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Men’s Group - Week 40

2026-10-23T06:00:00Z

Week 40 — October 18 – 24, 2026

Meeting: Friday, October 23 #

Memory Verse: Romans 12:2 #

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Readings #

Day 1: Acts 15-16
Day 2: Galatians 1-3
Day 3: Galatians 4-6
Day 4: Acts 17-18:17
Day 5: 1 Thessalonians 1-2

Day 1 — Acts 15-16 #

Acts 15

Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.
On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them.
But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
So the apostles and elders met to look into this matter.
After much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that the Gentiles would hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith.
Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!
Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.
The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:
‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things
that have been known for ages.’
It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers,
and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.
So we all agreed to choose men to send to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you in person the same things we are writing.
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:
You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they assembled the congregation and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they rejoiced at its encouraging message.
Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.
After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers in peace to return to those who had sent them.
But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, along with many others, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord.
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”
Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.
But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.
Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Acts 16

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.
So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.
And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.
So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis.
From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there.
Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.
This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”
She continued this for many days. Eventually Paul grew so aggravated that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And the spirit left her at that very moment.
When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.
They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil
by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.
And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.
On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself! We are all here!”
Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.
Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.
When daylight came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order: “Release those men.”
The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.”
But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”
So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.
They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city.
After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house to see the brothers and encourage them. Then they left the city.

Stands out #

26. Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
27. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.
28. But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself! We are all here!”
29. Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
30. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31. They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
32. Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
33. At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.
34. Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.

> this stands out because just last week, Peter is led out of prison in Acts 12 and Herod executes the guards. This guard is saved, eternally and physically, the other guard was killed though we don't know about a conversion

Means #

For me #

Prayer #

Day 2 — Galatians 1-3 #

Galatians 1

Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—
and all the brothers with me, To the churches of Galatia:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!
As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!
Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
For I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man.
I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.
I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,
nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days.
But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.
Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
And they glorified God because of me.

Galatians 2

Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, accompanied by Barnabas. I took Titus along also.
I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain.
Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.
We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism —those leaders added nothing to me.
On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.
For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles.
And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.
The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile “sinners”
know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not!
If I rebuild what I have already torn down, I prove myself to be a lawbreaker.
For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God.
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Galatians 3

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?
Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?
Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing?
Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?
So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham.
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”
The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended.
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.
For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God freely granted it to Abraham through a promise.
Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.
A mediator is unnecessary, however, for only one party; but God is one.
Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law.
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.
So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

Stands out #

1:15. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
> God set me apart from my mother's womb...

2:18. If I rebuild what I have already torn down, I prove myself to be a lawbreaker.
2:20. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
> I do like Wright's translation: I am, however, alive—but it isn’t me any longer, it’s the Messiah who lives in me. And the life I do still live in the flesh, I live within the faithfulness of the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

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Prayer #

Day 3 — Galatians 4-6 #

Galatians 4

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything.
He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father.
So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!
I fear for you, that my efforts for you may have been in vain.
I beg you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong.
You know that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.
And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.
What then has become of your blessing? For I can testify that, if it were possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them.
Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.
My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you.
Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand what the law says?
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born through the promise.
These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.
Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is the same now.
But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Galatians 5

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.
You were running so well. Who has obstructed you from obeying the truth?
Such persuasion does not come from the One who calls you.
A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough.
I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.
Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!
For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.

Galatians 6

Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.
For each one should carry his own load.
Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
See what large letters I am using to write to you with my own hand!
Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.
For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation.
Peace and mercy to all who walk by this rule, even to the Israel of God.
From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

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Day 4 — Acts 17-18:17 #

Acts 17

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he declared.
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women.
The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.
But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,
and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”
On hearing this, the crowd and city officials were greatly disturbed.
And they collected bond from Jason and the others and then released them.
As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.
But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds.
The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea.
Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.
So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.
Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.
So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, where they asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than hearing and articulating new ideas.
Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.
For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.
For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”
At that, Paul left the Areopagus.
But some joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others who were with them.

Acts 18:1-17

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them,
and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.
Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.
And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
So Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titus Justus, a worshiper of God.
Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized.
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
For I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you, because I have many people in this city.”
So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching the word of God among the Corinthians.
While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.
“This man is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law,” they said.
But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint.
But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”
And he drove them away from the judgment seat.
At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

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Day 5 — 1 Thessalonians 1-2 #

1 Thessalonians 1

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.
We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers
and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you,
because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.
For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.

1 Thessalonians 2

You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.
As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.
Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.
As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.
We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.
Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.
For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—
encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.
For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.
Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.
For we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us.
After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
You are indeed our glory and our joy.

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Meeting Notes #

Men’s Group - Week 39

2026-10-16T06:00:00Z

Week 39 — October 11 – 17, 2026

Meeting: Friday, October 16 #

Memory Verse: 1 John 2:15-16 #

1 John 2:15-16

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

Readings #

Day 1: Acts 10-11
Day 2: Acts 12
Day 3: Acts 13-14
Day 4: James 1-2
Day 5: James 3-5

Day 1 — Acts 10-11 #

Acts 10

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment.
He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.
One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.
Now send men to Joppa to call for a man named Simon who is called Peter.
He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea. ”
When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants.
He explained what had happened and sent them to Joppa.
The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
He saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air.
Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
This happened three times, and all at once the sheet was taken back up into heaven.
While Peter was puzzling over the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and approached the gate.
They called out to ask if Simon called Peter was staying there.
As Peter continued to reflect on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.
So get up! Go downstairs and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.”
So Peter went down to the men and said, “Here am I, the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
“Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”
So Peter invited them in as his guests. And the next day he got ready and went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.
The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
But Peter helped him up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
As Peter talked with him, he went inside and found many people gathered together.
He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
So when I was invited, I came without objection. I ask, then, why have you sent for me?”
Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me
and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
Therefore send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’
So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has instructed you to tell us.”
Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism,
but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
He has sent this message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
You yourselves know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee with the baptism that John proclaimed:
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,
God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen—
not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.
And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.
All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message.
All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
For they heard them speaking in tongues and exalting God. Then Peter said,
“Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!”
So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.

Acts 11

The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him
and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events:
“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.
I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.
Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’
‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven.
Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home.
He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.
He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning.
Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?”
When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.
But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.
The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)
So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.

Stands out #

29. So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

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Day 2 — Acts 12 #

Acts 12

About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.
On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.
They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.
Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.
He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.
When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!”
“You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.
Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.
At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.
Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.
On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.
And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”
Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.
When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.

Stands out #

v 19 - Herod has the guard’s executed. In a way, the Lord condemned those guards to death through Peter’s escape

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Day 3 — Acts 13-14 #

Map of the First Missionary Journey →

Acts 13

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.
They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,
an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas
and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.
After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who fear God, listen to me!
The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.
He endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness.
And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.
All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.
Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.
After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’
From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised.
Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But there is One coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.
The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.
When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.
But God raised Him from the dead,
and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.
And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers
He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’
In fact, God raised Him from the dead, never to see decay. As He has said: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’
So also, He says in another Psalm: ‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’
For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.
But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you:
‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’ ”
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath.
After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region.
The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.
So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 14

At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
The people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles.
But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,
they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding region,
where they continued to preach the gospel.
In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.
This man was listening to the words of Paul, who looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed.
In a loud voice Paul called out, “Stand up on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language: “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, hoping to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds.
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting,
“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.
Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
Even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could hardly stop the crowds from sacrificing to them.
Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.
But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. And the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.
After passing through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.
And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
From Attalia they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had just completed.
When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
And they spent a long time there with the disciples.

Stands out #

12. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
> who needs to see to believe?

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Day 4 — James 1-2 #

James 1

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,
and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 2

My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.
Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.
If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”
have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?
If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.
For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?
So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?
Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Stands out #

2. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
3. because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
4. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.


13. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
14. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
15. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Means #

“many kinds”… is that my job? does that count?

For me #

Prayer #

Lord, bless the trials of my job. You have gifted me in unique ways, and I want to humbly pursue and cultivate those gifts. My family is wonderful, you’ve given me a home to manage and a wife to partner with, beautiful kids and more than I need. My job is by far the most stressful thing, by your grace, and in meditating on it you’ve done a lot of work in me through it. Help me do my job for your glory, which must mean pushing through the trials while exercising wisdom in having perspective on what’s the most important aspects of my lie.

Day 5 — James 3-5 #

James 3

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal.
Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.
In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!
Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

James 4

What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?
You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

James 5

Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.
You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

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Prayer Requests #

Answered / Updates #

Meeting Notes #

Men’s Group - Week 37

2026-10-09T06:00:00Z

Week 37 — September 27 – October 3, 2026

Meeting: Friday, October 9 #

Memory Verse: Matthew 6:33 #

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Readings #

Day 1: Mark 16
Day 2: Luke 24
Day 3: John 20-21
Day 4: Matthew 28
Day 5: Acts 1

Day 1 — Mark 16 #

Mark 16

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus.
Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb.
They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large.
When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him.
But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.
Early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had driven out seven demons.
She went and told those who had been with Him, who were mourning and weeping.
And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it.
After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country.
And they went back and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.

Stands out #

12. After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country.

Means #

For me #

Prayer #

Day 2 — Luke 24 #

Luke 24

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were puzzling over this, suddenly two men in radiant apparel stood beside them.
As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee:
‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’”
Then they remembered His words.
And when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.
But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.
Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. And after bending down and seeing only the linen cloths, he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
That same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
And as they talked and deliberated, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them.
But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stood still, with sadness on their faces.
One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in recent days?”
“What things?” He asked. “The events involving Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet, powerful in speech and action before God and all the people.
Our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and they crucified Him.
But we were hoping He was the One who would redeem Israel. And besides all this, it is the third day since these things took place.
Furthermore, some of our women astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,
but they did not find His body. They came and told us they had seen a vision of angels, who said that Jesus was alive.
Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had described. But Him they did not see.”
Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?”
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
As they approached the village where they were headed, He seemed to be going farther.
But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.
While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight.
They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, gathered together
and saying, “The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two told what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
While they were describing these events, Jesus Himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
But they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit.
“Why are you troubled,” Jesus asked, “and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see—for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet.
While they were still in disbelief because of their joy and amazement, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
So they gave Him a piece of broiled fish,
and He took it and ate it in front of them.
Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.
And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
praising God continually in the temple.

Stands out #

8. Then they remembered His words.


30. While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them.
31. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight.

Means #

For me #

Prayer #

Day 3 — John 20-21 #

John 20

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!”
Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb.
The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there.
The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths.
Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed.
For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb,
and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet.
“Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked. “Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not recognize that it was Jesus.
“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her.
It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them.
After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”
When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
Now Thomas called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”
Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book.
But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

John 21

Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples. He made Himself known in this way:
Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.” “We will go with you,” they said. So they went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing that night.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus.
So He called out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” “No,” they answered.
He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it there, and they were unable to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it) and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came ashore in the boat. They dragged in the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards.
When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.
“Come, have breakfast,” Jesus said to them. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord.
Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish.
This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.
When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”
Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after He had said this, He told him, “Follow Me.”
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. He was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?”
When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. However, Jesus did not say that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you?”
This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who has written them down. And we know that his testimony is true.
There are many more things that Jesus did. If all of them were written down, I suppose that not even the world itself would have space for the books that would be written.

Stands out #

16. Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Means #

when Jesus calls Mary’s name - what else can she do but answer him?

For me #

Prayer #

Day 4 — Matthew 28 #

Matthew 28

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men.
But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay.
Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.”
So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples.
Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him.
“Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.”
While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.
And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money
and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
If this report reaches the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day.
Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated.
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

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Day 5 — Acts 1 #

Acts 1

In my first book, O Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach,
until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.
After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
And while they were gathered together, He commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift the Father promised, which you have heard Me discuss.
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. ”
So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.
They were looking intently into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near the city, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
With one accord they all continued in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty) and said,
“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus.
He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”
(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
“For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, ‘May another take his position.’
Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen
to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”
Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was added to the eleven apostles.

Stands out #

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For me #

Prayer #

Prayer Requests #

Answered / Updates #

my ebenezeer dashboard - https://affine.paynepride.com/workspace/068b2d03-00ee-4b4b-9a8d-d7b98e85f1f2/Ltvauz2CnMHLKOFuKNExL

Meeting Notes #

The Faulted Disk: harbor Replacement Writeup

2026-10-06T21:30:00Z

The sequel to panicking-led-to-losing-my-desktop — this time the monitoring actually caught the disk dying, and nothing was lost.

What happened #

harbor is my replica pool — a 10.9T mirror (2x 12TB) that receives syncoid snapshots from tank. One side of the mirror, a Seagate Exos ST12000NM0127 (serial ZJV4QFLB, /dev/sdb), went FAULTED with 14 read + 22 checksum errors.

mirror-0                              DEGRADED     0     0     0
  ata-ST12000VN0008-2PH103_ZTM0NFDW  ONLINE       0     0     0
  ata-ST12000NM0127_ZJV4QFLB         FAULTED     14     0    22  too many errors

The IronWolf mirror side carried the pool — No known data errors. ZFS redundancy did exactly its job.

The difference from last time #

Last failure: no monitoring, found out by accident months later, desktop died.

This failure: SigNoz + node-exporter’s ZFS collector → node_zfs_zpool_state{state="degraded"} → alert rule → Gotify → my phone. The gotify notification fired before I knew anything was wrong.

Diagnosis #

Before zpool clear or replace — check SMART. smartctl-exporter already scrapes all disks into SigNoz, so I didn’t even need sudo:

Reallocated_Sector_Ct raw = 3024 and counting
Offline_Uncorrectable value/worst still 100 but raw errors climbing
SMART overall: still PASS (SMART’s overall bit is conservative until threshold)

3k+ remapped sectors is a platter going bad — not a cable blip. Verdict: replace, don’t clear.

The swap (the annoying part) #

Hot-plug is never as smooth as it should be:

zpool offline harbor <old> to stop writes to the dead drive — actually skipped; drive fell off the bus on its own
New IronWolf ZTN1CQ07 in hand → plugged into ghost’s SATA → didn’t enumerate
Forced rescan (echo "- - -" | sudo tee /sys/class/scsi_host/host*/scan) → nothing
Moved it to the old drive’s port → nothing
Sabrent USB dock on aurora → dock enumerated as 0B device, no disk behind it → reseated + replugged → drive spun up and appeared: /dev/sdd, 10.9T, old ZFS partition table on it (used drive — part1/part9 layout)
Back to ghost, direct SATA → enumerated as sdb

Lesson: “spins up but doesn’t enumerate” on direct SATA + dock-shows-0B = seating/power problem, not DOA. The drive was fine all along.

The replace #

sudo zpool replace harbor \
  ata-ST12000NM0127_ZJV4QFLB \
  ata-ST12000VN0008-2PH103_ZTN1CQ07

Resilver: 8.80T in 18h38m, 0 errors (~154M/s). Pool stayed online and usable the whole time.

One gotcha: after resilver, zpool status showed errors: 1 data errors — but zpool status -v showed an empty error list. The corrupted data was already repaired; the counter was just stale. sudo zpool clear harbor → clean.

The monitoring that made this possible #

Wired during this session (all now in SigNoz):

node_zfs_zpool_state — pool health (node-exporter zfs collector)
smartctl-exporter — SMART attributes incl. reallocated sectors (the early-death signal)
zfs-metrics.sh textfile bridge — sanoid --monitor-* exit codes, zpool error counters, scrub ages, resilver %, syncoid last-success
Alert rules → Gotify → phone

The replication alerting even proved itself live: syncoid failed twice during the resilver window and I got paged on both. Turned out to be send-time contention — self-healed once resilver finished — but the notification path works end to end.

Remaining homework #

Buy the replacement spare (the shelf’s empty now)
10Fold datasets are garbage + have zero snapshots — destroy
Every scheduled job emits cron_last_success_epoch now — if a job dies silently again, I’ll know

Same failure as April, opposite outcome. Redundancy did the protection; monitoring did the detection. You need both.

Co-authored with Devin, who ran the monitoring stack, the SMART diagnosis, and the alerting loop.

FWBG - Genesis - 4.3

2026-09-30T06:55:25Z

beware the growth of sin… harboring it leads to worse consequences for us and others. Cain’s initial sin is left ambiguous but his response to his sin being called out by the Lord shows the trajectory of his life

FWBG - Genesis - 4.2

2026-09-28T06:35:28Z

Marvel at God’s patience. Cain could’ve heeded the Lord’s warnings, it would’ve been right.

Men’s Group - Week 36

2026-09-25T06:00:00Z

Week 36 — September 20 – 26, 2026

Meeting: Friday, September 25 October 5 #

Memory Verse: Psalm 119:9, 11 #

Psalm 119:9, 11

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it with Your word.
I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

Readings #

Day 1: Matthew 24:32-51 & John 17
Day 2: Matthew 26:35-27:31
Day 3: Matthew 27:32-66
Day 4: Luke 23:26-56
Day 5: John 19

Day 1 — Matthew 24:32-51 & John 17 #

Matthew 24:32-51

Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.
So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.
Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.
And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’
And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate.
Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

John 17

After Jesus had spoken these words, He looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.
For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
I have revealed Your name to those whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You.
For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.
All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.
I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to You, and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them.
I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.
I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,
that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one—
I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Stands out #

36. But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37. As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.
39. And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

---

44. For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.
45. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time?
46. Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

Means #

every day, daily disciplined life, is what it looks like to wait upon the Lord. Not wishing I took advantage of a moment of debauchery, because the prize isn’t the discipline, it isn’t NOT doing the debauchery, the prize IS the King, and he can come and call at any moment

For me #

dovetails with “work” from men’s group - work and jobs are different, and we are called to work, I should be working all the time:

kids
house
wife
self-discipline

I need to recover holy work in my life

Prayer #

Day 2 — Matthew 26:35-27:31 #

Matthew 26:35-27:31

Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.
Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”
Going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter.
“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping—for their eyes were heavy.
So He left them and went away once more and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.
Then He returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Get up! Let us go. See, My betrayer is approaching.”
While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and elders of the people.
Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the Man; arrest Him.”
Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
“Friend,” Jesus replied, “do what you have come for.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him.
At this, one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”
At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me.
But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.
Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered.
But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And going inside, he sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were searching for false testimony against Jesus so they could put Him to death.
But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two witnesses came forward
and declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
So the high priest stood up and asked Him, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”
But Jesus remained silent. So the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
“You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
What is your verdict?” “He deserves death,” they answered.
Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”
Meanwhile, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him. “You were also with Jesus the Galilean,” she said.
But he denied it before them all: “I do not know what you are talking about.”
When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”
After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. “Surely you are one of them,” they said. “For even your accent gives you away.”
Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Matthew 27:1-31

When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.
They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.
When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.
“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”
So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is unlawful to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.”
After conferring together, they used the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.
That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on Him by the people of Israel,
and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord had commanded me.”
Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.
Then Pilate asked Him, “Do You not hear how many charges they are bringing against You?”
But Jesus gave no answer, not even to a single charge, much to the governor’s amazement.
At the feast, the governor was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to the crowd, whomever they wanted.
At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas.
So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Whom do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much in a dream today because of Him.”
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.
“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered.
“What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!”
“Why? What evil has He done?” Pilate asked. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “You bear the responsibility.”
All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
Then Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him.
They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt down before Him to mock Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Then they spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again.
After they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe, put His own clothes back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

Stands out #

35. Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.

> but I deny him with my actions every day


53. Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
54. But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”

> there's a tension in reality... Jesus _can_ do whatever he wants and submits himself to prophecy anyways, it's circular to me sort of. but it also means that I need to stop questioning every aspect of reality in my "if this then that" processing. sometimes we're just bound by reality - even the Lord was.


74. Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.
75. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

> is Jesus also just waiting for me to deny him? if I think he is I must also remember he was ready to forgive Peter

Jews tell Judas he bears the responsibility, then Pilate tells the Jews they do, then the Jews put it on their kids... interesting

Means #

For me #

Prayer #

Day 3 — Matthew 27:32-66 #

Matthew 27:32-66

Along the way they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means “The Place of the Skull,”
they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.
When they had crucified Him, they divided His garments by casting lots, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “They divided My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing.”
And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
Above His head they posted the written charge against Him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right hand and one on His left.
And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads
and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him,
saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him.
He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him heaped abuse on Him.
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.”
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.
But the others said, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”
When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit.
At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
And many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to minister to Him.
Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself was also a disciple of Jesus.
He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.
So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
The next day, which is the day after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate
and said, “Sir, we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’
So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead, and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
“Go and make the tomb as secure as you know how,” Pilate answered.
And they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and posting a guard.

Stands out #

Means #

For me #

Prayer #

Day 4 — Luke 23:26-56 #

Luke 23:26-56

As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.
A great number of people followed Him, along with women who were mourning and wailing for Him.
But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!’
At that time they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’
For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus.
When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right hand and the other on His left.
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine.
“If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!”
Above Him was posted an inscription: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him: “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Do you not even fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same judgment?
We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour.
The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And when He had said this, He breathed His last.
When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts.
But all those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.
Now there was a righteous and devout man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council,
who had not consented to their plan and action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.
He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.
Then he brought it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock, where no one had yet been laid.
It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was placed.
Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.

Stands out #

Means #

For me #

Prayer #

Day 5 — John 19 #

John 19

Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged.
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate told them, “You take Him and crucify Him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.
He went back into the Praetorium and asked Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave no answer.
So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”
When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.
It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”
At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your King?” “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.
Then Pilate handed Him over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away.
Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.’”
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, a part for each soldier, and the tunic remained. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it; instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” So that is what the soldiers did.
Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.”
Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, the disciple took her into his home.
After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a hyssop stalk, and lifted it to His mouth.
When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.
It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a special Sabbath. In order to avoid leaving the bodies on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
The one who saw it has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”
And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body.
Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

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For me #

Prayer #

Prayer Requests #

Answered / Updates #

Meeting Notes #

Men’s Group - Week 35

2026-09-18T06:00:00Z

Week 35 — September 13 – 19, 2026

Meeting: Friday, September 18 #

Memory Verse: Hebrews 2:18 #

Hebrews 2:18

Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Readings #

Day 1: John 11
Day 2: Matthew 21:1-13
Day 3: John 13
Day 4: John 14-15
Day 5: John 16, Matthew 24:1-31

Day 1 — John 11 #

John 11

At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So on hearing that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for two days,
and then He said to the disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
“Rabbi,” they replied, “the Jews just tried to stone You, and You are going back there?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world.
But if anyone walks at night, he will stumble, because he has no light.”
After He had said this, He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will get better.”
They thought that Jesus was talking about actual sleep, but He was speaking about the death of Lazarus.
So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Then Thomas called Didymus said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already spent four days in the tomb.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, a little less than two miles away,
and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother.
So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask of Him.”
“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.
Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
After Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside to tell her, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”
And when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.
Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him.
When the Jews who were in the house consoling Mary saw how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
“Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
But some of them asked, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?”
Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
“Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”
After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.
If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
But one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all!
You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
Caiaphas did not say this on his own. Instead, as high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation,
and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.
So from that day on they plotted to kill Him.
As a result, Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but He withdrew to a town called Ephraim in an area near the wilderness. And He stayed there with the disciples.
Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover.
They kept looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple courts, “What do you think? Will He come to the feast at all?”
But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where He was must report it, so that they could arrest Him.

Stands out #

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Means #

We think we know what would have happened

For me #

My ebenezeer page feels relevant when thinking about waiting on the Lord

Psalm 40:1–2 (LEB)

1 I waited patiently for Yahweh, And he inclined to me and heard my cry for help. 2 And so he brought me up from the roaring pit, from the miry clay. And he put my feet upon a rock; he made my steps steady.

Prayer #

Day 2 — Matthew 21:1-13 #

Matthew 21:1-13

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples,
saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me.
If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.
And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ ”

Stands out #

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Prayer #

Day 3 — John 13 #

John 13

It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.
The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.
So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist.
After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.
He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”
For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you?
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.
Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’
I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that I am He.
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”
After Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified, “Truly, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.”
The disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant.
One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side.
So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus which one He was talking about.
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.
And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”
But no one at the table knew why Jesus had said this to him.
Since Judas kept the money bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast, or to give something to the poor.
As soon as he had received the morsel, Judas went out into the night.
When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.
If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify the Son in Himself—and will glorify Him at once.
Little children, I am with you only a little while longer. You will look for Me, and as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
“Lord, where are You going?” Simon Peter asked. Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”
“Lord,” said Peter, “why can’t I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.”
“Will you lay down your life for Me?” Jesus replied. “Truly, truly, I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.

Stands out #

6. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”
7. Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8. “Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him.
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
9. “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”

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For me #

Prayer #

Day 4 — John 14-15 #

John 14

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going. ”
“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.
On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. The word that you hear is not My own, but it is from the Father who sent Me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Get up! Let us go on from here.

John 15

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.
He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.
As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love.
If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.
I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
You are My friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
This is My command to you: Love one another.
If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.
But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me.
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well.
If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father.
But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’
When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.
And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

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Prayer #

Day 5 — John 16 & Matthew 24:1-31 #

John 16

“I have told you these things so that you will not fall away.
They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me.
But I have told you these things so that when their hour comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these things.
But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me;
in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me;
and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.
I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.
However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.
He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.
Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you.
In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me. ”
Then some of His disciples asked one another, “Why is He telling us, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
They kept asking, “Why is He saying, ‘a little while’? We do not understand what He is saying.”
Aware that they wanted to question Him, Jesus said to them, “Are you asking one another why I said, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’?
Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. An hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
In that day you will ask in My name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.
For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.
I came from the Father and entered the world. In turn, I will leave the world and go to the Father.”
His disciples said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and without figures of speech.
Now we understand that You know all things and that You have no need for anyone to question You. Because of this, we believe that You came from God.”
“Do you finally believe?” Jesus replied.
“Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

Matthew 24:1-31

As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.
“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you.
For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,
and many false prophets will arise and deceive many.
Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.
And let no one in the field return for his cloak.
How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!
Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath.
For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.
If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
See, I have told you in advance.
So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ’
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Stands out #

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For me #

Prayer #

Prayer Requests #

Answered / Updates #

Meeting Notes #

I read some of John 12 the morning of the meeting, not on our list but Judas’ posture towards the espensive nard that Mary used to annoint is hilarious to me - very commie “why wasn’t this thing of mine used for someone else NOT sold and the money given to me to distribute to others as I see fit”

Men’s Group - Week 34

2026-09-07T06:00:00Z

Week 34 — September 6 – 12, 2026

Meeting: Friday, September 11 #

Memory Verse: Philippians 4:19 #

Philippians 4:19

And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Readings #

Day 1: John 6
Day 2: Matthew 19:16-30
Day 3: Luke 15-16
Day 4: Luke 17:11-37
Day 5: Mark 10

Day 1 — John 6 #

John 6

After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias).
A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on the sick.
Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down with His disciples.
Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.
When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”
But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.
Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piece.”
One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
“Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”
“Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.
Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.
And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,
got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet gone out to them.
A strong wind was blowing, and the sea grew agitated.
When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified.
But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.”
Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
The next day, the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples, but they had gone away alone.
However, some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Him.
When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “give us this bread at all times.”
Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
But as I stated, you have seen Me and still you do not believe.
Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’”
“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus replied.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—
not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you.
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink.
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
Jesus said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you?
Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?
The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)
Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”
From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.
So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?”
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”
Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”
He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For although Judas was one of the Twelve, he was later to betray Jesus.

Day 2 — Matthew 19:16-30 #

Matthew 19:16-30

Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
“Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Day 3 — Luke 15-16 #

Luke 15

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus.
So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable:
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders,
comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’
I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it?
And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.’
In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.
The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.
After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.
He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him a thing.
Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food, but here I am, starving to death!
I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
So he called one of the servants and asked what was going on.
‘Your brother has returned,’ he said, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound.’
The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.
But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
‘Son, you are always with me,’ the father said, ‘and all that is mine is yours.
But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Luke 16

Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’
The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg.
I know what I will do so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’
And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.
‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Take your bill,’ said the manager, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’
Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him.
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?
And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?
No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.
So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores
and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’
But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.
And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’
‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’’s house,
for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’
‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Day 4 — Luke 17:11-37 #

Luke 17:11-37

While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance
and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.
When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice.
He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.
“Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where then are the other nine?
Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?”
Then Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well!”
When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.
Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
People will tell you, ‘Look, there He is!’ or ‘Look, here He is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.
For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.
But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.
Remember Lot’s wife!
Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: one will be taken and the other left.
Two women will be grinding grain together: one will be taken and the other left.”
“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”

Day 5 — Mark 10 #

Mark 10

Then Jesus left that place and went into the region of Judea, beyond the Jordan. Again the crowds came to Him and He taught them, as was His custom.
Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.
“What did Moses command you?” He replied.
They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.
However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
When they were back inside the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter.
So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Now people were bringing the little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, and the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.
As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat others, honor your father and mother.’”
“Teacher,” he replied, “all these I have kept from my youth.”
Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
But the man was saddened by these words and went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Peter began to say to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel
will fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
As they were going up the road to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him:
“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles,
who will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise again.”
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want Me to do for you?” He inquired.
They answered, “Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory.”
“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”
“We can,” the brothers answered. “You will drink the cup that I drink,” Jesus said, “and you will be baptized with the baptism that I undergo.
But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.
So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man. “Take courage!” they said. “Get up! He is calling for you.”
Throwing off his cloak, Bartimaeus jumped up and came to Jesus.
“What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked.
“Rabboni,” said the blind man, “let me see again.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Weekly Journal #

Stands out #

Day 1 — John 6 #

9. "Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?"

29. Jesus replied, "The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent."

37. Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.

Day 4 — Luke 17:11-37 #

14. When Jesus saw them, He said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.
15. When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice.
16. He fell facedown at Jesus' feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.
17. "Were not all ten cleansed?" Jesus asked. "Where then are the other nine?
18. Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?"
19. Then Jesus said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well!"

Means #

Day 1 — John 6 #

everything comes from the Lord - God gives every single sgood thing in his own way.

Day 4 — Luke 17:11-37 #

Obedience is a gift of faith - and a medium by which God works

For me #

Day 4 — Luke 17:11-37 #

God’s blessing is within his sovereign will to pour out. He has clearly had so much favor on me… why would I squandor it?

Prayer #

Prayer Requests #

Answered / Updates #

Meeting Notes #

FWBG - Genesis - 4.1

2026-06-18T06:31:23Z

The Fall is worthy of grieving. The story in the Bible explains the state of humanity, and I think we can grieve humanity’s state just via observation today. But the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that with grieving and mourning there is hope and redemption

Silliness and Wrecklessness

2026-06-07T18:39:57Z

I talked with my oldest daughter about silliness and wrecklessness today. She and her sister were playing too rough at bedtime and the younger slapped the older one pretty hard. It wasn’t malicious, they’re 4 and 6, they were just being silly but without respect for reality, they were tired, and have been tired for a while (thus the bedtime) and in their silliness and tiredness their actions became wrekless. This is what I explained to her, and she paused and said “Dad, what is wreckless?” and oh man did my heart melt… I’m so proud of her for asking that question, and feeling comfortable to do so in the middle of our conversation made me feel good as her dad.

2026-06-01 Notes

2026-06-01T07:51:47Z

yesterday: 2026-05-27 Notes

bookorbit for kassia
nextcloud was eating up resources this morning

FWBG - Genesis - 3.3

2026-05-31T07:12:49Z

On the Fall #

The consequences of the fall were immediate and great:

shame (humans recognize their nakedness and cover up)
separation (humans are banished from Paradise/Eden)

When I have nothing to hide, and I’m completing my work both at home and my job to a degree that I’m satisfied with results, then shame and anxiety seem so small.

God gives grace to people, and he offered grace in the beginning as one of his responses to sin.

I can’t help but recognize the wrestle with the reality of the Fall, and I don’t mean the state of human today - I think we’re clearly fallen. But I mean the record in Genesis 3… I think Genesis 1-11 tells a story to explain human history but doesn’t necessarily give us a play-by-play transcription of that history. So I need to personally be careful in how much analysis I do of the physical reality of Genesis 3 and be sure to filter my perception of it through the lens of the rest of the Bible.

Jesus is the snake-crusher promised in 3:9, and he offers grace every day for sin to those he loves.

May Jesus today grant me grace to work hard but have the right perspective. The things I stress about in my life, I’m afraid are less important, less weighty than the weight of anxiety they cause. Perhaps the anxiety I am dealing with is a direct result of the Fall, and it continues as I hide away or try to give time and energy to the wrong things.

God’s Zeal for Justice Amont Men Displayed in the Divine Counsel

2026-05-31T07:12:40Z

link to sermon

Psalm 82

1 God stands in the divine assembly; he administers judgment in the midst of the gods. 2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show favoritism to the wicked? Selah 3 Judge on behalf of the helpless and the orphan; provide justice to the afflicted and the poor. 4 Rescue the helpless and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 5 They do not know or consider. They go about in the darkness, so that all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I have said, “You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you. 7 However, you will die like men, and you will fall like one of the princes.” 8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, because you shall inherit all the nations.

Ephesians 1:15-22

15 Because of this I also, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him 18 (the eyes of your hearts having been enlightened), so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength 20 which he has worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this age but also in the coming one, 22 and he subjected all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Ephesians 2:4-7

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 and we being dead in trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved), 6 and raised us together and seated us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that he might show in the coming ages the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness upon us in Christ Jesus.

Running thoughts #

Seated in the Heavently Places with Christ Jesus #

We are aware of the idea of resurrection, and Christ’s resurrection. We know for those born-again that we’ll be raised heavenward.

What about “seated”? We are seated with Christ, this is royalty language - describes the right to rule, reign, and judge.

So when Paul tells the Ephesian saints that they’ve been seated with Christ in the heavenly places…. what does it mean right now?

We are “there” with him (Jesus), right now - seated, ruling with Christ.

Founding of the Divine Council #

Job 38:4-7

4 “Where were you at my laying the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding. 5 Who determined its measurement? Yes, you do know. Or who stretched the measuring line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars were singing together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

When the morning stars were singing together and all the sons of God shouted for joy… divine language, beings already in existence when the foundations of the earth were laid.

Job 1:6

And it happened one day that the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came into their midst.

Job 2:1

And then one day the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh.

The “sons of God”. They present themselves before God, and they’re different than other spiritual beings like Cherubim. These beings have some function apart from God’s immediate presence, thus they gather to present themselves (not that they were/are always there like the throne guardians)

Deuteronomy 32:7-9

7 Remember the old days, the years long past; ask your father, and he will inform you, your elders and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High apportioned the nations, at his dividing up of the sons of humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the sons of God. 9 For Yahweh’s portion was his people, Jacob the share of his inheritance.

Moses is referencing Genesis 10/11, The Tower of Babel. There was 1 language, but humans decided to build a name for themselves rather than obey God’s commands, so Yahweh confused their language and scattered them. Moses adds the commentary that the “borders of the people” were fixed “according to the number of the sons of God”. The Divine Council was given the job of ruling over the scattered people, to lead them back to Yahweh.

Yahweh creates a new inheritance for himself through Jacob (Abram -> Israel)

A note about Yahweh’s character - he freely delegates to his creation (human and divine) responsiblities as it pertains to ruling creation. No one forced Yahweh to do this delegation, he has every right to rule as an authoritative dictator since he is the creator of all things, but he partners with his creation, even in their failures.

Failing of the Divine Council #

Now to the spiritual gods over the nations, he says:

Psalm 82:2

“How long will you judge unjustly and show favoritism to the wicked? Selah

They were supposed to govern righteously

Psalm 82:3-4

3 Judge on behalf of the helpless and the orphan; provide justice to the afflicted and the poor. 4 Rescue the helpless and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

There are appropriate penalties for judgement. The duty was to protect the weak and provide justice. The goal was for the vulnerable to be delievered from the hands of the wicked.

Bob summarizes with some modern language: crime prevention and crime punishnment. These are the mechanisms by which the wicked are kept in check, and it’s through no other means (re: the history of every civilization ever)

Verse 5, the Psalmist continues and the “they” are the subordinates - the people of the world placed under the ruling of the gods.

Psalm 82:5

They do not know or consider. They go about in the darkness, so that all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

God is saying to his council, “They (the humans) do not know. They don’t know how to rules or judge, look at them and you have ruled poorly, you have allowed injustice to reign rather than rule and reign yourself and the victims in this are the helpless humans and rest of creation”

ie. the sons of God in the divine council are partly to blame for the people’s moral ignorance. If the people aren’t ruled in a way that leads to morality, corruption takes over. Because it has, the judgement of the divine council comes next:

Psalm 82:6-7

6 I have said, “You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you. 7 However, you will die like men, and you will fall like one of the princes.”

God's zeal for justice is clear

He will judge his own council to death for their failures.

Fulfilling of the Divine Council #

The fulfilment of the divine council is found in Jesus. Yahweh comes himself to govern rightly.

The fulfilment happens at Jesus’ Ascension - Matthew 28.

The Ascension from Heaven’s perspective is in Daniel 7.

Daniel 7:13-14

13 “I continued watching in the visions of the night, and look, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and kingship that all the peoples, the nations, and languages would serve him; his dominion is a dominion without end that will not cease, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

Confirmed agin in Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:20-23

20 which he has worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this age but also in the coming one, 22 and he subjected all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Jesus’ seat is above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name named.

Through Jesus we, believers, are ‘sons of God’. The Divine Council’s failure to govern the nations well should be somewhat of a warning to us, and an affirmation of our calling to rule the earth well. Those who love Jesus, in the same way the 70 sons of God were supposed to lead the nations back to the Lord, are to be agents of rescue for the weak and the needy. Jesus gives us this ministry.

Sancity of Life #

No one is weaker than the unborn. The fallen sons of God were given a harsh judgement for their failure to govern justly. Christians are the “new” sons of God, we are the ones with the charge and authority to govern well. What do I do with the authority and responsibility God has given me to protect the weak?

meditate on God’s zeal for justice
do not forget the unborn in prayer (I need to pray more in general anyways)

FWBG - Genesis - 3.2

2026-05-27T07:02:50Z

Resist Temptation #

Eve was tempted by sin by litening to the great deceiver. But it wasn’t just that she heard the serpent, she participated in the conversation, she entertained the snake, and she meditated/directed her thoughts and eyes towards the objects of desire and the serpent rather than her God.
The woman saw that the tree was good for food and it was a delight to the eyes

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

3 For although we are living in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but powerful to God for the tearing down of fortresses, tearing down arguments 5 and all pride that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

The woman did not resist, she gave in. She entertained the thought of the fruit, gazed at it with her eyes, and decided to listen to the serpent and ultimately herself, rather than God
Sin is a matter of the heart, of looking inward into our own experiences and what we see with our own eyes, rather than what we heard from the Lord.
We will all see things with our eyes that are pleasing to us, and good for one thing or another.

Judges 21:25

In those days there was no king in Israel; each one did what was right in his own eyes.

Scariest Bible verse - everyone did what was right in his own eyes
Goodness comes from doing what’s right in God’s eyes, not our own

2026-05-27 Notes

2026-05-27T07:00:17Z

yesterday: 2026-05-22 Notes

FWBG - Genesis - 3.2

FWBG - Genesis - 1.2

2026-05-24T07:05:23Z

Theological Implicationf of Creation #

“Let there be…” God’s Word is the agency of creation
Jesus commanded Lazarus to come out of the grave

John 11:41–44

41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes above and said, “Father, I give thanks to you that you hear me. 42 And I know that you always hear me, but for the sake of the crowd standing around I said it, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 And when he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The one who had died came out, his feet and his hands bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped with a facecloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

Jesus calmed the storm

Mark 4:35–40

35 And on that day, when it was evening, he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him along, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great storm of wind developed, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already being filled with water. 38 And he was in the stern sleeping on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, is it not a concern to you that we are perishing?” 39 And he woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be silent!” And the wind abated and there was a great calm. 40 And he said to them, “Why are you fearful? Do you not yet have faith?”

God created - the implication is that creation belongs to him, and if he wishes then creation is accountable to him
Man is in cluded in creation, Man is accountable to God, and Man has a way to God through Jesus

It Will Be Hard To Do More

2026-05-22T06:23:20Z

Recently I was given a raise at work after I broached the subject with my manager. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be but I have learned two things in nearly a decade in corporate America:

No one will fight for you harder than yourself
The worst they can say is no

The Raise #

So I talked with my manager about my workload and compensation, and to my surprise he took me seriously. He went up the chain with some accomplishments of the year that I wrote up for him (it’s his job to advocate for me, but it’s certainly my job to give him the ammunition to take into battle). Before much time had passed, a big wig put some time on my calendar. I had a good relationship with my (then) manager, and even with the big wig, so there was always some amount of personal connection amidst the money-talk.

The Reorg #

Cue a managerial change and reorganization of the team. The dust settled, and my manager wasn’t my manager and the big wig wasn’t a big wig over my team anymore. The details aren’t that relevant, but the outcome was that my now manager is someone I don’t know personally — back to square one of professional-relationship-building.

The Conversation #

Due to the timing of it all, when my raise became official it was this new manager who signed off on it. It was their happy-responsibility to have a quick chat to tell me it was official. But that conversation was the most awkward of the three.

Does this raise of X% close the gap with the other competing opportunities you mentioned to (previous manager)? Because it’ll be hard to do more than this.

???

Hard to do more?

I was taken aback initially. It felt almost threatening.

I really wasn’t sure how to respond. I think I was grateful and cordial, talked about how I really do believe in the mission of our work and I’m thankful that I can receive a raise. This lady is nice but she doesn’t know what my “other opportunities” are, so there’s no honest answer for me to give. I wanted to be sarcastic, crack a joke about record profits, make light of her describing me as a “critical player in enterprise deliverables,” but I’m not trying to make enemies.

The Reframe #

So I called a friend to vent, of course, and he gave me some good advice.

It was a threat.

But not in the way I took it at first. My friend has been at the same company longer than me, and he expounded on her words: “it will be hard to do more.” I felt like she was annoyed with me for fighting for a raise, but my friend said she was probably just trying to give me a realistic view of my position in the company. “It will be hard to do more” means there are processes in place at such a large enterprise. Rewarding start-up-like behavior and contribution just isn’t well-supported. It’s much easier to let someone quit who’s been with the company a decade and replace them for 20% more than it is to just pay them 20% more. If someone (like me) isn’t satisfied, that’s not the only thing in the conversation - time at the company, time in position, time under specific manager, etc. all are hurdles to more compensation, and I’m referring to salary anyways, equity feels like it’s out of my grasp. But if I’m gone and market conditions dictate that my position and responsibilities are worth 20% more than what I was being paid, that’s what the position will be posted at. My previous manager and the big wig were the types to say policy-be-damned when it would get in the way - it might be how I got this raise in the first place. But no shade to my new manager, they’re just doing their job.

In the end, they were just being honest, and I should appreciate that.

2026-05-22 Notes

2026-05-22T06:22:57Z

yesterday: 2026-05-13 Notes

FWBG - Genesis - 1.1

2026-05-17T07:26:23Z

The stars are the work of God’s fingers:

Psalm 8:3

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place—

But salvation is the work of his right hand:

Psalm 98:1

Sing to Yahweh a new song, for he has done wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have secured his victory.

In Genesis 1, God created the Heavens and the earth. He brings order to chaos.

How can we bring order to chaos? #

cleaning the playroom

How can we rest? #

enjoy the creation God has given us
rejoice in salvation, rejoicing brings refreshment to the soul