Luke 1-2: The birth of John the Baptizer and Jesus.

May 16, 2015. Daily Reading: Luke 1-2. Background: Luke is the third gospel in the cannon and is written by a disciple of Christ who sets out to tell the story of Jesus in a ordered, historical fashion. Luke is known as a physician (see Colossians 4:14) and is the author of two books of…

Mark 5-6: Healings, signs and the limited commission.

April 4, 2015. Daily Reading: Mark 5-6. Background: Mark 3-4. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 5 Three accounts of healing: Though this chapter is a rather lengthy text, it has one overall theme, and that is miracles of healing done by the Christ. There are three accounts of healing depicted here, one of a man who has…

Mark 1-2: The early ministry of Jesus.

March 20, 2015. Just as a heads up, I have switched the order of reading for today and tomorrow. Today we will look at Mark 1-2, and tomorrow we will look at Isaiah 56-61. _________________________________________________________ Daily Reading: Mark 1-2. Background: Mark is the beginning of the testament of Christ, a recording of His ministry. Many…

Matthew 26-28: The death, burial and resurrection.

March 14, 2015. (3.14.15.  9:26:53) Daily Reading: Matthew 26-28. Background: Matthew 23-25. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 26 1. Foreshadowing: As He has told His disciples on a number of occasions, Jesus once again tells them that He is about to be delivered over to be crucified. His hour had come and they would soon be tested…

Matthew 23-25: Woes, signs and parables.

March 7, 2015. Daily Reading: Matthew 23-25. Background: Matthew 20-22. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 23 Seven woe’s to the scribes and Pharisees: In this passage, Jesus talks very openly and distinctly about the scribes and the Pharisees. It does not seem that He is too worried about whether or not they would take offense at His…

Matthew 20-22: Wisdom of Jesus.

February 28, 2015. Daily Reading: Matthew 20-22. Background: Matthew 17-19. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 20 1. The first shall be last, and the last first: Two of the main stories in this passage carry with them the same message at the end: the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Each story pertains…

Isaiah 40-44: The Holy One of Israel.

February 27, 2015. Daily Reading: Isaiah 40-44. Background: Isaiah 34-39. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 40 1. A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Comfort was coming for the people of Israel, which is likely an immediate reference to the Babylonians (who had taken Judah captive) being defeated by the Medes and Persians. As chapter 40…

Psalm 21-23: The Lord and the Christ.

February 25, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 21-23. Background: Psalm 18-20. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 21 1. Rejoicing in the Lord: King David often writes psalms of praise when the Lord has delivered him from his enemies or out of a bad situation and he is apt to give all the gory to God. We know that…

Matthew 17-19: The transfiguration and practical teachings.

February 21, 2015. Daily Reading: Matthew 17-19. Background: Matthew 14-16. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 17 1. The transfiguration: The account told here of the transfiguration of Christ is a well known story that displays the glory and majesty of Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus takes His inner core, so to speak, of Peter,…

Matthew 14-16: Jesus’ ministry.

February 14, 2015. Daily Reading: Matthew 14-16. Background: Matthew 11-13. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 14 1. Belief without faith: At the beginning of this chapter we gain an interesting perspective into the mind of Herod the tetrarch and can glean an important lesson about a characteristic of man that we might sometimes overlook in our own lives….

Isaiah 23-28: The glory of the Lord.

February 6, 2015. Daily Reading: Isaiah 23-28. Background: Isaiah 18-22. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 23 Destruction of the proud: The city of Tyre has a somewhat interesting history in relation to the children of Israel. The first time the city is mentioned in the bible (besides as a reference point when Joshua was portioning out the…

Matthew 8-10: Miracles and teaching.

January 31, 2015. Daily Reading: Matthew 8-10. Background: Matthew 5-7. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 8 1. Faith in Jesus’ power: This chapter focuses heavily on Jesus’ healing miracles after He came down off the mountain where He gave the sermon on the mount. In the next chapter we will see more of the purpose of…