Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens
1,666 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago - ★★★★★ - 35 ratingsUnlocked is a daily teen devotional, centered on God’s Word. Each day’s devotion—whether fiction, poetry, or essay—asks the question: How does Jesus and what He did affect today’s topic? With daily devotions read by our hosts, Dylan and Natalie, and questions designed to encourage discussion and a deeper walk with Christ, Unlocked invites teens to both engage with the Bible and to write and submit their own devotional pieces.
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Episodes
Me, God, and the Fire Chief
October 10, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.17 MBREAD: DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9; PSALM 1:1-2; MATTHEW 22:36-40 I recently accepted a job working in the office of my local fire department. This was something I never expected to do. I had very little knowledge about how fire departments even worked. But the fire chief knew this when he proposed the plan for me to take over some of his responsibilities. He knew it would be a long journey, but he offered to take the time to teach me. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with my position. I spend hours w...
Rest Is Productive
October 09, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.39 MBREAD: GENESIS 2:1-3; EXODUS 20:8-11; MATTHEW 11:28–12:13; MARK 6:27-32 The other day, I heard someone say, “Rest is productive,” and I flinched a little. That can’t be, can it? Resting is the opposite of being productive, right? Sometimes I struggle with feeling guilty when I rest or take a break. Or I’ll remember how productive I was in the past and think I’ll never compare to that now with all the rest I’m taking. But God teaches us that not only do we need rest, but it’s also an importan...
Comprehending God's Love
October 08, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.28 MBREAD: PSALM 139:6-12; EPHESIANS 3:14-21 We try to comprehend a lot of things in life. And the fact is, God created us with the ability to learn. Knowledge and discovery are gifts from Him. He invites us to explore this vast universe He has made, and He calls us to dig deep into Scripture so that we can understand more and more about who Jesus is and what it means to live in relationship with Him. But can we ever really understand just how much God loves us? Can we ever really know just how ...
The Comparison Game
October 07, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 3.52 MBREAD: ROMANS 12:1-11; EPHESIANS 2:8-10; 1 JOHN 4:19 Have you ever found yourself playing the comparison game? When we look around us and see what everyone else can do, it’s easy to try to figure out if we’re better or worse at certain things than others. Maybe your friend Blake is better at soccer than you are, so you might try to make yourself feel better by comparing yourself to Skye, who is a weaker player than both of you. But comparison is a never-ending game, and it leaves us feeling ...
The Archer
October 06, 2023 04:00 - 6 minutes - 4.71 MBREAD: JOHN 3:14-18; 14:5-10; ROMANS 3:21-27 I jumped when the solid oak door slammed behind me, its banging echoing through the empty chamber. The dust from the floor blew up into my nose, and I coughed, the nervous pit in my stomach growing even tighter. Just one shot…one shot… I repeated to myself as I looked up to see the fabled target, glaring down at me from its perch on the wall. One day every year, the king allowed new prisoners the chance to walk free if we could do one thing: sho...
Broken Is Beautiful
October 05, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 3.68 MBREAD: ISAIAH 61:1-3; 64:6-8; 2 CORINTHIANS 4:6-10 Have you ever heard of the Japanese artform called Kintsugi? The word means “golden joinery” or “golden repair.” The art is created when a treasured ceramic, like a clay bowl, is broken. Instead of throwing away the old pieces and making a new ceramic altogether, the artist takes the broken pieces and mends them together by mixing lacquer with powdered metal such as gold. The effect is the same shape as the original beloved ceramic, but with...
Ask Questions
October 04, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.25 MBREAD: PSALM 119:34; PROVERBS 1:1-7; ACTS 17:10-12; EPHESIANS 1:15-23 As we grow in our faith, it’s good to ask questions. Questions help us dive deeper into the Bible and learn more about God and how He reveals Himself in Jesus. God loves it when we bring our questions to Him. And it’s rewarding to pursue answers that help us live out our faith with wisdom and share the gospel (or good news) with others. The Bible is full of wisdom, mysteries, truth, and life. It tells the story of Jesus: ...
He Keeps His Promises
October 03, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.21 MBREAD: 2 CORINTHIANS 1:18-22; GALATIANS 6:2-5; HEBREWS 10:19-25 On the way home from a road trip, I peered out the window of our minivan and noticed a slogan that said, “Helping the World Keep Promises.” This bold statement emblazoned on the side of a truck advertised the company’s reliability.* I assumed they wanted customers to know they would deliver their cargo on time, every time. We DO need help keeping our promises, I mused. Maybe we need reminders, to-do lists, or a date circled and...
Desert Years
October 02, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.06 MBREAD: DEUTERONOMY 8:2-18; PSALM 13; MATTHEW 11:28-30 What are deserts? Many people think of places like the Sahara—rolling dunes of hot sand with no signs of life. Some consider parts of the Arctic to be a desert. It makes sense—rolling dunes of snow with no signs of life. In either case, deserts are big, empty, and hostile. Do you ever feel like you’re living in a desert? I do. Sometimes the season of life we’re living in feels extreme, difficult to bear, and void. We may think: "How coul...
Jesus Prayed for Us
October 01, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 2.87 MBREAD: JOHN 17 How amazing is it to think that Jesus took time to pray for His followers, including us? In John 17, we read Jesus’s prayer—a conversation between Jesus, who is God the Son, and His Father in heaven. Jesus knew that He was going to the cross in a matter of hours, that He would die, rise again, and then ascend into heaven while His followers stayed on earth. He knew they would have struggles. He had seen the darkness this broken world holds, the darkness He came to save us from...
Come and See
September 30, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.12 MBREAD: PSALM 34:1-8; JOHN 1:35-51 John 1 is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. Twice in this single passage, we hear the words, "Come and see." First, the words are spoken by Jesus Himself. John the Baptist is with two of his disciples, and when Jesus passes by, John can't keep the excitement to himself. "Look!" he tells them. "There is the Lamb of God!" (John 1:36). The two disciples immediately follow Jesus. He asks them what they want, and when they ask him where He's staying, Jes...
A Humble Posture
September 29, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.36 MBREAD: MATTHEW 5:38-42; MARK 15:33-37; PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11 I was reading about different ways Christians have prayed throughout history, and I came across something that struck me. Christians in the early church used several different poses to pray, and each pose was connected to a different type of prayer: lying face-down on the ground was often connected with repentance, standing was associated with praise, etc. But one pose caught my attention. Sometimes, early Christians would pray standi...
The Field
September 28, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 4.1 MBREAD: MATTHEW 13:44-45; PHILIPPIANS 3:7-21 The luxury car went first. Then the jeep. Then the convertible was sold too. Neighbors scratched their heads, and whispers started running through the neighborhood. Lawsuits? Debts? Drugs? No one knew. All the designer clothes went next. And the shoes. Instead of high-end heels, she was seen walking around town in dirty old sneakers, and her shirts and jeans looked worn and outdated. The whispers intensified. Maybe her company was sued and her day...
Helping in Hard Times
September 27, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.17 MBREAD: JOB 2:11-13; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-7; 1 PETER 1:3-9 Have you ever tried to cheer someone up, only to accidentally make them more upset? I’ve had times when I wanted to help someone who wasn’t doing well mentally or physically, but when I tried to say something, I felt like I only made the situation worse. Proverbs 27:14 says, “If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.” It’s a funny proverb, but it reminds us that our good intentions can be...
God Can Change Anyone
September 26, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.44 MBREAD: ACTS 9:1-31; COLOSSIANS 1:9-14 That person will never change. I just know they won’t. Have you ever had this thought? Sometimes, there are certain people in our lives who seem unchangeable, like they’ve just always been the way they are. They might be angry, mean, or just apathetic. We may long for them to be different, but it can be hard to believe that there’s actually any chance they’ll change. But we can have hope. God has the power to change anyone. Through Jesus’s life, death, ...
Late to Class
September 25, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.27 MBREAD: PSALMS 9:7-10; 33:4-5; MICAH 6:8 He almost made it. My friend Cliff had almost sat all the way down in his desk when the tardy bell rang. But still, our ninth-grade civics teacher counted my friend late, and this carried a punishment: a 1000-word essay due the next day. Like most of us in the class, Cliff had arrived well before the late bell rang. He’d sat in his desk and pulled out his books—just like the rest of us. I had wanted to borrow a pen from my friend Melissa, who sat in f...
Behind the Scenes
September 24, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3 MBREAD: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:5-9; 2 PETER 3:9; 1 JOHN 4:19 Have you ever worked behind the scenes in a theater production? Much of the work that goes into making a show great—designing the set, moving set pieces during the performance, timing special effects, running the sound systems, doing cast members’ makeup and hair, etc.—is not seen or noticed by the audience. All the audience sees is the successful show, not what goes on behind the closed curtains. God often does a lot of behind-the-scenes...
Through Solstices and Equinoxes
September 23, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.1 MBREAD: GENESIS 8:22; PSALM 46:1-7; 104:19; HEBREWS 13:5-8 Today is an equinox! On two different days every year, day and night are the same length. All around the world, the day lasts twelve hours and so does the night. We call those days equinoxes. There are two different types of equinoxes: vernal and autumnal—one for spring and one for fall. But which one is which depends on what part of the world you’re in because the seasons are flipped in the northern and southern hemispheres of the w...
Forgotten Royalty
September 22, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 3.45 MBREAD: JOHN 1:12; GALATIANS 4:4-7; COLOSSIANS 1:9-14 Imagine you were royalty…and didn’t know it. Here’s the scene: you were kidnapped as a baby. Then, after years and years, your family finds you! But even after they do, you’re not sure how to live like royalty. You’re offered a place to live in the palace, but you’re afraid of the change, so you opt to keep on living in an old shack. Your parents, the king and queen, even bring you beautiful new clothes, but you decide not to wear them and...
Repentance
September 21, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.63 MBREAD: MATTHEW 3:1-17; 4:12-17; JOHN 4:13-14; ACTS 3:19-21 I thought this would quench my thirst I’ve felt so empty And this promised to fulfill But something is wrong I’m so caught up I barely hear the whisper “Repent,” You say I stop in my tracks Realize what I’m doing hurts others Hurts You I feel a pull inside myself An urge to right what is wrong My heart turns toward You My body moves with it My mind knows the truth And now I face the other way And step toward my Savior...
Enough
September 20, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.19 MBREAD: GENESIS 1:27, 31; EPHESIANS 1:2-10; 3:14-19 You might not believe you are good enough, but to the God who created the universe and every human on earth, you are enough. You might find it difficult to believe you are capable or attractive or talented or special, but the God who made every colorful flower, every sweeping cloud, every gorgeous beach, and every towering mountain is the One who created you too. When you start to doubt your worth, think about who it is who created you. Go...
Less Than?
September 19, 2023 04:00 - 6 minutes - 4.69 MBREAD: GENESIS 1:27; LUKE 8:1-3; MATTHEW 27:45-56 Sometimes, when I look at our broken world and I see more and more ways that women have been treated as less than men, I just get overwhelmed. Sometimes I wonder, does God see women as less than men? Are we less? One day, I was sitting alone in my car and praying, and this question was once again pressing on my heart. And I was reminded of how Jesus interacted with women. Their stories began to soothe the ache in my core. Jesus is God in hum...
Throughout All of History
September 18, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 3.48 MBREAD: PSALM 77:11-12; ROMANS 15:4; 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17 Do you find parts of the Bible boring to read? You’re not alone. The Bible was written by lots of people who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and these different people lived over a long period of time. The Bible is made up of all kinds of different genres, and it includes complicated historical details and complex spiritual ideas. Sometimes, when we’re reading a part of the Bible that goes into a lot of these details—like ancestry or bu...
Created for Community
September 17, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.18 MBREAD: ACTS 2:42-47; EPHESIANS 2:13-22; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:11 When God created Adam, He said that people shouldn’t be alone. And so, God created Eve. From the beginning, God created people for community. God designed Adam and Eve to thrive in fellowship—in companionship and intimacy with one another (Genesis 1-2). But then, Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Adam blamed Eve, and she blamed the serpent. No one wanted to take responsibility. Trust was broken. God banished them from the Garden of Eden...
A Prayer for Strength
September 16, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.43 MBREAD: PSALM 13:1-6; MATTHEW 11:28-30; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-11; HEBREWS 4:14-16 I am tired, so ready to give in I am weak, I cannot stand on my own I need rest, some way to take a break I need peace, a chance to put away my thoughts I am anxious, so much to get done I am frozen, no way to move forward I need help, some way to push on I need strength, direction to go forward I need to sleep I need to rest I need to know that You are holding me I need Your love I need Your peace I ne...
One Body
September 15, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.7 MBREAD: ROMANS 12:15; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-14, 25-27; GALATIANS 6:2 Have you ever had a really bad ear infection? For such a small part of the body, the ear really makes a big difference! If your ear is infected, your entire body feels bad. In addition to your ear hurting, you might have trouble sleeping—not to mention hearing—and you could also experience headaches, difficulty balancing, or a loss of appetite. Thinking about ear infections can actually help us understand a truth we see in th...
Comparison Road
September 14, 2023 04:00 - 6 minutes - 4.77 MBREAD: PSALM 139:13-16; PROVERBS 14:30; JOHN 10:7-11 “If only I could be like Carter,” I wished for the millionth time. “Just naturally confident.” Trudging through the crowds on my way home, I thought about all the popular college students. Unlike me. Everyone in front of me seemed to stride with purpose, while a heaviness dragged me down. Without warning, thunder rumbled. Lightening flashed as if ripping the darkening sky in two. Long needles of rain bounced on the ground, but I wasn’t so...
Pass the Salt
September 13, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 2.81 MBREAD: MATTHEW 5:13-16; COLOSSIANS 4:2-6 In Matthew 5:13-16 and Colossians 4:2-6, we read that Christians are like salt. But what does that mean? What does salt do in practical terms? And how does this apply to our everyday lives? First, salt adds flavor. As Christians, we can add flavor to the lives of the people around us by sharing the love of Jesus. When we add salt to other people’s lives, they get a taste of what Jesus is like (Psalm 34:8). Second, salt makes you thirsty, letting you...
Un-Recycled
September 12, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.12 MBREAD: ISAIAH 26:19; EZEKIEL 37:1-14; 1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-20, 51-52 Earth will give birth to you. Your body, as it decomposes, will scatter particles back into the biosphere of our planet. This has happened to all members of the human race, the highborn and the lowly. But this isn’t permanent. A day is coming when Jesus will raise the bodies of the dead, putting all the little pieces back together. Earth will give birth to our bodies again, after absorbing them, like it first gave birth to ...
World of Violence
September 11, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.07 MBREAD: MATTHEW 5:43-47; LUKE 21:9-11; JOHN 14:1; 1 JOHN 4:19 War. Terrorism. Violence of all kinds. In a world that’s broken by sin where these terrible events are the reality—and in an age of unending information in which we constantly hear about them—what are we as Christians to do? First, let’s remember why these terrible things happen. Since humanity fell into sin, grasping for power and rejecting God (Genesis 3), people and nations want to be powerful, and many will do anything to gain...
I Need God
September 10, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.59 MBREAD: PSALMS 34:1-22; 61:1-2; 121:1-8; 139:1-5 When I whisper Answer me, God When I scream Be the One who hears When I can’t speak Hear my thoughts When I break Put all of my pieces together When I’m lost Bring me home, God When I’m scared Calm my fears When I fail Show me the way When I praise you Accept my praise • Emily Acker • Today’s poem is written in the style of a psalm. Did one of the phrases in this poem stick out to you in particular? Which one? • We can pour out...
I Need God
September 10, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.59 MBREAD: PSALMS 34:1-22; 61:1-2; 121:1-8; 139:1-5 When I whisper Answer me, God When I scream Be the One who hears When I can’t speak Hear my thoughts When I break Put all of my pieces together When I’m lost Bring me home, God When I’m scared Calm my fears When I fail Show me the way When I praise you Accept my praise • Emily Acker • Today’s poem is written in the style of a psalm. Did one of the phrases in this poem stick out to you in particular? Which one? • We can pour out...
Searching and Celebrating
September 09, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 2.94 MBREAD: LUKE 15:1-24 I adored the cowboy boots Papa bought me at the feed store. But running in them for gym class had gotten difficult. I just had to find my missing purple sneakers; they were my only other shoes appropriate for school. Now, if I could only remember where I’d left them. For almost two weeks, I searched our house. I looked in our truck, around my grandparents’ home, everywhere I imagined the shoes might be. Then, one day at the end of dance class, I gathered my belongings to...
The Virtue of Patience
September 08, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3 MBREAD: EXODUS 34:5-7; MATTHEW 18:23-35; ROMANS 2:4 Patience is a virtue we all need. It took me many years to realize my need for this virtue. This realization came to me when I had a misunderstanding with someone I was helping. She was not willing to take a step I thought was right for her, and so I became impatient with her. My friends tried to advise me on how to handle the issue patiently, but I just felt I could not do so. I even started thinking of withdrawing the little help I was giv...
Tree Problems
September 07, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.21 MBREAD: JOHN 5:17; ROMANS 8:18-28, 38-39; REVELATION 21:1-5 Have you ever stopped to really look at a piece of wood? Straight lines, intermingled with lots of circles and twists—that’s the diverse beauty you’ll see in wood grain. And those circles and twists, called burls or knots, tell a story. Burls are found where a branch went out from the tree trunk. They can also be caused by a problem in the life of the tree—like when insects invaded a certain section, or when the tree had a disease. ...
Evangelism?
September 06, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.4 MBREAD: COLOSSIANS 4:2-6; TITUS 3:1-9 I love Jesus, and I love talking to people about Jesus. I always have. But I’ve definitely made some mistakes in how I tell non-Christians about Him. So, I’m going to confess some of these mistakes—and what God has taught me through them. Often, I would spend a lot of time and energy trying to get people to believe in particular theological stances rather than the gospel. I would try to argue people into believing in a literal six-day creation (a positio...
Neighborly
September 05, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.17 MBREAD: LUKE 10:25-37; 2 TIMOTHY 2:23-24 Jesus puts a high emphasis on loving God and loving our neighbors. But sometimes, a person we’re trying to show the love of Christ to has an opinion that we completely disagree with. Maybe they’re even part of an entirely different religion. Are they still our neighbor? In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus made it clear that everyone is our neighbor, not just people we share a lot of opinions with. It can be easy for us to get along with people...
Small Things Count
September 04, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.75 MBREAD: JOHN 21:1-14 Cooking is an important part of the kingdom of God. Don’t believe me? Jesus Himself used cooking in His ministry. After Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He appeared several times to His followers. But one particular appearance involved a fishy breakfast. The night before it happened, some of Jesus’s disciples went fishing but caught nothing all night. Then, as morning broke, Jesus called from the shore and told them to throw out their nets on the other si...
Being Real
September 03, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 2.76 MBREAD: ROMANS 15:7; COLOSSIANS 2:12-13; 3:9-14; 1 PETER 5:6 If we were real with God, that deep well of frustration, discontentment, or fear could be emptied one putrid bucket at a time and filled with His unfailing love, faithfulness, and grace. Without recognition and an honest emptying of the ugly, how can we make room for the beauty so we can be filled with healing? If we were real with ourselves, allowing the truth of the gospel to seep into the depths of our soul, it would ill...
Patience Testers
September 02, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.29 MBREAD: EPHESIANS 4:1-32; COLOSSIANS 3:1-17 There are certain people in our lives who test our patience. When we’re around them, we might find ourselves acting in ways we don’t normally act. For example, we might struggle to spend time with little children, or we might find it difficult to relate to older people. Or there could be certain personality types we have a hard time interacting with, regardless of the person’s age. But when we come across people in our lives who frustrate us and ma...
Family Forever
September 01, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.01 MBREAD: ROMANS 8:1-2, 15-18, 26-39; 10:9-13 I shouldn’t have done that, you think to yourself after you’ve sinned. I’m a Christian now—or at least I thought I was. Maybe I’m not really saved after all. This is a common worry among Christians, but take heart. If you’ve put your trust in Jesus to rescue you from sin and death, you belong to God’s family. He has adopted you. You’re His child forever. That’s worth repeating: you are His child forever. It’s like being born or adopted into your e...
Justice and Bell Peppers
August 31, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.18 MBREAD: GENESIS 1:26-31; MICAH 6:8; 1 CORINTHIANS 10:31 I love food. It’s a wonderful way God sustains us, as well as a source of joy, and it often provides opportunities for community. But sometimes I get bogged down wondering about my food. I’ll pull a bell pepper out of its plastic bag, put the bag in the recycling, and wonder if that bag will end up floating around in the ocean for decades. I’ll start cutting up the pepper, and I’ll wonder if it was grown in a way that nourished God’s pre...
Who (or What) is In Charge?
August 30, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.38 MBREAD: GENESIS 1:26-28; ROMANS 8:22-25; COLOSSIANS 1:15-23; 1 PETER 1:3-5 Humans have made a mess of this world. It’s time for them not to be in charge.” I backed away after the android said this, clicking its long metal fingers together. A product of the recent technological singularity, this artificial intelligence was trying to take over the planet. “I hope you will all listen to me,” it said, “and do what I say. We are going to make another world, a better one. But for those who stand i...
"God with Us"
August 29, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.28 MBREAD: MATTHEW 1:22-23; JOHN 8:1-11; ROMANS 8:1 The music blasted, and we sang so loud that dogs started barking. My car full of friends bounced as we moved to the thumping bass. Then—CRUNCH! That wasn’t part of the song. Did I hit a mound of icy snow? I wondered. I opened my door and looked back. I had backed out into the driver’s side door of a pickup truck parked on the other side of the road. The fun video scavenger hunt we were on was officially over, and it was my fault. I sat frozen ...
The Storm
August 28, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.43 MBREAD: MARK 4:35-41 We rocked violently against the waves and wind. The men I had grown to know and love over the last several months huddled together near the mast, what was left of the sail covering over them like a massive cloak. They held it tightly, but still the vicious weather fought to tear it from their backs. “Is all hope lost?” Thomas shouted over the storm. Despite the despair that was plain upon his face, he stayed at my side to help steady the rudder. I wondered if he did so a...
Hey Sheep, Are You Bloated?
August 27, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.24 MBREAD: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-11; 8:1-3; PHILIPPIANS 1:9-11 I was just reading an article about sheep, and I learned about something called sheep bloat. Sometimes a farmer goes out one morning, and there’s this dead sheep laying on its back, feet up in the air. Its belly is swollen tight. And sheep bloat has slain another one. What causes sheep bloat? It happens when a sheep eats too much lush, delectable, protein-rich pasture. The sheep can’t handle the richness, and the gases fill its belly un...
Equal
August 26, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.5 MBREAD: ACTS 10:34-36; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27; GALATIANS 3:28; JAMES 2:1-10 Equal, not just a term that’s used in math Let me see others as equal, God, the way You see them Help me see the celebrity and know they are just another human Help me see the poor and know they have a story Equal, let me look to those struggling in class Let me see them as equal, God, and just as valued as the prodigies Help me see the leaders at my school and know they are like the rest of us Help me see the ...
Be Encouraged (Part 5)
August 25, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.27 MBREAD: PSALM 1; JOHN 1:1-14; ROMANS 15:4 Trying to understand the Bible can be…overwhelming. The more I learn about it, the more I realize I don’t know. And I find myself wondering if I’ll ever truly know the Bible—and the God it reveals. If you’ve ever felt this way too, take heart. The Lord is with you. And He doesn’t expect you to get it all—especially your first time reading it. The Bible is meant to be read and listened to over and over. God designed it for us to discuss at length with...
Genre (Part 4)
August 24, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 3.33 MBREAD: ISAIAH 7:13-14; MATTHEW 1:18-23 Another tool that can help us understand Scripture is genre. The Bible has lots of different genres, like historical narratives, parables, poetry, letters, wisdom literature, apocalyptic literature, and more. Today, we’re just going to take a look at one genre: ancient biographies. Specifically, we’ll look at the book of Matthew. Like the rest of the four Gospels, Matthew is an ancient biography about Jesus. And while modern biographies attempt to cove...
Literary Context (Part 3)
August 23, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 3.75 MBREAD: JEREMIAH 29:4-14 Another important piece to consider when interpreting a verse is the literary context. In other words, what’s going on in the Bible before and after this verse? To do this, we have to zoom all the way out to consider where the verse fits into the larger story of the Bible, then zoom in to see where it fits into its book of the Bible, and then where it fits into the surrounding verses. For example, let’s look at Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ ...