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About Disciplines

The Upper Room Disciplines provides an opportunity to look more deeply at scripture by offering a week of devotions by a single author on a particular theme.

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Latest Disciplines Devotions

Thirsty for God - March 10, 2023

March 10, 2023

A few years ago, I returned to the home I grew up in to clean out my childhood bedroom. The closet was still crammed with trophies, certificates, and medals I’d accumulated...

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Thirsty for God - March 9, 2023

March 9, 2023

When I read the second half of Psalm 95, which reports God’s reaction to the Israelites’ complaining of thirst in the wilderness, I find myself asking whether God really said these...

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Thirsty for God - March 8, 2023

March 8, 2023

Most mornings when I was in graduate school, I joined the Episcopal campus minister and a few other students in a small chapel for morning prayer. I fell in love with...

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Thirsty for God - March 7, 2023

March 7, 2023

Sometimes when we read a passage of scripture, we have to fill in the gaps, noticing what’s not said. In this passage, I think something is missing: a celebration. After the...

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Thirsty for God - March 6, 2023

March 6, 2023

I teach preaching at a theological seminary, and each year my colleagues and I assign this passage as a sermon text to a number of students. I’m accustomed to hearing sermons...

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Stepping Out, Delving Deep - March 5, 2023

March 5, 2023

It is worth re-reading and even memorizing Psalm 121. In its brevity and simplicity, it takes us straight to the heart of what it means to embark on a journey of...

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Stepping Out, Delving Deep - March 4, 2023

March 4, 2023

God promises Abram that all families of the earth will be blessed because of him. This is important to remember, particularly in light of the covenant God made with Noah and...

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Stepping Out, Delving Deep - March 3, 2023

March 3, 2023

Jesus responds to Nicodemus’s questions with a reference to a curious part of the Israelite story: Moses’ creation of a bronze serpent statue to protect the Israelites from dying from snake...

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Stepping Out, Delving Deep - March 2, 2023

March 2, 2023

When considering the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, it is important to note that Nicodemus shows up again later in two places in John’s Gospel—when he challenges his fellow Pharisees to...

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Stepping Out, Delving Deep - March 1, 2023

March 1, 2023

Abraham is central for Paul in his letter to the Romans because Paul sees Abraham as the common ancestor for Jews and Gentiles, showing both peoples how faith works. While we...

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