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  Exodus 2:11-15 Moses had grown up in Pharaoh’s house, but he knew the Hebrews were his people. One day, he went out and saw what life looked like outside the palace. He saw the forced labor, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses knew something was wrong. So he looked around, saw nobody was watching, killed the Egyptian, and buried him in the sand. The next day, Moses saw two Hebrews fighting. He confronted the one who was in the wrong, who then snapped back at him, “Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Uh-oh. “Surely the thing is known,” Moses thought. The sand might not be a great hiding place, after all. Think about Moses for a second. In this moment, he knows what injustice looks like and that his people were suffering. He even knew enough to recognize when one Hebrew was mistreating another. His problem wasn’t that he couldn’t tell right from wrong. His problem was that he didn’t automatically know what to do about it. Isn't that a part of growing up s...

  Acts 18:24-26 Click here to listen to today’s devotional My grandma wanted to watch a movie with us one night. So, we took her pick and had a blast. As the movie went on, she kept saying she didn't remember certain parts. She didn't remember the movie being as funny as it was that night. Turns out, we were watching the director's cut. The director's cut is the same story, but there are additional scenes added that you didn't know about. New conversations, details, or experiences help develop and make more sense of the story. Apollos had a faith like that. Acts describes him as eloquent, passionate, and deeply knowledgeable in the Scriptures. He boldly taught about Jesus. In other words, he wasn't a beginner. But then Priscilla and Aquila invited him into their home and, as The Message puts it, "told him the rest of the story." Now, they didn't tear down what he already knew. They expanded it. They gave him the director's cut. How many of us ...

  James 3:13-18 Click here to listen to today’s devotional After the English Civil War of the 17th century, some leaders in the Church of England were tired of the endless theological battles. Some of them became known as Latitudinarians. Their name came because they argued for a little more latitude or room to choose in matters that weren't essential. They believed Christians could disagree on many secondary issues while remaining united in faith. They valued reason, moderation, and charity over the constant conflict that had brought about so much turmoil. While I'm still learning more about their movement, I find myself admiring their desire. The church today still spends a lot of energy arguing about issues that, while important, often turn into a desire to win debates rather than love neighbors. The Latitudinarians remind me that a gentle spirit often bears more witness than a loud opinion. But their movement also had weaknesses. In prioritizing reason and tolerance, they s...

  Matthew 13:10-17 Click here to listen to today’s devotional Maybe it's because my last name is Fletcher, but growing up, I always had a soft spot for Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote . She managed to solve every mystery in one episode. That's probably why, whenever I read the word mystery , even in the Bible, my mind wants to think, "Something to figure out." Like a puzzle waiting to be solved. But that's not what Jesus means. The Greek word mystērion refers to something that was once hidden but has now been revealed. The mystery isn't that God is keeping secrets from us. The mystery is that God is pulling back the curtain. For generations, God's people longed to know how God would set the world right. The prophets spoke of a coming kingdom. The people hoped and prayed for it. And there were times that they saw glimpses, but never the whole picture. Then Jesus came. The mystery, then, wasn't a code to crack, but a person to follow. And maybe ...

  Matthew 11:20-24 Listen to today’s devotional From time to time after worship, someone will say to me, "Oh, I wish so-and-so had been here to hear that." Maybe you've said it too. Sometimes you're right. Maybe they did need to hear it. But whenever someone says that to me, I usually smile and respond, "They should've heard it. But you were here." In Matthew 11, Jesus rebukes the cities where he had performed miracle after miracle. The people of the cities had seen God's work with their own eyes, yet nothing had changed. There was plenty of evidence, but no repentance. This is one of those passages that sound like it's for someone else to hear. We all know people who should be in church or who could use a come-to-Jesus moment. There are people you can probably picture in your mind who you know need a little humility, or just a little wake-up call. But Jesus wasn't speaking to absent people. He was speaking to the ones standing in front of hi...

  Psalm 78:1-8 Listen to today's devotional Psalm 78 envisions an experience that churches can use to model intergenerational practices. The psalm underscores the importance of remembering God's past acts of salvation and deliverance. Included in that remembrance is the often unfaithful response of the people. Most notable in this psalm is the insistence that this recounting be shared among all generations. The older generations have heard of God's deeds from their ancestors. Now, they shall not "hide" these experiences from their children but share them. This sharing will spread to the "next generation." As a result, they will "set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments." Faith and discipleship take root in a community's shared experiences. Psalm 78 doesn't imagine an accidental gathering of the generations. Instead, it sees a deliberate effort to form young people in the knowledge and trust of Go...

  1 Timothy 1:3-7 Listen to today's devotional There is a point about the goal of Christian teaching made clear in 1 Timothy 1. The goal is not knowledge for knowledge’s sake, and it's not rule-keeping even for order’s sake. The aim is love. It always has been. And, as we are faithful, it always will be. Everything God reveals, every word of instruction, every act of grace, draws us deeper into love. The love we experience in Christ is love rooted in God's goodness and leads to a faith that is genuine. Ilia Delio, in  The Unbearable Wholeness of God , describes creation itself as moving toward unity in God’s love. She sees the universe not as random fragments of space matter but as a whole. The universe is bound together in divine energy, divine love that always leans toward connection and communion. What Paul said to Timothy two thousand years ago, Delio reminds us again today: the point of it all is love. Now, our temptation, then, is to fragment. To separate faith from d...

  Psalm 139:13-18 Listen to today's devotional I'll confess that I'm more of a watch-the-movie than read-the-book person. That's mainly because of my difficulty with reading. But I have learned there is something lost when we forget the story first written. That's not to say there isn't creativity and depth in the movie. The movie, though, has a timeline it needs to stick to. No one's watching twelve-hour movies--unless it's broken up into episodes on Netflix. Even then, there can be a richness of the story that doesn't come to light without the reading. A movie condenses a book. Characters are trimmed, plots get simplified and details need to be skipped. I wonder if we try to get the movie version out of life, too. We look for shortcuts, hoping to avoid the hard parts and rush to the end. In doing so, we miss the depth of what God has written into our journey. Reading takes patience, focus and imagination. These tools help you step into the author...

Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube  Monday: Embracing the Wilderness Focus: Understanding the purpose of the wilderness in our spiritual journey. Reflection: The wilderness may appear as a detour, but it’s a crucial part of God’s plan for us. Just as the Israelites had to journey through the wilderness to reach the Promised Land, our own wilderness seasons are meant for our preparation, not punishment. Scripture: Exodus 16:1-3 Deuteronomy 8:2-3 Questions: What "wilderness" experience are you currently facing? How can you shift your perspective to see this time as preparation rather than punishment? Can you recall past wilderness experiences that have led to growth or blessing? Tuesday: Daily Bread and God's Provision Focus: Relying on God’s daily provision. Reflection: God provided manna daily to the Israelites, teaching them to rely on Him each day. This reflects our need to trust in God’s provision, knowing that He provides exactly what we need for today. Scripture: E...

  Ecclesiastes 6:1-6 Listen to today's devotional When I tell people what my favorite book of the Bible is, they think they know why. Yes, the book of John does have the greatest verse of all time in it: John 1:6 (There was a man sent from God whose name was John). But it's not the name of the book that I'm drawn to. It’s the light, the promise, the invitation to abundant life in Jesus that runs through every chapter. Now, people who have read Ecclesiastes are surprised when I tell them that's my second favorite. It seems so dreary and cynical when you first read it. But I love it! I don't think the Teacher of the text is trying to drag into despair. I think he's trying to wake us up. The book tells me to enjoy the gift that is the abundant life of Jesus. You know the old phrase we say when someone dies unexpectedly. "You never know." We call that wisdom, but we don't always live like we believe it. My children, the Fletchermints, are in their twen...

  Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 Listen to today's devotional This week, I’ll experience nearly every season of life in a matter of three days. One day, I’ll celebrate a quinceañera. That's a sacred moment when a young girl steps into adulthood. She's dreaming about her future and who she’s becoming. The next day, I’ll stand with two families at two funerals, honoring lives deeply loved and dearly missed. And then, like most Sundays, I’ll lead worship, lifting up songs and prayers alongside my church family. It also happens to be the Sunday we’ll bless the backpacks of all our students. Preschoolers to graduate students will leave with a blessing for a new school year. Each of these events speaks to every part of life. That's a reminder to us today that all our faith connects to all our life. Faith in God isn't something relegated to one season of our lives, bound by age. No, Sunday school and learning the stories of the Bible are not only for little children. Praying, learnin...

  Ecclesiastes 2:9-17 Listen to today's devotional Some people are great at predicting how a movie will end. They catch the foreshadowing, notice the subtle cues and piece together what’s coming. But sometimes, it doesn’t take much skill. Some stories are predictable because we’ve seen how they go. Ecclesiastes is like that. If you’ve read the book, you know it’s not the Bible’s most joyous read. Every word of praise or achievement seems to come with a heavy dose of realism. You can almost hear it coming. So, when the Teacher lists all the rewards of his labor, the wisdom he’s gained and the wealth he’s built, we already know where he’s headed. He’s going to call it vanity. No plot twist there. Sure enough, even wisdom, as valuable as it is, turns out to be fleeting. The wise and the foolish meet the same end. But maybe that’s the point. The Teacher’s hard-won lessons give us a chance to reflect on our own pursuits. He’s honest about his frustration. At one point he says, “So I hat...

  Romans 11:33-36 Listen to today's devotional I came across a line recently that gave me a helpful perspective of the letter to the Romans. Speaking of the letter's focus on the gospel of Jesus, it said, “The gospel reveals how God is righteously righteousing unrighteous people.” Now, is that a little wordy? Yes. But also kind of perfect. It highlights Paul's conviction that everything begins and ends with God. We don't make ourselves right. God does that. From start to finish, it’s God’s work. It's God’s mercy, righteousness and grace poured out for all people. Or, as Paul says himself, “For from him and through him and to him are all things.” That might sound like a lot of theology. If it does, welcome to Romans. Paul doesn’t always make it easy. But he does make understanding it worth the effort. Romans is widely considered Paul’s deepest and most profound letter. And for good reason. Notice, too, something that happens after some of Paul's reflection on God...