Free Reading Plans and Devotionals related to Matthew 5:16

In the Christian life, spiritual disciplines are the fuel that helps Christ-followers grow closer to Him. This series is designed for Thomas Road Students’ High School Life Groups and written by our team. This study will help you understand specific spiritual disciplines, their importance in the Christian life, and how to live them out. We hope that this plan helps you love God and love people in a better way.

Advent is a church tradition to help believers across the globe prepare their hearts for the arrival of Jesus. Over four weeks, we’ll look at themes of hope, peace, joy, and love in the biblical narrative leading up to Jesus’ birth, and how these themes can be applied to our Christmas season this year.

Join us for a 25-day journey to get closer to God. Each day, you’ll hear a short audio message with simple ideas to help you grow in your faith. The messages include real stories, personal thoughts, and tips you can use right away. The plan uses the walk, pray, care, and share outline. Each day will help you trust God, live with purpose, and care for others. Start today—and let God do something great in your life, one day at a time! You’ll be surprised by how small steps make a big difference.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is one of the best-known sermons ever preached. This 26-day study through Matthew 5–7 gives you an in-depth look at Jesus’ teaching on what it means to be a Christian, how to live for God’s kingdom in a fallen world, what relationship Christians have to God’s law, and more.

In Our Christmas Stories, dozens of women share memories of past Christmases. From inspiring to bittersweet, these personal stories may have different details, but they all ultimately reveal the same story of Advent, of waiting for the “good news of great joy” of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:10). Janet Denison also provides short devotional thoughts with each story, ensuring that the greatest story of Christmas is never just a memory.

If we’re honest, some things we read in the Bible leave us shaking our heads. Is it really even possible to sincerely love people who are different from us? Can we really be content with what we have? How about prayer? Does God really hear us? During this study, we’re going to talk about how things that can seem so impossible to us are completely possible with God. Really!

Based on the "The Stories We Tell: Real Women. Real Lives. Real Love" Church Edition.  This twenty-eight-day devotional experience has been created for you to, in effect, think more carefully about what you’re thinking—about who you are and why you’re here and the role God longs for you to play in impacting the world around you for good. Consider carving out ten or fifteen minutes each day for twenty-eight days, during your first waking hours, perhaps, or just before you close your day and head to bed. 

REAL focuses on equipping and inspiring you to effectively communicate the story of the gospel and your faith by living a relevant, engaging, authentic life. Over 28 days, pastors and leaders at Gateway share the key ingredients to being a good witness and sharing your story with others.

Journey through the 28 days of Advent by exploring every good gift that God has given through Scripture and stories from around the world. Walk through the themes of a good life, the good news, good deeds and good gifts found in the book of James.

Meditate on the rich legacies of famous and lesser-known African American heroes this Black History Month. These 28 testimonies from Our Daily Bread Ministries remind us of God's faithfulness and the resilience of men and women who changed history forever.

Matthew’s Gospel opens the New Testament by brilliantly introducing the culmination of the entire Old Testament story. After thousands of years and dozens of generations, Jesus had come “to save his people from their sins” (Mathew 1:21). Matthew focuses on Jesus as King of Kings, who had come to reign on the throne of David forever.

"Blood is thicker than water." We didn’t choose our families and we have no control over them. Yet, we all have them. This devotional uses what we can learn from the Scripture to teach us how to relate to our families. We might just discover that family is tied to our own stories in some unexpected ways.

Attributes of God on F.I.R.E. is a topical study on the nature of God. We will examine fourteen of God’s communicable attributes or perfections that belong to Him that He also shares with us. This study will help us better understand the amazing nature of the Lord, and to pattern ourselves after Him. F.I.R.E. stands for familiarity, interpretation, relationship, and employment. We will use this methodology as we travel through the Scriptures together. Adapted from the book Attributes of God on F.I.R.E., by Dr. Ken J. Burge, Sr.

Join us as we dive into God’s Word each day!

Discover the wisdom of Oswald Chambers, author of My Utmost for His Highest, in this treasury of insights about joy. Each reading features quotations from Chambers along with questions for your own personal reflection. As he inspires and challenges you with his simple and direct biblical wisdom, you will find yourself wanting to spend more time communicating with God.

Our God provides comfort and encouragement for people who are broken and disappointed with the circumstances and events of life. Through biblical, practical, helpful, and hopeful insights, this devotional will help you find joy when your world is falling apart. Regardless of what you are facing today, know that you are never alone, the Bible holds significant answers for you in your pain, and the God of the universe loves you!

Every journey requires supplies. On the journey of life, some of the best supplies are God’s Word and a bit of encouragement from friends. This Our Daily Journey reading plan features 30 days of writing from trusted authors whose insights speak into your life. Each short devotional contains a story supported by multiple Scripture references as well as a “Next” section to help you think more deeply. Make the most of your devotional time with truth and encouragement from Our Daily Journey.

Have you ever wondered, “Is it possible to experience joy in all seasons of life?” Carol McLeod believes that God has an enormous joy for you that is within your reach. In this devotional, you will discover how to trust God when life isn’t fair, how to ponder Scripture that transforms your thinking and how to turn disappointment into a heart that rejoices in the middle of uncertainty.

God is moving today! God desires to draw all people to Himself. What if God was already awakening you, your family, your church, your city? He is awakening the world through the reconciling love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Are you willing to let His Spirit, without warning, sweep through your own life?

How do we live for Christ? That's a big question, and ultimately we can't figure that one out by ourselves. In order to do so, we have to seek God, live by His Spirit and get to know Him more.  Join with us over these next 30 days as we journey together and learn how to live a life more Christ centred and ways we can become more in love with Jesus.

Prayer is at the center of every great evangelistic movement, and every movement is made up of everyday people. Use this guide over the next 30 days to pray for someone you know who needs the hope of the gospel.

We all know how important and powerful prayer is. The disciples didn't ask Jesus to teach them how to preach, they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Prayer changes things and Jesus was always praying. Let's be like Jesus and learn how to pray Kingdom Prayers.

There is something deep and transformational that happens when we walk the streets of our neighborhood while talking with God. You’re invited to make a 30-day “practice” by walking and praying through your own community. Let the adventure begin!

Daily Bible Reading is designed to facilitate consistent interaction with Scripture. It includes background information on each day’s Scripture passage and key verse for meditation, reflection questions to help you dive deeper into Scripture, and a prayer and prayer concern to help you connect to God and be of spiritual support to others. Journey with us this month as we explore the theme “God’s Life-Giving Word of Wisdom.”

This twelve-part plan can be read alone, with a group, or with your family! Each month, you will dive into a new part of the unified story that leads to Jesus discovering the heart of God for the whole world. This month, we'll explore Biblical texts from Daniel all the way to the Gospels! Let's dive into Part eight of twelve!