading it during the past few weeks, you may want to watch a brief video on Youtube that is an overview about the Gospels before you begin:
The Gospel by the Bible Project:
 
*If you do not have a Bible, consider downloading the YouVersion Bible App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play for your smartphone or tablet. You can also use www.BibleGateway.com to look up and read various translations of Bible verses online for free.

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Living Faith Devotional 3

3/5-3/11 Matthew’s Gospel Lent Reading Plan
Introduction
This week we will continue our journey as apprentices of Christ by reading and studying more verses from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as we seek to live them. If you continue using this Living Faith Devotional, formerly called “Your Faith Journey,” by April 15th we will finish reading the entire Gospel According to Matthew. Matthew’s Gospel is one of four gospels within the New Testament of the Bible that shares an account of the life, teachings, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. If you did not begin reading it during the past few weeks, you are encouraged to watch a brief video on Youtube that was created by the Bible Project which is about the Gospels before you begin:
The Gospel by the Bible Project:
 
*If you do not have a Bible, consider downloading the YouVersion Bible App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play for your smartphone or tablet. You can also use www.BibleGateway.com to look up and read various translations of Bible verses online for free.

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Living Faith Devotional 2

2/26-3/4 Matthew’s Gospel Lent Reading Plan
Introduction
The season of Lent began on Ash Wednesday (2/22) and will continue through Holy Saturday (4/8), which is the day before Easter. Jesus fasted for 40 days before his ministry began and immediately after he was baptized in the Jordan River (Matthew 4:1-11). Like Christ, what is the Holy Spirit inviting or asking you to deny yourself and leave behind during these 40 days of Lent? If you are unsure, invite the Spirit of the living God to reveal the fast or self denial He wants from you during this season. Which faith practices will you utilize during this season to repent and grow closer to Jesus? Observing the Sabbath? Attending weekly worship services? Daily scripture reading and prayer? Intentional and scheduled faith-focused conversations with other believers?
 
In regards to this Living Faith Devotional, formerly called “Your Faith Journey,” we are being guided to read the entire Gospel According to Matthew during this season. Matthew’s Gospel is one of four gospels within the New Testament of the Bible. If you did not begin reading it last week, you are encouraged to watch a brief video on Youtube that was created by the Bible Project which is about the Gospels before you begin:

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Living Faith Devotional 1

2/19-2/25 Matthew’s Gospel Lent Reading Plan
Introduction
Lent is a season of forty days beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Saturday, which is the day before Easter. The United Methodist Book of Worship reminds us that, “Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time of penance by all Christians” (page 320). You are encouraged to set this season apart. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with the Lord (Exodus 34), and Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness as the Spirit of God guided him (Luke 4). What will you leave behind or give up during these 40 days to be with the Lord? What faith practices/spiritual disciplines/holy habits will you utilize during this season to be shaped and formed more and more into the likeness of Christ?
 
In regards to this Living Faith Devotional, formerly called “Your Faith Journey,” you will be guided to read the entire Gospel According to Matthew during this season, beginning on Sunday, February 19th, then concluding on April 15th. Matthew’s Gospel is one of four gospels within the New Testament of the Bible. Before you begin the Matthew reading plan for Lent, you are encouraged to watch a brief video on Youtube that was created by the Bible Project which is about the Gospels:

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Your Faith Journey 220

Introduction for the Week
Welcome to the final two books of the Minor Prophets section of the Old Testament of The Bible. This week we will conclude our journey through The Book of the Twelve by reading portions of Zechariah and all of Malachi. The daily devotionals for this week begin on Sunday, which will be our practice during Lent as well. In regards to our focus after the Minor Prophets, this Your Faith Journey devotional will guide us to read, study, and to be formed as disciples of Christ through the Gospel According to Matthew during the Lenten season.
 
The prophetic ministry of Zechariah took place during the same time as the prophet Haggai. “The prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem” (Ezra 5:1 NRSV). Then in response to God’s message through the prophets the governor and priest “set out to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem” with the assistance of the people (Ezra 5:2 NRSV). Their ministries were after the collapse of the Babylonian Empire when the exiles of the Kingdom of Judah were living under the reign and rule of the Persian Emperor. Through Zechariah the Lord shared a message for the people of God to return to the Lord (Zechariah 1:3). Biblical scholars believe that the prophetic book of Zechariah is composed of two distinct written works with chapters 1-8 as the work of the prophet which may have been circulated with the written prophecies of Haggai, while chapters 9-14 were either written by the prophet’s disciples or by editors of the book at a later point in history. As you read and study it you will find that the book reminds readers and hearers of it that all the people of the earth should turn to God to worship him, while submitting to the Lord as our one true King (Zechariah 14:9).

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Your Faith Journey 219

Sunday (2/5)
Zephaniah and Haggai are the focus of our reading and studying as part of the Your Faith Journey devotional this week. The two books are part of the Minor Prophets section of the Old Testament of The Bible, which is also referred to as “The Book of the Twelve.” According to the Overview of the prophetic book of Zephaniah in The New Interpreter’s Bible One Volume Commentary, “Zephaniah functions as the southern counterpart to Amos in the Book of the Twelve, with the bulk of the message pronouncing judgment against Judah (instead of Israel) and the nations…Like Amos, Zephaniah’s oracles against the nations essentially end with judgment against God’s own people. Zephaniah concludes with a series of promises, both for the world at large and for Zion…which depicts the Lord, not a Davidic monarch, as king of the restored Zion.”
 
The prophetic ministry of Haggai takes place after the collapse of the Babylonian Empire when the exiles of the Kingdom of Judah are living under the reign and rule of the Persian Emperor. The Temple of the Lord that had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. continued laying in ruins for decades. The prophets’ message on behalf of God in 520 B.C. was to the governor of Judah and the priest of the Israelites serving in Jerusalem. The time had come for God’s house, the Temple, to be rebuilt so that God could “take pleasure in it and be honored” (Haggai 1:8 NRSV). Haggai’s message includes the promise of God’s blessings for his people once again (Haggai 2:19).

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Your Faith Journey 218

Sunday (1/29)
This week we will read Nahum and Habakkuk from the Minor Prophets section of the Old Testament of The Bible. The prophet “Nahum presents a message of devastation. Ninevah/Assyria is the primary object of God’s wrath in” this brief biblical book of “poetic pieces joined together by editorial transitions” (Overview portion of the book of Nahum in The New Interpreter’s Bible One Volume Commentary). According to the Introduction portion of the book bearing his name in the NIV Study Bible, “Nahum…uttered this oracle between 663 and 612 B.C…This would place him during the reign of Josiah and make him a contemporary of Zephaniah and the young Jeremiah.”
 
“Among the prophetic writings, Habakkuk is somewhat unique in that it includes no oracle addressed to Israel. In contains, rather, a dialogue between the prophet and God” (Introduction portion of Habakkuk in the NIV Study Bible). In verse 6 of the first chapter the prophet predicts the Babylonians invasion. “Habakkuk, like Jeremiah, probably lived to see the initial fulfillment of his prophecy when Jerusalem was attacked by the Babylonians in 597” B.C. (Introduction portion of Habakkuk in the NIV Study Bible).

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