4-minute Devotions - the Podcast

In our next few studies through the Sermon on the Mount, we are going to slow the journey down and spend some time in the prayer that has become known as The Lord’s Prayer. Jesus introduced it like this: 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their rew...

Continuing our studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: 1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have recei...

Continuing our studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who...

Continuing our studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two...

Continuing our studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do...

As we said last time, Jesus was not afraid to tackle the tough subjects of the day in His Sermon on the Mount. After a confronting few minutes, during which he challenged his hearers to flee the perils of sexual temptation, the awkwardness for some is not yet over. Next Jesus goes full throttle against divorce. Let’s start here, though, with the reminder that we live in an imperfect world and that...

Jesus was not afraid to tackle the tough subjects in His Sermon on the Mount. After challenging his listeners to consider the use of their words, particularly when words might hurt or offend others, he moves to their thoughts, specifically in the area of sexual attraction. 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustf...

Continuing our journey through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, last week we read: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone...

Continuing our journey through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says,...

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of t...

In Matthew 5: 14 – 16, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Jesus was delivering a message th...

This year the focus in our 4-min devotions is on the teaching given by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5 – 7. After the short “Blessed are…” phrases at the beginning of the sermon, often called the Beatitudes , Jesus said: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be t...

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 God loves a pure heart. When King David was chosen (way back in the Old Testament) to be King of Israel it was because God saw his heart. We read, “the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart” (1 Sam 13:14). Even after some terrible mistakes, years later, his prayer to the Lord was still “Create in me a pu...

Psalm 42: 1 – 5, says this: 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the...

This year the focus in our 4-min devotions is the teaching given by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5 – 7. We are looking at the short “Blessed are…” phrases at the beginning of the sermon, often called the Beatitudes or “beautiful attitudes” as somebody once said. The word “blessed” can also mean happy, but specifically the person is happy because they have received God...

This year the focus in our 4-min devotions will be the teachings of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5 – 7. Last time, we examined the opening lines of the sermon: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We said that those who are poor in spirit know their need of God. They are desperate enough to seek his face. In every part of their lives, t...

Today we begin a new season of devotions based on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:1−3 tells us that “when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. The first thing He said was: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What a strange way to start a message. Blessed are the poor in spirit....

Here’s Psalm 75 from start to finish:   1 We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds. 2 You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity. 3 When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. 4 To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns. 5 Do not lift your horns...

Paul wrote these words to Timothy in his first letter to him: “Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through proph...

“… everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation th...

In the book of Genesis, a pregnant slave called Hagar was running away from her slave-owner Sarai who had been cruel towards her. The Lord sent an angel. Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now pregnant...

“For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became...

The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighbouring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. See, I have given you this land. Go i...

For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. (2 Tim 1: 6 – 8) I wonder if Timothy was...

Everyone thought they would fail. Within weeks of Paul and his team arriving in Thessalonica with the good news of Jesus, those who had come to faith were left without leaders, facing persecution and under intense pressure to recant their faith. Paul, Silas and Timothy had been forced to leave. Those opposed to this new Christian faith had persuaded some local troublemakers to stir up the assemble...