Welcome to the Word

NOTE: This will be the last Welcome to the Word. To those who have participated in this weekly, shared adventure, my prayer is that you have been blessed. I also hope that it has helped you learn to read the Bible, enabling you to develop a better understanding of God and a deeper relationship with Him.
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The time in the Word will have a different approach this week. Instead of a single passage, there will be five passages. The first four will be reading and meditating on the crucifixion as written in each of the Gospels. The last one will be to meditate on the resurrection from the Gospel of John.
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If you have a version you prefer to use, please feel free to read the entire passage from it. Reread the passage daily, using at least a second version for one or two days. Each day, please remember to:
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• Pray, asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate your mind, soften your heart, and subdue your will as you read and reflect on the passage.
• Take notice of words or phrases that grab your attention.
• Is there anything the Holy Spirit asks you to do in light of what you have read?
• At the end of each day’s time in the Word, talk to God about what you experience through this passage of scripture.


Monday – Prayerfully read and meditate on Matthew 27:27-56. What is your immediate reaction to these verses? What is God saying to you in this passage? What word or phrase are you drawn to? What thoughts, feelings, insights, or questions do you have?


Who in the story do you identify with? Why? What response do you have to the story of the crucifixion? Talk with God about your reactions to Matthew’s account of the crucifixion.


Tuesday – Prayerfully read Mark 15:6-41. What is your immediate reaction to these verses? What is God saying to you in this passage? What word or phrase are you drawn to? What thoughts, feelings, insights, or questions do you have? Are there any new ones in Mark’s account?


Who in the story do you identify with? Why? What response do you have to the story of the crucifixion? Talk with God about your reactions to Mark’s account of the crucifixion.


Wednesday: Prayerfully read Luke 23.26-49. What is your immediate reaction to these verses? What is God saying to you in this passage? What word or phrase are you drawn to? What thoughts, feelings, insights, or questions do you have? Are there any new ones in Luke’s account?


Who in the story do you identify with? Why? What response do you have to the story of the crucifixion? Talk with God about your reactions to Luke’s account of the crucifixion.


Thursday: Prayerfully read John 19:12-77. What is your immediate reaction to these verses? What is God saying to you in this passage? What word or phrase are you drawn to? What thoughts, feelings, insights, or questions do you have? Are there any new ones when you read John’s account?


Who in the story do you identify with? Why? What response do you have to the story of the crucifixion? Talk with God about your reactions to John’s account of the crucifixion.


Friday: Prayerfully read the story of the resurrection in John 20:1-18. What is your immediate reaction to these verses? What is God saying to you in this passage? What word or phrase are you drawn to? What thoughts, feelings, insights, or questions do you have?


Who in the story do you identify with? Why? What response do you have to the story of the crucifixion? Talk with God about your reactions to John’s account of the resurrection.


Pastor Gary Taber

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