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.
MONDAY 3/23/26: Mark 10:46-52, What do you want me to do for you?
Bartimaeus is the last person healed in Mark’s Gospel, before the beginning of Jesus’s last week. In contrast to the rich man, who asked for eternal life (10:17), and John and James, who asked for prominent places in glory (10:37), Bartimaeus asks to be able to see (10:51). The wealthy and even the disciples missed the point. Bartimaeus then followed Jesus “on the way.” What do you need to ask of Jesus?
TUESDAY 3/24/26: Luke 8:40-56, She’s only sleeping
Luke borrows this story, almost word for word, from Mark. As you read it, what are some new details that jump out at you? After Jesus has been told that the girl has died, he tells them that she will be healed. From Jesus’ perspective, death is not final. Death is not death. It’s more like sleep, or it’s more like a sickness to be healed. How should we take Jesus’ words here? Is he just playing a language game to comfort us? Or is he shaping the way we should think about death?
WEDNESDAY 3/25/26: Psalm 118:1-4,19-29, The rejected Stone
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the day Jerusalem opened up its gates and welcomed Jesus as King! The stone that was rejected is becoming the cornerstone — the foundation for this new kingdom. The words, “Hosanna!” is a translation of verse 25, “Save us!” This is a psalm of coronation and ends with a promise of eternal love.
THURSDAY 3/26/26, Ruth 4:13-22, More genealogy, yay!
Ruth marries Boaz and becomes the great-grandmother of King David. David will be the king that ends the cycle of Judges, and ushers in a time of peace and prosperity for Israel. Remember that this story begins with friendship, courage, and love, not power, oppression, and violence. Ruth also becomes an ancestor of Jesus. What lessons might Jesus learn from his ancestor, the Moabite, Ruth?
FRIDAY 3/27/26: Philippians 3:1-16, Sewer trash compared to Christ
The Philippians are being pulled in a couple different directions. One of those directions is toward circumcision and a more Jewish observation of Christ. However, it is not about living up to rituals or temple laws! Paul had all of that, but now he considers it sewer trash compared to simply knowing Christ, joining Christ in suffering, and joining Christ in joy. What in this Scripture is God highlighting for you today? Listen for God.
SATURDAY 3/28/26: Mark 11:1-11; 15:16-20, Two Parades
Mark’s Gospel is a story where the audience knows the ending. We know how this ends, so we are invited to witness the characters in the story discover what they do not know. Those on Palm Sunday are unaware that he is being led to death. Those leading him to the cross are unaware of the irony of their mocking; he is the Lord of all. The Palm crowd is unaware of the kind of King he is. The soldiers are unaware that is a King at all. Who is Jesus to you? Join us as we remember the Palm parade in worship, and then shift to the beginnings of Jesus’s passion. You matter to God.
Bartimaeus is the last person healed in Mark’s Gospel, before the beginning of Jesus’s last week. In contrast to the rich man, who asked for eternal life (10:17), and John and James, who asked for prominent places in glory (10:37), Bartimaeus asks to be able to see (10:51). The wealthy and even the disciples missed the point. Bartimaeus then followed Jesus “on the way.” What do you need to ask of Jesus?
TUESDAY 3/24/26: Luke 8:40-56, She’s only sleeping
Luke borrows this story, almost word for word, from Mark. As you read it, what are some new details that jump out at you? After Jesus has been told that the girl has died, he tells them that she will be healed. From Jesus’ perspective, death is not final. Death is not death. It’s more like sleep, or it’s more like a sickness to be healed. How should we take Jesus’ words here? Is he just playing a language game to comfort us? Or is he shaping the way we should think about death?
WEDNESDAY 3/25/26: Psalm 118:1-4,19-29, The rejected Stone
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the day Jerusalem opened up its gates and welcomed Jesus as King! The stone that was rejected is becoming the cornerstone — the foundation for this new kingdom. The words, “Hosanna!” is a translation of verse 25, “Save us!” This is a psalm of coronation and ends with a promise of eternal love.
THURSDAY 3/26/26, Ruth 4:13-22, More genealogy, yay!
Ruth marries Boaz and becomes the great-grandmother of King David. David will be the king that ends the cycle of Judges, and ushers in a time of peace and prosperity for Israel. Remember that this story begins with friendship, courage, and love, not power, oppression, and violence. Ruth also becomes an ancestor of Jesus. What lessons might Jesus learn from his ancestor, the Moabite, Ruth?
FRIDAY 3/27/26: Philippians 3:1-16, Sewer trash compared to Christ
The Philippians are being pulled in a couple different directions. One of those directions is toward circumcision and a more Jewish observation of Christ. However, it is not about living up to rituals or temple laws! Paul had all of that, but now he considers it sewer trash compared to simply knowing Christ, joining Christ in suffering, and joining Christ in joy. What in this Scripture is God highlighting for you today? Listen for God.
SATURDAY 3/28/26: Mark 11:1-11; 15:16-20, Two Parades
Mark’s Gospel is a story where the audience knows the ending. We know how this ends, so we are invited to witness the characters in the story discover what they do not know. Those on Palm Sunday are unaware that he is being led to death. Those leading him to the cross are unaware of the irony of their mocking; he is the Lord of all. The Palm crowd is unaware of the kind of King he is. The soldiers are unaware that is a King at all. Who is Jesus to you? Join us as we remember the Palm parade in worship, and then shift to the beginnings of Jesus’s passion. You matter to God.