Reading Matthew for Lent

Reading your Bible for yourself is a gift and a privilege that we take for granted far too often.  In this world where we have all the information of the ages on our cell phones, we neglect the wisdom of God assuming it will be there when we "really need it".  But God doesn't want to be a wallflower waiting for us to get done with something else.  God wants to be first in our hearts and minds.  Reading God's word and reflecting on how God speaks to us through the life of Jesus is one of the first ways we can connect with God.

I'm challenging you to forget about giving up chocolate or other silly Lenten promise - take up something important instead.  Take up the practice of spending a little time everyday in God's word.

Each week I will be reflecting on my reading of Matthew and you can add your thoughts or questions in the comments section.  Lets do this together and grow in Christ!




Here is a suggested plan:

The Book of Matthew for Lent

28 chapters in 6 weeks. 

Focus on creating a daily ritual of reading your Bible & praying for yourself and others. 

Read about a chapter each day.  

The last day or two go back and reflect on what you read  - underline or highlight verses that have special meaning to you.

Week 1

Chapter 1 - the ancestors of Jesus, recognize any of those names? & birth of Jesus

Chapter 2 - Wise Men & evil of Herod

Chapter 3 - John the Baptist (Jesus' cousin) and Jesus' baptism

Chapter 4 - Jesus is tempted then begins his public ministry

Chapter 5 & 6 - The Sermon on the Mount

Most of these are familiar stories - what surprised you this week?

Week 2

Chapter 7 - Continuing  Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 8 - Healings & storms stilled

Chapter 9 - Healings and calling of Matthew

Chapter 10 - The twelve apostles

Chapter 11 - Praise for John the Baptist

Lots of healing & calling of followers this week - how has Jesus healed you? How is he calling you?
Week 3

Chapter 12 - Lord of the Sabbath

Chapter 13 - Jesus' Parables

Chapter 14 - Death of John - walking on water

Chapter 15 - what defiles? feeding of 4,000

Chapter 16 - who do you say that I am?

Jesus tells lots of parables this week - any that were new to you?  Think about the question "who do you say that I am?" from 16: 15.  Who do you think Jesus was & is?

Week 4

Chapter 17 - Jesus is Transfigured

Chapter 18 - Greatness, sin & forgiveness

Chapter 19 - divorce & money

Chapter 20 - the last will be first

Jesus surprises a lot of people this week with his transfiguration, his teaching and his parables.  What surprised you this week?

Week 5

Chapter 21 - the story of Palm Sunday

Chapter 22 - parable of the Wedding feast

Chapter 23 - denouncing scribes & Pharisees

Chapter 24 -  foretelling the destruction of the Temple & persecutions

Chapter 23 has lots of "woe to you"s in it - who do you think Jesus would say "woe to you"  to today?

Week 6

Chapter 25 - be prepare, judgment day is coming

Chapter 26 - the Passover becomes the Lord's supper

Chapter 27 - Jesus is put on trial and executed

Chapter 28 - Jesus is resurrected from the dead

Reflect on Jesus' trial and execution.  How does it read compared with how you have imagined it in the past? 

Having spent 6 weeks with Jesus in Matthew, what have you learned?  What questions do you have?