PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2025-2026

We have to state the obvious even though the Scripture that we have today does not reflect what this day is for us. September 11 is a day that we will never forget. It has changed the course of history not only for our nation but for the entire world. As disciples of Jesus we are to live in this world and not of it as Paul tells us, but the events of this world impact us and affect us. I pray that today you will have an opportunity to think about how the evil actions of a very small group of people in this day and age are able to impact the broader world in general. It never used to be that way. But the converse should also be true. The action of a very small group of peole for good should also be able to impact and sway the world toward Jesus. That should be our goal.

Matthew 5 contain what is famously called either the sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes. The sermon on the Mount because we read early in this chapter that he climbed a mountain and spoke to his disciples with a crowd of people being present. The Beatitudes because the first 11 verses begin with the word in blessed which in the Latin is beato and so the term beatitude. There is so much to touch bases on. Jesus calls blessed all those who act and live in a completely opposite manner than what current culture and society tell us how we ought to live.

We have teachings on anger, adultery, divorce, swearing, and vengeance. We also have one of the most poweful commandments, not options but commandments, to love our enemies even if they hate us and revile us. We are told in respect to our enemies that we are never to return evil for evil. That’s pretty powerful, and it is something we should follow.

This chapter is divided into two fairly consequential events in Jesus’ life. Right after he was announced to the world in his baptism he is taken away into the desert where he goes for 40 days and 40 nights. That sequence of 40 should ring familiar especially for the Old Testament where Moses and the Israelites wandered for 40 years. Noah and his family were on the boat as it rained for 40 days. Elijah, in a very similar fashion to Jesus, fasts for 40 days and then the angels come and give him food. This fasting and removing himself from people was all done in preparation for the beginning of his ministry. Going away and fasting and preparing yourself for what comes next is never a bad idea.

It is important to see that it is also in this chapter where we find out what Jesus’ home town was as an adult. It isn’t Nazareth, from where he grew up, it isn’t Bethlehem, where he was born, but rather you can see in verse 13 that he made Capernaum his home town. It is right along the Sea of Galilee.

Then Jesus calls some of his disciples, not all of them. We find this as the call of the fishermen where Peter and Andrew and James and John are called to follow Jesus so that they would one day become fishers of people. They dropped their nets and followed him. This is before we read about any miracles or anything that happens that would make one think that Jesus was a followable person. The miracles happen at the end of the chapter and he fills out his disciple cadre later on.

Jesus has not yet begun his ministry, and yet here we find ourselves already in the third chapter. We find that the first step before he begins his ministry is to be proclaimed to the world through his baptism by John the Baptist. John is quite an interesting character. Keep in mind John the Baptist is not the same person as the John who wrote the fourth Gospel. That John was the beloved disciple of Jesus. This John is Jesus’ cousin who was born to Elizabeth and Zechariah as we read in Luke 1. John the Baptist was probably one of the ascetics who lived in Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

But John’s goal was clear, he came baptizing in water for the forgiveness of sins. Let’s be clear, the baptism that he provided was very different from our sacrament of baptism. His baptism was in order to prepare and cleanse people before they entered the temple. It had to happen frequently and often and that is why he had such a crowd around him at all times. Especially the religious leaders who had to be cleansed every time that they entered the temple. Our baptism, the sacrament of baptism, is that which has taken the place of circumcision. It is done once and for all and it is a sign and the seal of our acceptance into the kingdom of God through the grace and blood of Jesus. It is not an act that we chose to do, it is that which God provides for us in order to welcome us into his kingdom.

We remain in the infancy stage of Jesus in the second chapter of Matthew. We find the wise men who make their way to Herod. Notice two things about this story: 1) It never mentions how many there are and, 2) it says that the wise men go to the “house” in vs.11. Those are two things that the Christmas story normally assumes, and yet Scripture does not. I hope it isn’t a buzz kill. In the midst of this story we find Jesus and his mom and dad flee their country in the dead of night and make their way into Egypt, which wasn’t known to be much safer. But it was all they could do. I can’t help but think of those families that we helped as a church while we were in Moscow who were fleeing their countries, thinking they were landing in Europe, but ended up in Moscow, which is anything but Europe. We were able to get some of the refugee status and they settled in the US. Some others were able to return home and we helped them do that as well. Jesus fled to a foreign land and then came back, it is a part of his story that we often forget. We will see soon, next chapter, how we go from baby Jesus, or very young Jesus, to a 30 years old.

In Joshua 2:1 we read that the spies of Israel went to look over the land and began by staying the night in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. It is said matter of fact, but in our ears today it rings harshly and we wonder why did they choose that house? The first chapter of Matthew contains the geneaology of Jesus where we see the family history of the one who is called the Messiah. The fact that Jesus is the Messiah is mentioned by Matthew twice in this chapter. But it isn’t only Rahab. We read about Ruth who was a foreigner like Rahab and yet is within the line of Jesus.

Finally, the story of the birth of Jesus lays before the scandal of Mary being with child and not yet being married to Joseph. The history of the person Jesus is not a straight line and it is not clean at all. We often imagine that in order to get ahead in this world things have to line up for you perfectly. Not with God, God allows us all to embrace the vision and the future that he wants for us, a vision that we find in Jeremiah 29:11 that states very clearly for all of us: “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.” What a great beginning to our time togethe as we read through the Gospels.

90 Day Challenge 2026

We know that there are various Psalms with very different emphases and we see that clearly here. Most of these psalms depict a God who will be protect and defend God’s people. Now, there tends to be a cause and effect in regards to God’s protection. If we obey, we hear, we will be defended and protected. If we obey, we hear, then God will provide all that we need. We can’t stand too close to that flame because the false doctrine of prosperity Gospel can rise up and bite you if you walk too closely to that line. We do not believe that God only rewards the good and punishes the bad. But, we do believe that our obedience often has a direct line influence on what our lives look like.

There is much to be said in these verses. Paul has consistently chastised the Corinthians church because they were not towing the line in the faith or in action. But here Paul tends to take a little bit of a softer approach, even commending them for their actions, and especially for their giving. I want to highlight chapter 9 where we find the verse that we often use which states: He who sows sparingly, will reap sparingly. But the converse is also true, he sows abundantly, will reap abundantly. This is not a lesson on prosperity, but rather on God meeting our needs. The key is to make sure that we understand what our needs are which often need to be delineated from our wants. God will meet our needs, but we will be in want if we want God to meet our desires that do not rise to the level of need.

There are a number of concepts in this Scripture that are important to view and which I had forgotten are included in these passages. The first is the ministry of reconciliation where we are commanded to not only be reconciled with God but also to be reconciled with each other. You can find that in II Corinthians 5 where we read that Christ was made to be sin who knew no sin, and that we are ambassadors for Christ. All of this terminology reminds us of the work that Christ has done for us, and so, as a result, the work that we ought to do for Christ.

We also have the concept of being willing to identify sin and bring people to repentance without shame or guilt. The part that we do the worst job at is to actually identify and declare sin as sin and then trying to bring people to repentance. We are very comfortable with allowing sin to live and fester without saying anything because we do not want to judge. That is a hard line to walk, but one that we almost exclusively walk on the side of not saying anything to anyone because it is hard and not something that we feel like we are called to do. But the presence of sin is real, and we have to deal with it somehow, but we don’t.

The most commonly used Scripture at the committal service, the part where the ashes or the body are buried, is found in Revelation 21 where we find the passage that there will be no more crying or weeping and, most importantly, death will be no more. This is what the people of John’s day needed to hear, and what has traction in our day and age of all times. We need to be consoled knowing that God will one day make all things new, that is also part of this Scripture. This is also the Scripture that reminds us that God is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. God provides the assurance that not only is God in control, but that there will be a new heaven and a new earth in the days to come. I also love the part of this Scripture that reminds us that one day will come when a temple will no longer be needed because God is our temple and just his presence in our midst is all we need. By the way, we are already in that time period. We no longer need a temple.