Judges 11:1-12:15, John 1:1-28, Psalms 101:1-8, Proverbs 14:13-14
Today is the 30th day of April welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it’s great to be here with you on the final day of the fourth month of the year. Wow, we have completed four months. And what an interesting four months it has been in the world, in the Scriptures, in our lives. And it’s nice to know that we are continuing the journey forward. So, we will certainly be continuing the journey forward in the book of Judges, which is what we’re working through in the Old Testament right now. When we get to the New Testament today, we will be beginning a new book, the Gospel of John and we’ll talk about that when we get there, but first we’re reading from the Common English Bible this week. Judges chapters 11 and 12.
Introduction to the Gospel of John:
Okay. So, as we said at the beginning, we’re beginning a new book today now that we’ve gotten to the New Testament. So, we’re ending the fourth month of the year and we’re starting the fourth gospel in the…in the Scriptures, the gospel of John, which is…is the final narrative that describes the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. And this is a bit different. Like, if we’ll member, Matthew, Mark and Luke, these are known as the synoptic Gospels because even though they are written to different audiences, they share a lot of the same source material, a lot of the same stories, and a lot of times word for word. John’s Gospel…John’s Gospel is a different…different thing, totally different texture than the other Gospels have. It’s like 90% different from the other Gospels, which gives us a whole lot of new and interesting context and perspective for Jesus life and ministry. And John was one of the disciples of Jesus. So, he knew the stories likely that had been written and were being told. He obviously knew the stories. He was there, but he probably also knew the other stories that were being told around by Jesus as the gospel spread. So, rather than telling the same stories it appears that he…that he wrote more of the story or the rest of the story. And this is important because the other Gospels were meant to tell the story of Jesus, leading to a compelling reason to believe and to become a disciple, to follow Jesus. And John wrote this gospel to those who already believed. So, he’s writing it to strengthen and deepen the faith of those who would already come to know the story of Jesus and believed in him, which…which would be most of us. And so, let’s drink deep as we begin the final gospel. I mean let’s really embrace this because after John is finished then we’ll be going into the birth of the church, the beginning of the church era. And I don’t want to say that we’ll be leaving Jesus behind. We certainly won’t, but we will be leaving behind the stories from the Gospels because we will have completed them. So, let's…let’s drink deep from the gospel of John. Today John chapter 1 verses 1 to 28.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for four months that we’ve spent this year every single day together in Your word. Thank You for all that You have done through it. We thank You that You’ve been with us and instructed and guided us through some pretty weird times. We thank You for never leaving or forsaking us. We thank You that You are with us always because You are within us. And, so, we release this fourth month. There is only one way ahead and that is a forward and so this day will pass and along with it so will this month and we’ll move into a new month and we know You are already there waiting. And, so, we find comfort in that. We thank You for Your kindness. We thank You for Your mercy. We thank You for Your grace and we invite Your Holy Spirit into all that we do and say in this day and in the month ahead. Come Jesus we pray. In Your mighty name, we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
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I can’t believe it. We’re at the end of the fourth month of the year. Like, can you believe it? What a weird, strange year. At least for us like the last…well for us like the last six weeks we’ve been pretty much, you know, staying away from each other in all this, and tomorrow some…some of that begins to…begins to loosen a little bit in some places and others it’s a couple more weeks and still kind of watching it all happen. But we’re here and we’ve been here every day, and that’s the beauty of the global campfire. Day by day, no matter what is happening in the world we’re just…we’re here and there is a space that we create together, and we come here, and it’s a place of serenity, it’s a place to kind of let it all go and simply let God’s word come into our lives. And, so, it’s been a joy to spend this last month with you, strange, strange as it has been and I’m looking forward to the weeks ahead with you. So, anyway, dailyaudiobible.com, that’s home base and that is…that is where we stay connected.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here next month, which is tomorrow.