Studies, reading plans and every single day within them, alongside devotionals and articles. Search by title, book of the Bible, passage or topic.
Bible Memory collection
…Learn these three and you can follow the line from Genesis to the Gospels. Genesis 12:2-3 God promises Abraham a great nation, a blessing, and that in him all the families of the earth will be blessed. Paul says this promise was the gospel preached beforehand to Abraham. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 God tells…
Bible Memory collection
…life as a ransom for many. The teaching answers two disciples asking for the best seats. James 4:6 God gives more grace, for he resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. James quotes Proverbs, and both Peter and he apply it to life in the church. Galatians 5:13 You were called to freedom,…
Chapter study
…printed on posters for athletic victories and business success, and 'my God shall supply all your need' has been read as a blank check. Both phrases mean something more specific and more searching than the slogans…
Verse study
…as 'an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.' The promise that follows is Paul's confident conclusion for a church that has just given generously, likely out of its own limited resources…
Devotional
…WEB Jesus tells this parable specifically because the crowd supposed the Kingdom of God was going to be revealed immediately, according to verse 11. He corrects that expectation not by denying the kingdom is coming, but…
Devotional
Matthew 6:33 But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. WEB This sentence sits at the end of a passage about anxiety over food, drink and clothing. Jesus does…
Devotional
…taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.” WEB Mark sums up the whole…
52 Week Journey
…a new set of rules or a new religious mood. He arrived announcing a kingdom, the reign of God breaking into the world through His own person and work. Crowds who heard the phrase would have thought of God's promised…
Dig Deeper
Philippians 4:19 My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Need, not wishes, and the measure is His riches in glory. The word but ties the promise back to the gift the…
Devotional
…you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. WEB Peter gathers…
Devotional
2 Samuel 7:16 Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever. WEB David wants to build God a house, a temple. God answers by promising to build David a house, a…
Devotional
…them, “Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these. Most certainly I tell you, whoever will not receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way…
Devotional
…angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!” WEB The kingdom Jesus announced as at hand in…
Chapter study
…David is not writing abstract theology. He is bearing witness to a God he has known through danger, failure, restoration and worship. Every line has been tested somewhere. So as you study this chapter, do not ask only…
Reading plan
…John opens not with a birth story but with eternity: the Word was with God and was God, and this Word became flesh and lived among us. He also introduces the light and darkness pattern that runs through the whole…
Devotional
…Contentment can be an act of will, not only a feeling. Resting in God's presence differs from resting in what He gives. A quiet soul is described here as something practiced, not automatic. Lord, still my soul the way…
Devotional
…LORD, and a refuge extended to that person's children. Reverence for God is described here as something with reach beyond the individual who holds it. The fortress language is architectural and deliberate. Fear of the…
Devotional
…that command outweighs any objection about his training or his origin. God's call does not require prior credentials. Speaking God's word can provoke resistance from those in power. Obedience to the call matters more…
Devotional
2 Samuel 7:16 Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever. WEB David wanted to build God a house, a temple. God answers by promising to build David a house…
Devotional
…nets and followed him. WEB Jesus does not explain the theology of the kingdom to Peter and Andrew before calling them. He gives a command and a promise, and their response is immediate: they left their nets.…
Devotional
…He washed feet from a position of complete authority. Service in the kingdom does not come from having nothing else to offer; it comes from freedom. Serving does not mean you have run out of better things to do. Jesus…
Devotional
…I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm. WEB Jonah does not deny that God is merciful; he resents…
Biblical concept
Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. Birth is something done to a person, which is the force of the image: nobody arranges their own birth. John 3:8 compares it to wind.…
Biblical concept
Israel began with God as king. Gideon refuses the crown by saying the LORD will rule over you (Judges 8:23), and when the people later demand a king like the nations, God tells Samuel they have not rejected you, they…
Biblical concept
The kingdom of God is God's rule, not a territory. Mark opens the ministry of Jesus with the announcement that the kingdom of God has come near, and calls for repentance and faith as the response. Scripture speaks of it…
Biblical concept
…appears in Matthew, where parallel passages in Mark and Luke read kingdom of God. Matthew 19:23 and Mark 10:23 report the same saying with the two phrases, which is the plainest evidence that they name the same thing.…
Biblical concept
In the gospels Son of God is not a title of honour handed round freely. When Jesus uses it of himself his hearers understand a claim to equality with God, which is why John 5:18 records the reaction it caused. The…
Biblical concept
…prophets were anointed with oil to mark them as set apart for God's work. John 1:41 translates the word for the reader: we have found the Messiah, which is to say, the Christ. Christ is therefore a title before it is…
Biblical concept
…was to pour oil on their head and so mark them out as chosen for a task God had given. Samuel anoints Saul and then David, and in David's case Scripture says the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him from that day forward…
Biblical concept
…year. It is the founding event of Israel's calendar. Exodus 12:1-13 God gives Moses and Aaron the instructions for the very first Passover on the night before the exodus itself, before it becomes an annual feast, when…
Biblical concept
…reason: sinful people cannot simply walk into the presence of a holy God. Someone has to stand in between, carrying the offering in and carrying the blessing out. Hebrews states the job plainly, every high priest is…
Word and phrase
…and Jesus both open their preaching with the same call: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repentance is not mere regret. 2 Corinthians 7:10 distinguishes godly sorrow, which produces repentance leading to…
Word and phrase
…in Scripture is relational as well as moral. It means conformity to God's standard and standing accepted before him, and Romans 3 says all have fallen short of it. Romans 1:17 speaks of a righteousness of God revealed…
Biblical concept
Scripture calls God a shepherd long before it calls Him a king in any settled sense. Jacob blesses his sons and speaks of the God who has been his shepherd all his life (Genesis 48:15). Asaph prays to the Shepherd of…
Biblical concept
…one like a son of man comes with the clouds and receives an everlasting kingdom from the Ancient of Days. Jesus uses it for both his suffering and his glory. He says the Son of Man must suffer many things, and he says…
Biblical concept
…speaks in Acts 13:2. Acts 5:3 and 5:4 call lying to the Spirit lying to God. Jesus promises another Helper who will be with the disciples forever, who will teach them and remind them of what he said. Genesis 1:2 The…
Biblical concept
…of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant planting (Isaiah 5:7). God planted, protected and waited, and what came up was worthless fruit. Because the picture is about fruit, it is always about what a life…
Bible question
…him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.” WEB Jesus explains this himself, so read his words before ours. John 3:3-8 Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless…
Bible question
…and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. WEB Read God's words on anxiety before you read anyone's explanation of them, including ours. Philippians 4:6-7 In nothing be anxious, but in…
Bible question
…But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and…
Bible question
…which is true but incomplete, and it makes his teaching, healing and kingdom announcement look like filler before the real event. Luke, writing an ordered account for Theophilus a Gentile reader, in a world of Roman…
Bible question
…to his will, he listens to us. WEB Before anything is explained, hear God speak about your prayers in his own words. 1 John 5:14-15 This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to…
Bible question
…heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. WEB Three passages together give the promise, its measure and…
Bible question
…with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. WEB Let God's own words set the terms before the study begins. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.…
Bible question
John 20:28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” WEB Read three passages before any argument. One is a claim Jesus made, one is what his hearers understood by it, one is what a disciple said to his face. John 8:58…
Bible question
…long shall my enemy triumph over me? Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall. But I…
Bible question
…also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. WEB The reason given is the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High, not a marriage. Therefore ties the title to how this child comes to be born,…
Bible question
…any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. WEB Paul lists every category of created power he can name and declares none of them able to separate the…
Bible question
…be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. WEB God speaks about forgiveness before we explain it, and his words set a standard no explanation can lower.…
Bible question
…with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. WEB This is the passage where Paul answers the question directly, so read it before anything said about…
Bible question
…like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.…
Bible question
1 Timothy 6:6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out. But having food and clothing, we will be content with that. WEB Read the…
Bible question
…you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. WEB Read the command with the reason…
Bible question
…who it competes with, and where treasure is safe. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out. But having food and…
Bible question
…heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be…
Bible question
…Faith is defined by Scripture itself, so let the definition come from God before any illustration of it. Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. For by this, the elders…
Bible question
…that you were made sorry to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of…
Bible question
…for our sins according to the Scriptures, WEB The gospel is a message God delivered, so read his wording before ours. 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which…
Bible question
…conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.” WEB Peter says lying to the Holy Spirit and lying to God are the same act. You cannot lie to a force, and Scripture here treats the Spirit as…
Bible question
…that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. WEB God explained the cross before it happened and after it happened. Read his words before ours. Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely he has borne our sickness, and…
The Sunday Study
Verse-by-verse teaching with historical context, and a prayer to close. Nothing else in the email.