Grace for All

Jonah 1:17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Matthew 12:39-40 (NIV) He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and t...

Welcome to Grace for All. My name is Bill Green, and I am your host for today. 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 CEB So if the message that is preached says that Christ has been raised from the dead, then how can some of you say, “There’s no resurrection of the dead”? If there’s no resurrection of the dead, then Christ hasn’t been raised either. If Christ hasn’t been raised, then our preaching is useless, an...

John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Every time I hear this verse, I feel love. I hear the exclamation point. Gratitude, expectation, excitement, adoration. Mary went looking for Jesus. But she went where he was. In her surprise and in her adoration, she is expressing her desire for what was. And after this moment...

Psalm 30:3 (The Voice version) You lifted me up from the grave with a mighty hand, gave me another chance, and saved me from joining those in that dreadful pit. This verse reminded me of a slang expression from the 60’s and 70’s – “That’s the pits!” It was a fitting expression when bad news was delivered. The Psalmist describes being saved from that awful pit. The pit we need saving from might be...

John 20:20 (NRSV) "He showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord." It's the evening of the first Easter Sunday, and the disciples have the doors locked. Why? They fear the authorities. Their teacher had been arrested at night and executed in public, and everybody in Jerusalem knew who his followers were. It shouldn't have been a surprise. Mary had come r...

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts. No...

Jeremiah 29:4-7, 11 (NIV) This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease....

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. This scripture differs wildly from a description of the Christian life that I heard from a young man in my dorm in college. He related the story of A...

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us Our Grace for All theme this month is ‘What does the Lord require?’ And our scripture reading for today does include a directive: to throw off the things that hinder and the sin...

Matthew 22:15-22 (NIV) Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right...

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Through the grace of God alone we are all blessed beyond measure whether we acknowledge it or not. However to understand this grace and what it bestows, let us consider what Jesus tells us about who is blessed in this verse. Let's begin with what he does not say. Not those who achieve. Not those who amass wealth. Not...

Psalm 143:8-10 “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in You. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” I memorized this scripture in April of 2013 and I’ve been using it ever since as a ce...

Welcome to the Saturday episode of the Grace for All podcast. Thank you for joining us today. Saturday is a special time when we take a few moments to review the scriptures that we have cited in the episodes this week. If you missed any of those episodes, you might want to consider listening to them today. And even if you heard them all, there may be one that you might want to listen to again. We...

Today I would like for us to consider a very familiar passage of scripture from a very different point of view. Romans 8:1-8 (CEB) So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. God has done what was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of selfishness. God condemned si...

Amos 5:24 Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. The Hebrew word that we translate justice appears over 400 times in the Old Testament. That’s a lot. It seems like God and the prophets are really concerned about justice and, more importantly, about those who have been mistreated and not received justice. Chief among these are the widows, orphans, and the po...

Galatians 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. This verse in Galatians is one of my favorites, but let’s consider more verses from the passage as well, starting with verse 22 and ending with verse 26. “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such thin...

Psalm 100:1-2 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing. As I have been thinking about this scripture over the last couple of weeks, I am reminded that my star word for 2026 is joy. This word is to be a guiding, prayerful focus for the entire year. I was even gifted a bracelet that is engraved, "choose joy." I really don't...

Genesis 21:1-7 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his...

Isaiah 40:31 (NET) But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagle’s wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired. Watching the skies for eagles is a beloved part of my growing up along the rocky beaches of the Pacific Northwest. Sometimes their nests could be sighted high up in the wind-bent trees along the coast or in a fo...

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts. No...

Matthew 5:16 (NRSV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. My brother and I used to spend whole summer days at my great-aunt Gladys' place in upper East Tennessee, gone from just after breakfast until the cowbell rang. She'd ring it from the porch when supper was ready, and the sound would carry up the holl...

Matthew 22:37-39 (CEB) He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself . For years, I taught public speaking, and one question came up again and again: Which matters more, content or delivery? My answer was always the...

Revelation 21:18-21 The wall (of heaven) was made of jasper and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrys...

Amos 5:24 (ESV) But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Amos was a shepherd called by God to deliver a stinging message to the northern kingdom of Israel. On the outside, the nation was thriving. Religion was booming. The people packed the temples, offered expensive sacrifices, and sang beautiful songs of praise. Yet, beneath this glossy veneer of pie...

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. I hike a lot. I have gone on short hikes, and I have gone on long hikes. Some hikes are easy and some incredibly challenging. Some days the weather has been beautiful. Other days the weather has been life-threatening. I have been charged...