LOVE GOD’S WORD & PRAYERDaily Bible Reading |
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| At Faith Baptist Fellowship, we Love God’s Word and Prayer. We strongly believe that every growing disciple of Jesus needs to be regularly hearing from God through His word and personally speaking back to God through prayer. If regular Bible reading is not yet a habit of yours, this is a great way to get started!
We are encouraging everyone to continue our Daily Bible Readings. We will provide devotional thoughts and helpful prayer points on the passages. The weekend material will prepare you for the upcoming Sunday sermon as well as provide some discussion help for Faith Groups. We encourage you to set aside at least 15-20 minutes a day for reading and prayer. If you fall behind, just start on the current day. Try to develop the habit of reading at the same time and place. Have a journal and pen for answering questions and recording your thoughts and insights. For additional Bible reading plans, check out faithsf.com. Enjoy your time in God’s Word and Prayer! |
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Monday, March 13Read Psalm 13-14 |
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| THINK: King David’s hardships continue; the Lord’s silence seems to continue as well. Notice the honesty. The frank emotion. He pulls no punches with God. But is a beautiful word here. The present calamity is not permanent. He trusts in God’s steadfast love, knows salvation is coming, and even sings.
Further, he knows that atheism is a dead-end street! The denial of God is merely an excuse to sin. God looks down and sees the sinful depravity of humanity (and Paul will quote this in Romans 3). God knows, he sees, and he will bring his salvation at just the right time.
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| PRAY: What is your present heart condition? What tribulations are you facing? What doubts, fears, trials? Tell them to the Lord. Does it feel like God is silent? That he is not helping you? That those who love sin and oppress you are winning the day? Tell the Lord! Be honest with him! And then remember his promises! Remember our gospel hope in Christ! Call to mind that God will not be mocked, and that it is foolish to say, “There is no God.” His day is coming! Pray for the West team as they identify as Risen Hope Baptist Church.
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Tuesday, March 14Read John 1 |
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| THINK: Who is the Word? What did the Word do? Who is the Life and Light? What are the characteristics of this Light? What was John the Baptist’s role? Memorize John 1:12-13. How could the Word come after John and be before John? How did John the Baptist fulfill Isaiah 40:3? How did John know that Jesus was the Lamb of God? Name three distinctives of Jesus according to John (vv. 33-34). Do you, like Andrew, bring others to Jesus? What was Nathanael’s testimony, after meeting Jesus?
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| PRAY: Pray through the entire chapter, praising God for all that Jesus is! He is our Creator! He gives us life and light! Thank God that in Christ you are a child of God! Praise Him that the darkness cannot overcome the light! Thank God for the new birth. Thank Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask God for His help to become an Andrew, bringing others to Jesus, and a Philip, telling others “Come and see!” Pray for discernment for the Search Team at South.
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Wednesday, March 15Read John 2 |
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| THINK: What stands out to you as you read about the wedding at Cana? What does the phrase “manifested his glory” mean? How did His disciples respond? Why were sellers and money-changers in the temple? Why did this offend Jesus? How did Jesus respond? How did this occasion turn into a resurrection promise? Note the recurring word “believe”. What does John mean when he says that Jesus knew “what was in man”? Reflect on this.
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| PRAY: What an amazing pair of scenes in John’s gospel: first turning water into wine, then Jesus cleansing the temple. Christ’s glory is manifested, and his zeal is revealed. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and his disciples believed. “Father, give us grace also to believe in the glory of Jesus Christ, to love Him and honor Him with our whole being.” Pray for spiritual renewal and joy in your life. Pray for renewal and joy in our church. Pray for spiritual revival in our land and the world, so desperately needed. Pray for the Wed. night ministries taking place at South, including Legacy youth group and The Gospel Project for Kids. Pray for Angela and her teams.
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Thursday, March 16Read John 3 |
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| THINK: Who were the Pharisees? Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus “by night”? He struggles with understanding a second birth. How does Jesus explain it? Have you experienced the new birth? How did you receive it? Have you memorized John 3:16-17? Why is the one who does not believe “condemned already”? Why do people love the darkness rather than the light? Reflect for a while on John’s remarkable statement, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Note in the final paragraph the presence and role of each member of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit.
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| PRAY: Rejoice and be glad in prayer that the wrath of God does not remain on you. Thank God for his gift of the new birth to you! Tell God that you desire Christ to increase in your life. Pray for those on your Sacred 7 list who need the eternal life of John 3:16-17.
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Friday, March 17Read John 4 |
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| THINK: This chapter begins with the remarkable exchange between Jesus and the woman at the well. See if you can jot down four items that make this conversation so amazing. What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? Do you think that we at FBF worship in this way? What is the “food” of Jesus? Into what “labor” does Jesus want his disciples to enter? What is unusual about Jesus staying with the Samaritans? How did they respond to Jesus? How could Jesus heal the official’s son when he wasn’t even in the same place? How did the official respond?
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| PRAY: Thank God for the living water that brings us eternal life! Tell God of your desire to daily worship him in spirit and truth; pray also that our gathered worship at Faith engage both the heart and mind, centered on Christ. Ask God to help us cross “Samaritan-like” barriers to bring the gospel to people, both here in our city and around the world. Rejoice and praise God for the miracle-working power and glory of Jesus Christ. Pray for all who teach God’s word in the classes and pulpits of both Faith West and South.
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Weekend, March 18-19 |
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| If you’ve fallen behind this week, consider using these extra days to catch up. You can also prepare your heart and mind for this Sunday’s worship service. Read the planned sermon text above and the thoughts below in advance of Sunday morning’s message. If you are in a Faith Group, consider discussing the questions below together.
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| THINK: Thus continues a challenging section for us to understand in our day. Are these gifts – prophecy and tongues – to be a source of continuing blessing in our churches today? Or are those gifts no longer necessary because we have the written Scriptures and no need of further revelation? Our pastors will seek to unpack this portion with balance and grace. For now, let us recognize that Paul’s teaching seems to be addressing a problem of confusion in the public worship of the church at Corinth. He affirms the importance of:
Order, not disorder Peace, not confusion God-given authority, not disruption
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| PRAY: Pray for our pastors as they preach on another challenging text. Pray for our worship to be Spirit-filled and Christ-centered while also being ordered and not confusing. Pray that God’s word is preached with clarity, conviction, grace, and truth. Pray also for a revival of faithful, biblical preaching in the churches of our nation and world. “Unleash your word, O God! It is the sword of the Spirit!”
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| FAITH GROUP: Have you ever visited a church where the worship seemed disordered and confusing? That seems to have been the issue at Corinth. How do you experience our worship times at Faith? Share a time in your life when a worship service deeply impacted you and strengthened your faith. Pray for our worship as a church. | ||