SCRIPTURE FIRST
These notes are a starting point, not a substitute. Open the passage. Read what comes before and after. Follow the cross-references.
MATTHEW 9:9
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
Read Matthew 9:1–13. The call of Matthew sits between healing, forgiveness, and a meal with people religious leaders rejected. Read what comes before and after.
MATTHEW 23:8–12
You have one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Read the whole chapter. Jesus warns against religious performance, status, and leaders who do not practice what they preach. The passage points away from human titles and toward God.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:21
Test everything; hold fast what is good.
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12–24. The instruction appears among a series of short commands about discernment, patience, prayer, gratitude, and faithful living.