1 Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master. 2 Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, 3 and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. 4 They remained...
I stopped immediately as they walked by, pausing mid-sentence to take it all in – the beauty, the perfectly coiffed hair, the slim figures, the flawless skin, the unique and expensive dresses accessorized with the perfect heels and equally expensive jewelry. They oozed money, status,...
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you...
21 One day as Mordecai was on duty at the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthana and Teresh—who were guards at the door of the king’s private quarters—became angry at King Xerxes and plotted to assassinate him. 22 But Mordecai heard about the...
1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 The Lord sent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So...
1 How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for...
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And...
This week, Matt kicks off the new series in Esther by teaching through the first chapter of the book. Though Esther does not explicitly mention God, it contains powerful lessons about divine sovereignty. It presents a narrative that clearly displays the transcendence of God’s plan...
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my groaning. 2 Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. 3 In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to...
We all want to know and understand the Bible better, but when it comes to putting all the pieces together and making sense of the bigger story of Scripture, things can get complicated. How do we glean the meaning and message of a particular book?...
1 After these things when the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s attendants, who served him, said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king....
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose...
Andy Golla is a senior at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. This past summer he interned at Grace Church through the Kairos High School summer program. Andy learned what it means to be a leader, the value of bearing weight...
1 Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise! 2 For the Lord Most High is awesome. He is the great King of all the earth. 3 He subdues the nations before us, putting our enemies beneath our feet. 4 He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance, the...
When Randy and I were asked to write about adventure, we thought, “what could we possibly say about it to be of any help?” There was no grand plan in the beginning of our marriage to have “adventure” in our life. Like romance in our...
1 So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner. 2 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers,...
God’s design for all marriages is that they would be a grand adventure, working toward a shared purpose worthy of the entire lives of each spouse. The challenge for spouses is to discover what this will look like for their own marriage. What is the...
1 Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? 2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. 3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” 4...
1 These events happened in the days of King Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. 2 At that time Xerxes ruled his empire from his royal throne at the fortress of Susa. 3 In the third year of his reign,...
Lydia Fastzkie is a senior at Traveler's Rest High School. This past summer she interned at Grace Church through the Kairos High School summer program. Lydia learned a lot about herself, the importance of trusting the Lord, and gained a broader perspective on working in...
1 How joyful are those who fear the Lord— all who follow his ways! 2 You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be! 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit...
My husband and I met in student ministry when we were 12 years old and started dating when we were 16 and 17 years old. We had amazing marital counseling during our engagement and managed, by God’s grace and protection, to practice purity our entire...
1 Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. 2 Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. 3 They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. 4 Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They...
As an essential aspect of oneness, marital intimacy tends to be emblematic of the overall health of a marriage. Sadly, this area is most often marked by brokenness and bitterness instead of the power and enjoyment that God means it for. If we are to...
1 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if...