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, 9/14/26 – 9/19/26
Faith UMC
MONDAY 9/14/26: Philippians 2:1-12, The Christ Hymn
Paul, who is writing to a mostly non-Jewish audience, quotes what scholars call the “Christ Hymn” (vv. 6-11). In order to give more clout to his argument, Paul includes a hymn about Jesus that the audience would have already known. This letter was written only 20-30 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and this hymn, a symbol of their worship, was being used before that. For the earliest Christian groups, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was the center of their identities and the lens through which they viewed history and the world. How is Christ central for you?
TUESDAY 9/15/26: Luke 17:20-25, The Kingdom is already among you
The hope for the peaceful kingdom was still alive, and perhaps rekindled, as Jesus appeared on the scene. Supporters and nay-sayers asked Jesus, “When or where is this kingdom coming?” Jesus’ surprising answer is that it is already among you. Where have you seen God at work now? How do you see the Kingdom of God breaking into our world?
WEDNESDAY 9/16/26: Psalm 105:37-45, Remembering what God has done
Remembering our history is vital to our future and our faith. For the Israelites, it was important to remember the great things God did when God freed them from Egypt – after all, there are going to be times when it seems like God is not doing anything. In these moments, we need to remember how God has worked in the past. Think back on the ways that God has saved you, blessed you, and transformed you. Praise God for these acts, and look forward to what God will do next.
THURSDAY 9/17/26, 1 Kings 17:1-24, The man from Tishbe
Both Israel and Judah have lost their way and have experienced several generations of kings who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Then, Elijah, one of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history appears on the scene as if out of nowhere. He pronounces a drought to the king and then goes to minister to a widow in a foreign land. What does this say about God’s judgment on sin? What does this say about God’s mercy?
FRIDAY 9/18/26: Titus 2:1-15, Social instructions for the sake of the Gospel
This chapter does not sit well with our modern sensibilities, as it seems to advocate for the subjugation of women and slaves. First, these instructions are written to a particular time and place—not all places and all times. Paul and the early Christians were attempting to suss out God’s desire for life together in their context. Second, there was no imagination for an end to slavery. So, Paul instructs the enslaved persons to work with integrity for the sake of representing Christ to even the slaver. The enslaved person is empowered and sent to be a representative of Christ. Unsatisfying as it is for us, these letters reveal a people wrestling with what it means to follow Christ in their particular states of being—a question we must ask for our various states of being.
SATURDAY 9/19/26: Ephesians 2:11-22, Why church?
For so many people, it’s not Jesus that’s the hang-up; it’s the church! We could list the many failures of the church, and at some point we have to ask, “why do this anymore?” In spite of all our faults, there is still something life transforming about the faith community that we just can’t let go of. God can’t let go of it, either. Join us in worship as we try to see what God sees in God’s people—the church.
Faith UMC
MONDAY 9/14/26: Philippians 2:1-12, The Christ Hymn
Paul, who is writing to a mostly non-Jewish audience, quotes what scholars call the “Christ Hymn” (vv. 6-11). In order to give more clout to his argument, Paul includes a hymn about Jesus that the audience would have already known. This letter was written only 20-30 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and this hymn, a symbol of their worship, was being used before that. For the earliest Christian groups, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was the center of their identities and the lens through which they viewed history and the world. How is Christ central for you?
TUESDAY 9/15/26: Luke 17:20-25, The Kingdom is already among you
The hope for the peaceful kingdom was still alive, and perhaps rekindled, as Jesus appeared on the scene. Supporters and nay-sayers asked Jesus, “When or where is this kingdom coming?” Jesus’ surprising answer is that it is already among you. Where have you seen God at work now? How do you see the Kingdom of God breaking into our world?
WEDNESDAY 9/16/26: Psalm 105:37-45, Remembering what God has done
Remembering our history is vital to our future and our faith. For the Israelites, it was important to remember the great things God did when God freed them from Egypt – after all, there are going to be times when it seems like God is not doing anything. In these moments, we need to remember how God has worked in the past. Think back on the ways that God has saved you, blessed you, and transformed you. Praise God for these acts, and look forward to what God will do next.
THURSDAY 9/17/26, 1 Kings 17:1-24, The man from Tishbe
Both Israel and Judah have lost their way and have experienced several generations of kings who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Then, Elijah, one of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history appears on the scene as if out of nowhere. He pronounces a drought to the king and then goes to minister to a widow in a foreign land. What does this say about God’s judgment on sin? What does this say about God’s mercy?
FRIDAY 9/18/26: Titus 2:1-15, Social instructions for the sake of the Gospel
This chapter does not sit well with our modern sensibilities, as it seems to advocate for the subjugation of women and slaves. First, these instructions are written to a particular time and place—not all places and all times. Paul and the early Christians were attempting to suss out God’s desire for life together in their context. Second, there was no imagination for an end to slavery. So, Paul instructs the enslaved persons to work with integrity for the sake of representing Christ to even the slaver. The enslaved person is empowered and sent to be a representative of Christ. Unsatisfying as it is for us, these letters reveal a people wrestling with what it means to follow Christ in their particular states of being—a question we must ask for our various states of being.
SATURDAY 9/19/26: Ephesians 2:11-22, Why church?
For so many people, it’s not Jesus that’s the hang-up; it’s the church! We could list the many failures of the church, and at some point we have to ask, “why do this anymore?” In spite of all our faults, there is still something life transforming about the faith community that we just can’t let go of. God can’t let go of it, either. Join us in worship as we try to see what God sees in God’s people—the church.