Grow • Pray • Study
daily Devotional Guide

Our Grow • Pray • Study (GPS) Guide offers daily readings and thoughts that follow along the Scriptural themes of our Sunday Worship services.

In the month of May, we'll focus on the Gospel of Matthew. Join us as we highlight Matthew's emphasis on God's faithfulness to the people of Israel even as God surprises us with Jesus. The GPS will be updated weekly, so check back here often!

G•P•S - Grow, Pray, Study Guide, 5/5/25 – 5/10/25
Faith UMC

MONDAY 5/5/25: Matthew 5:21-48, Dangers of a new law
Matthew is committed to showing Jesus as a continuation, not a deviation from the Hebrew Bible’s laws. Jesus doesn’t replace the laws, but unfolds them to uncover the deeper way of God. Unfortunately, Christians often fall for the trap of creating a new law. What are “Christian” rules that miss the point? What’s the deeper call of God in Jesus’s teachings?

TUESDAY 5/6/25: Matthew 6:1-18, Lord, teach us how to be religious
Matthew 5-7 is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Just as Moses established new ethics on Mt. Sinai, Jesus unfolds deeper ethics on this Mount. Here, he gives us instruction on how to go about our religious practices: prayer, giving to the poor, and fasting. The concern is humility and show. What is Jesus saying to you today about your practices? What other spiritual practices do you do that you could add to this list?

WEDNESDAY 5/7/25: Matthew 7:15-29, Fruit and wise builders
The Sermon on the Mount is concluded with a warning against false teachers and parable about listening. We often think of false teachers as people with incorrect doctrine, but the danger is much greater than that. The radical hospitality of the early church made them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Therefore, Jesus calls us to know people by their actions. Do they, do we, put into practice the teachings of Jesus?
 
THURSDAY 5/8/25: Matthew 8:1-13, Boundary breaking medical care
Having taught how we should live, Jesus then demonstrates by healing. These two healings are interesting. First we have a ceremonially unclean leper, who, according to the law, should be avoided lest you become unclean yourself. Second, we have a foreigner, even an oppressor and arm of Rome seeking help from a Jew. Jesus breaks these boundaries, and this is the Kingdom of God proclaimed. What boundaries do we need to break?

FRIDAY 5/9/25: Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Who can forgive sins?
This next miracle in Matthew has its parallel in Mark 2:1-12. The issue is not so much about whether or not Jesus can heal someone. Rather, people are up in arms over Jesus forgiving sins. Blasphemy! Everyone knows only God can forgive sins! What are the Gospel writers saying about Jesus’s overlapping relationship to God?

SATURDAY 5/10/25: Matthew 10:26-31, Worth many sparrow
These are words of encouragement for the disciples sent out to do the work of Jesus in the world. The Bible doesn’t pull any punches: you will face difficulty. In your attempts to announce the Kingdom and heal the sick and care for the needy, you’ll face opposition and nay-sayers. Take courage, the God of the universe cares for you. Not a sparrow falls with God’s care, and you are worth more than many sparrows.