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Scripture Reading — Luke 1:1-4 I . . . decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1:3-4 The Christmas story is familiar to many people throughout the world, wherever the message of Christ...

Scripture Reading — Galatians 4:4-7 When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son. . . . Galatians 4:4 Christmas can seem like a magical time for children. In our family we have several traditions that our children look forward to at this time of year. Especially when they were younger...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:14-20, 40-45 “For their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors. . . . I am the Lord.” Leviticus 26:45 In Jesus’ parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11-24) we read of a young man who leaves home to seek adventures in wild living. Soon, however, his...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:1-13 “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops. . . .” Leviticus 26:3 When we are living in a right relationship with God, we can be assured of his blessing and favor...

Paying Off a Debt Scripture Reading — Leviticus 25:47-55 “One of their relatives may redeem them: An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them.” Leviticus 25:48-49 A friend asked, “Why can’t God just forgive our sins without the cross?” Why did Jesus have to suffer...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 25:8-22; Luke 4:16-19 “Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land.” Leviticus 25:18 Homelessness is a growing problem in my city, and the causes are many: poverty, addiction, mental illness, poor personal choices, and...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 24:17-22; Matthew 5:38-42 “I tell you, do not resist an evil person.” Matthew 5:39 Have you ever wanted revenge? Maybe a colleague stole credit for your hard work, or you were blamed for someone else’s wrongdoing. Or if someone hurt you with their words or...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 24:10-16 “Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death.” Leviticus 24:16 This is a difficult story. Two men get into a fight. Tempers flare, and shouting erupts. One of the men invokes God’s name as a curse, clearly defying God’s command not to...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 24:5-9 “Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread. . . . Arrange them . . . on the table of pure gold before the Lord.” Leviticus 24:5-6 In the tabernacle there is a table stacked with 12 loaves of bread, representing all of God’s people. The table and...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 24:5-9 “Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread. . . . Arrange them . . . on the table of pure gold before the Lord.” Leviticus 24:5-6 In the tabernacle there is a table stacked with 12 loaves of bread, representing all of God’s people. The table and...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 24:1-4; Matthew 5:14-16 “Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening to morning, continually.” Leviticus 24:3 The tabernacle was the place where God’s presence came to...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 23:23-25 “You are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.” Leviticus 23:24 Do you ever feel distant from God? Sometimes busyness can crowd out so much of our lives that we forget to spend time with God in prayer or...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 23:15-22; Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came . . . they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. Acts 2:1-3 Many of us view rules or laws negatively. Speed limits can seem to bog us down, and who wants to pay...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 23:9-14; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:20 A member of my church was diagnosed recently with terminal cancer. Another family close to me is watching as dementia...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 23:6-8; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 5:8 For one week, some years ago, I owned all the bread in the Jewish community in...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 23:4-8 “Tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’” Exodus 13:8 Many people would rather avoid talking or thinking much about death, but the Bible is straightforward about this problem—and about God’s promises and acts...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 18:1-6; Hebrews 13:4-6 “You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you.” Leviticus 18:3 Our culture today is immersed in sex. Many advertisements use suggestive messaging...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 23:1-3 “You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.” Leviticus 23:3 Our culture tends to wear busyness like a badge of honor. We work long hours; we juggle family, church, and school responsibilities; and we take our work with us...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 16:6-10, 20-22 “The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.” Leviticus 16:22 Limburger cheese has a smell that is sometimes compared to sweaty feet. Even worse, the smell can linger long after the...

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 17:10-16 “The life of a creature is in the blood. . . .” Leviticus 17:11 We have about 30 trillion blood cells moving through about 60,000 miles of blood vessels in our bodies. And if we lose more than 40 percent of our blood, our life will be at serious risk. The...