The last thing you want to hear back from Jesus when you say 'amen' is "Get behind me, Satan!" Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 124 Q. What does the third request mean? A. “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” means, Help us and all people to reject our own wills and to obey your will without any back talk. Your will alone is good. Help us one and all to carry out the work we are called to, as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven. Summary Peter's recognition that Jesus is the Son of God forms a hinge in all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke); it's the point at which things change significantly in Jesus' earthly ministry. This is noticeable in the way that Matthew begins this passage which immediately follows Peter's confession with the words "from that time on...". Many of the people, including the disciples, thought that Jesus had come in order to make life on earth a little better. Perhaps someday He'd even be their king like what David was and would free them from Rome's oppressive yoke. But Jesus makes clear that His purpose is different: He was headed to Jerusalem to "suffer many things... be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (v21)" Suffering and being killed didn't match up with what Peter's concept of Jesus' ministry should be (notice that Peter is so taken aback by Jesus saying He'd be killed that he completely misses Jesus saying He'd be raised to life!). Peter, being the speak first and think later type of guy he was, "rebuked" Jesus! Suffering and death didn't fit into any sort of picture of worldly success. We're used to seeing Jesus respond to the Pharisees and other bad guys with sharp language, but the most stinging of all of Jesus' words are the ones He spoke to His chief disciple: "Get behind me, Satan!" Dig Deeper Imagine the look of horror on Peter's face upon hearing the very man he'd just identified as the Messianic Son of God call him Satan. Certainly Peter's outburst could be considered back talk, to borrow language from the catechism, but why did it warrant such a dramatic response from our Lord? Theologian Louis Berkhof writes, "The name 'Satan' points to him as 'the Adversary,' not in the first place of man, but of God." In other words, anytime our own will becomes, as Jesus called it, "a stumbling block" to what God has ordained, our actions are by definition satanic. How much of your life is consumed with the things of man rather than the things of God? How often are your prayers filled with trying to lobby God to support your own concerns rather than praying that His will be done in your own life just as it is in heaven? How many times would Jesus be justified in responding "Get behind me, Satan," the moment you say "amen?" This is why it is so critically important that you pray consistently and often that your will is aligned with God's will. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is in heaven and whose name is holy; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Your will be done, on earth (and in my life) just as it is in heaven; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Revelation 3

Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 28 Q. Summary There are many gospel assurances in the book of Romans and living by faith alone. In Romans 5, Paul weaves together the truth of salvation in Jesus through faith that is secure in the confident that God will make good on His promises and that nothing will separate us from his love (Rom. 8: In Romans 5, Paul assures us that our hope in God will not be put to shame and that we can even boast

Romans 9:10-24 (NIV) CONTEXT: We began this passage yesterday. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is Today: Romans 4

Genesis 5:1-8 (NIV) 5 This is the written account of Adam’s family line. Enosh. 7  After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8   Lord willing, we'll be reading from Romans 5 later this week.

results in overflowing hope as you trust in Him Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Romans

Psalm 78:1–8 A maskil of Asaph. 1  My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2  I  Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. 8  Today: Romans 12

5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15-20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11 - The Gift of God Philippians 1:27-30 - Granted Psalm 95 - The LORD is OUR God ​ Article 6: God’s Eternal A Single Decree of Election Romans 4:1-8 - One and the Same Romans 4:9-17 - Chicken or Egg? Romans 4:18-25 - Faithfully Face the Facts Hebrews 11:39-40 - Promises Kept Psalm 33 - God's Control, Authority & Presence Article 9: Election Not Based on Foreseen Faith John 10:22-30 - Listen Up!

Baptism doesn't make you a Christian, it's always been a core part of Christianity. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 71 Q. Where does Christ promise that we are washed with his blood and Spirit as surely as we are washed with the water of baptism? A. In the institution of baptism where he says: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” This promise is repeated when Scripture calls baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins. Summary Matthew’s Gospel closes with Jesus giving the Great Commission to the Disciples. This passage has been quoted as the rallying cry behind countless outreach and discipleship efforts. While commanding the eleven remaining disciples to go and make more disciples, Jesus teaches them how to do this: by baptizing and teaching. Dig Deeper Jesus’ command to baptize new disciples in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit was taken seriously by the first disciples. In the history of the Christian Church, there is no time that we are aware of where the people of God were without baptism. On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit poured out on the Disciples, Peter preached what is considered the first Christian sermon. This is the response of the crowd and Peter’s reply from Acts 2:37-38: When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thousands came to faith in Christ that day and what was it they were commanded to do? Repent and be baptized. From the beginning, the Church has taken Jesus’ command to baptize seriously. It would be hard to deny that there has been a cultural shift in the United States in the last few decades. With the rise of the “nones” (those without a declared faith), there is an increasing number of people in the United States who are not baptized. As the Church reaches out to these people groups, the discussion around baptism will grow ever more important. Are we, the Body of Christ, ready for those discussions? If you have never been baptized yourself, what is holding you back from taking this step of faith? If you have been baptized, do you feel prepared to share the significance of baptism with someone who asks? AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has equipped us His children and commissions us to gather those He's called into His Kingdom; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for your baptism, or if you haven't been baptized, pray that you will step forward and request it; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 2

Logos.com John 15:1–8 (NIV) CONTEXT: Jesus has just finished the Passover meal with His disciples in If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8  

Sacraments are simply signs and seals symbolizing salvation. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 66 Q. What are sacraments? A. Sacraments are holy signs and seals for us to see. They were instituted by God so that by our use of them he might make us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel, and might put his seal on that promise. And this is God’s gospel promise: to forgive our sins and give us eternal life by grace alone because of Christ’s one sacrifice finished on the cross. Summary Jesus uses very interesting terminology when instituting the Lord’s Supper. He says to his disciples when they are eating the communion bread, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then when he gives them the wine to drink, he says, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant.” Why would Jesus use those terms? This builds on what we started to look at yesterday when we studied how the sacraments confirm our faith in Jesus Christ. When we eat the bread of the Lord’s Supper, we are not eating the physical body of Christ. When we drink from the cup of the Lord’s Supper, we are not drinking the physical blood of Christ. While Jesus is present spiritually in the Lord’s Supper through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are not eating his body or drinking his blood. Jesus uses these terms because the sacraments are signs and seals of God’s promises in Jesus Christ. Dig Deeper When we baptize an infant or a new convert, we know that baptism does not save them. We are only saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, baptism is a sign and seal of God’s gospel promise. As surely as water washes away dirt from our bodies, the blood of Christ, shed on the cross, washes away our sins. Baptism is a sign and seal because it points to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and shows us how we are saved through faith. It is why we can sing a song like Nothing But the Blood of Jesus so fervently. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. When we eat of the bread and drink of the cup of the Lord’s Supper, it too is a sign and seal of God’s gospel promise. Communion points to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus’ body was broken and his blood shed for our salvation. Not only that, just as bread and juice physically nourish us, Jesus nourishes us spiritually through his presence. The sacraments are a physical way for God to confirm a spiritual reality. We celebrate them to confirm our faith in Jesus and be nourished by him. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Amazing God, who shows us, as well as teaches us of your power and grace; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you would contemplate the meaning of the sacraments as you are celebrating them; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Colossians 1