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We hear Jacob pray on the road home. He addresses the God who told him to return, and then says plainly why he is afraid. You can read both parts of his prayer together. Jacob remembers crossing the Jordan with only his staff and now having two camps. He confesses that he is unworthy of the kindness he has received. He asks for deliverance from Esau because he fears for the mothers and children, then prepares gifts. We can read his trust without erasing his fear. Genesis 32 gives us a prayer honest enough to name both. Read Genesis 32:9–21. Notice what Jacob remembers, what he asks, and what he does next. Watch the short and read the passage with us. Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (BSB).

We want to enter the Day of Atonement with the text open and mercy in view. You are welcome to listen and read with us, whether this day is familiar to you or new. Leviticus 16 and 23 describe the appointed day and its call to humble ourselves. Isaiah 58 challenges a fast that neglects justice and neighborly care. Hebrews 9–10 makes its own argument about Jesus’ priestly work. We distinguish those scriptural texts from later communal customs. The teaching closes with our original country-gospel duet, “The Jesus We Want Them to Know.” We hope the visible act will not obscure the deeper call to truth, mercy, and repair. Fasting is not a health test; please attend to your medical needs. Begin with Leviticus 23:26–32 and Isaiah 58:1–12, then read Hebrews 9–10 with attention to each text’s own voice. Watch the teaching and original song with us.

We are taking time with the first five verses of Genesis. You can join Roger Ferguson and Yu Song as they read the words before racing to a conclusion. Genesis opens with God creating, the Spirit, speech, and light. Roger and Yu compare ways readers have understood those lines across Jewish and Christian traditions and follow the language into John 1. They distinguish the passage itself from later interpretation and Roger’s own proposals. The conversation gives us room to ask careful questions while returning to the text. You need not settle every interpretive question before beginning. Read Genesis 1:1–5, then John 1:1–5, marking what each text actually says about light. Join the conversation and read with us.

We do not need to erase one son to honor what God says about the other. You can hear both parts of God’s answer to Abraham. Abraham asks that Ishmael might live before God. In Genesis 17:20, God says he has heard and promises fruitfulness, rulers, and a great nation for Ishmael. The next verse names Isaac as the one with whom God will establish the everlasting covenant. These are distinct promises, not competing reasons to overlook God’s words. We want to read the whole answer carefully. Read Genesis 17:18–21, noticing both God’s response to Abraham and the covenant wording concerning Isaac. Watch the short and read with us. Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (BSB).

We meet Jacob returning home, when a glimpse of God’s camp is followed by alarming news about Esau. You can read the two moments together. Jacob meets angels and names the place Mahanaim. He sends messengers ahead, then learns Esau is coming with four hundred men. Afraid, he divides his household and flocks into two camps so one might escape if the other is attacked. Genesis 32:1–8 does not ask us to deny fear to acknowledge God’s presence. We can stay with Jacob’s uncertainty before rushing to the next scene. Read the passage for yourself, especially Jacob’s name for the place and what he does after the messengers return. Watch the short and read with us. Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (BSB).

Genesis 17:16 gives Sarah more than a place beside Abraham. We should not tell Abraham’s covenant story as though Sarah stood outside it. If you have heard the promise told mainly through Abraham, pause over how Genesis names her. Sarah in the text God says twice that he will bless Sarah, says that a son will come through her, and speaks of nations and kings descending from her. We want to let the text give Sarah the place it gives her, without turning her into a supporting figure in someone else’s blessing. Read it for yourself Read Genesis 17:15–21, especially verse 16, and notice the repeated blessing. Watch the short and read Sarah’s blessing with us. Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (BSB).

Hear Jacob’s account of labor, loss, and the God who saw him. We hear Jacob finally name what twenty years of work had cost him. If you have ever struggled to name a long burden, his speech is worth hearing closely. Jacob’s account After Laban’s search, Jacob asks what offense justified the pursuit. He recounts heat, cold, lost sleep, and changed wages, then credits God with seeing his affliction. We want to stay with the whole scene, including its honest accounting of labor and the difference between human treatment and God’s sight. Read it for yourself Read Genesis 31:36–42 and notice where Jacob places the final credit. Watch the short account and read the passage with us. Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (BSB).

Read the scene behind a familiar word and see why its stones mattered. We often hear Mizpah as a tender farewell. If you know it that way, Genesis gives us a more difficult scene worth reading together. The scene in Genesis Jacob and Laban raise a pillar and heap of stones. They eat beside it and name it as a witness that neither will cross to harm the other. For us, this is a reminder that seeking peace can include naming a boundary honestly. Read it for yourself Read Genesis 31:43–55; then consider Jesus’ blessing of peacemakers in Matthew 5:9. Watch the short reflection and read the passage for yourself. Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (BSB).

Read Ecclesiastes 3–5 with us: faithful living within the seasons we cannot command. We can plan our days, but we cannot make every season answer to us. Ecclesiastes brings that limit into the open. We invite you to read with us—not to find a way to control life, but to consider what faithfulness looks like within it. Chapter three begins with the familiar poem about time. Its paired moments describe the range of human life; they do not make every action a command. From there, the Teacher considers God’s enduring work and our limited view of it. Chapters four and five bring those limits close to home: oppression, restless work, the help of a companion, listening before we speak to God, and wealth that cannot satisfy simply because we possess it. We want to keep the passage’s invitation in view: do good, receive God’s gifts, and share life with others without pretending we can secure every result. Companionship matters. Our words matter. Enjoyment is a gift to receive, not proof that we have mastered life. Read it with us Begin with Ecclesiastes 3:1–15. Notice how the poem is followed by a question about our work. Continue into 4:9–12 and 5:1–7, then read 5:10–20 with the difference between possessing and enjoying in mind. Take your time with the whole passage; let the later verses speak alongside the familiar ones. Join us for the full teaching on Ecclesiastes chapters three through five.

A brief prayer for learning together and passing on what we learn. We invite you to pause with us for a brief prayer. At the close of our Job teaching, we ask to know God more and thank Him for the desire to open His word. The prayer looks beyond the people gathered in one room. It asks that what we learn can be shared and taught to the next generation. We offer this moment as a prayer to join, not a promise that one prayer will produce a particular result. For you, this can be a quiet starting point before reading Scripture: bring your desire to understand God rather than pretending that every question is settled. There is room to learn together. Read it with us After watching, you can read Psalm 119:15–24 alongside this prayer for understanding. Deuteronomy 6:1–25 also gives context for teaching the next generation: there, Moses speaks to Israel about keeping God’s words on their hearts and teaching their children. Read at your own pace as a way to continue praying and learning. Join us in this brief prayer, then open Scripture and read at your own pace.