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.
G•P•S - Grow, Pray, Study Guide, 1/12/26 – 1/17/26
Faith UMC
MONDAY 1/12/26: 1 John 4:7-21, God is Love
Christianity’s radical contribution to the the human discussion on God is that God is Love. 1 John tells us that this claim is what is revealed in the life and death of Jesus. God holds nothing back for us. God is love. Is this not a paradigm shift? If we begin with God is Love, what other notions of God need be reevaluated?
TUESDAY 1/13/26: Luke 4:14-30, Jesus’ mission
As we have already seen in the Christmas stories, Luke’s Gospel has a strong emphasis on care for the poor and the marginalized. We see this in Jesus’ announcement. He’s here to give good news to the poor! At first, the people like it, but then they turn on Jesus when he announces that this good news is for everyone, even foreigners. What does good news for the poor mean to you? Why do you think the people reacted so violently against this message?
WEDNESDAY 1/14/26: Psalm 36, Your love stretches to the sky
This is a meditation on God’s goodness. Throughout Scripture, we find that God’s chief attribute is love. In fact, the New Testament says God is love. Let the words of this psalm sustain you today. Think about God’s love in your life. How do we respond to love? We respond to love with love for God and for others.
THURSDAY 1/15/26, Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Open your hand to the needy
As we continue to read the famous and monumental Law of Moses given to the Israelites, it is important to remember that this nation is a group of formerly enslaved people. They were not a free people whom God is now placing restrictions on. They were enslaved, and now God is giving them freedom and order to live by. Included in this order is a command to care for the needy. It is a reminder that God has cared for you, set you free, so go and do likewise. God is still setting us free and bringing order into our lives.
FRIDAY 1/16/26: Ephesians 2:11-22, The cross makes us one
Before we start thinking that Christ sacrifice is merely about making my own soul right with God, Paul tells us that it breaks down division between people, and makes peace between people. In fact, in Christ, we have been made into a new people, community, and body. How are you connected to the Body of Christ, the church? How can you strengthen the bond?
SATURDAY 1/17/26: John 11:17-37, Jesus and the Most Moved Mover
Ancient Greek philosophers reasoned that everything is caused or moved by something, but this chain of causes cannot stretch back infinitely, so there must be an uncreated Cause, or an “Unmoved Mover.” This idea portrays God as cold and unaffected deity. In fact, it was once a heresy to proclaim that God can suffer or empathize, such was God’s immovability. Jesus reveals something different about God. God is moved. God is moved by us. Join us as we continue our sermon series “God Can’t,” as we continue to explore what an uncompromising view of God’s love can do for us. You matter to God.
Faith UMC
MONDAY 1/12/26: 1 John 4:7-21, God is Love
Christianity’s radical contribution to the the human discussion on God is that God is Love. 1 John tells us that this claim is what is revealed in the life and death of Jesus. God holds nothing back for us. God is love. Is this not a paradigm shift? If we begin with God is Love, what other notions of God need be reevaluated?
TUESDAY 1/13/26: Luke 4:14-30, Jesus’ mission
As we have already seen in the Christmas stories, Luke’s Gospel has a strong emphasis on care for the poor and the marginalized. We see this in Jesus’ announcement. He’s here to give good news to the poor! At first, the people like it, but then they turn on Jesus when he announces that this good news is for everyone, even foreigners. What does good news for the poor mean to you? Why do you think the people reacted so violently against this message?
WEDNESDAY 1/14/26: Psalm 36, Your love stretches to the sky
This is a meditation on God’s goodness. Throughout Scripture, we find that God’s chief attribute is love. In fact, the New Testament says God is love. Let the words of this psalm sustain you today. Think about God’s love in your life. How do we respond to love? We respond to love with love for God and for others.
THURSDAY 1/15/26, Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Open your hand to the needy
As we continue to read the famous and monumental Law of Moses given to the Israelites, it is important to remember that this nation is a group of formerly enslaved people. They were not a free people whom God is now placing restrictions on. They were enslaved, and now God is giving them freedom and order to live by. Included in this order is a command to care for the needy. It is a reminder that God has cared for you, set you free, so go and do likewise. God is still setting us free and bringing order into our lives.
FRIDAY 1/16/26: Ephesians 2:11-22, The cross makes us one
Before we start thinking that Christ sacrifice is merely about making my own soul right with God, Paul tells us that it breaks down division between people, and makes peace between people. In fact, in Christ, we have been made into a new people, community, and body. How are you connected to the Body of Christ, the church? How can you strengthen the bond?
SATURDAY 1/17/26: John 11:17-37, Jesus and the Most Moved Mover
Ancient Greek philosophers reasoned that everything is caused or moved by something, but this chain of causes cannot stretch back infinitely, so there must be an uncreated Cause, or an “Unmoved Mover.” This idea portrays God as cold and unaffected deity. In fact, it was once a heresy to proclaim that God can suffer or empathize, such was God’s immovability. Jesus reveals something different about God. God is moved. God is moved by us. Join us as we continue our sermon series “God Can’t,” as we continue to explore what an uncompromising view of God’s love can do for us. You matter to God.