Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

John 16. Day 221 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: John 16 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
The Spirit Will Guide You. Sorrow Will Turn to Joy. Take Heart, Jesus Has Overcome.

"You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world." — John 16:33

John 16 continues Jesus' final words to His disciples before the cross. He prepares them for rejection, persecution, and sorrow, but He also promises that they will not be left alone. The Holy Spirit will come to convict the world, guide believers into truth, and glorify Christ. Jesus knows the disciples are about to experience confusion and grief, yet He compares their sorrow to the pain of childbirth: real and intense, but not the end of the story. Their grief will be turned into joy when they see Him again.

The chapter closes with one of Jesus' most encouraging promises. He does not tell His disciples that following Him will remove every hardship. He tells them plainly, "You will have suffering in this world." But suffering is not the final word because Jesus has already overcome the world. John 16 reminds us that Christian peace is not the absence of trouble. It is confidence in Christ in the middle of trouble. When life becomes difficult, trust the Spirit who guides you, hold onto the joy Christ has promised, and take heart because Jesus has already won the victory.

John 15. Day 220 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: John 15 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
Abide in Christ. Bear Lasting Fruit. Love One Another.

"Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me." — John 15:4

John 15 gives us one of the clearest pictures of the Christian life: Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. A branch does not produce fruit by trying harder on its own. It bears fruit by remaining connected to the source of life. Jesus tells His disciples to abide in Him, remain in His words, and depend on Him for everything. The goal is not simply activity for God, but a life so deeply connected to Christ that His character begins to show through us. Apart from Him, we can do nothing of lasting spiritual value.

Jesus then connects abiding with love and obedience. He tells His disciples to love one another as He has loved them, with a love willing to lay down its life for others. He also prepares them for the reality that the world may reject them because it first rejected Him. John 15 reminds us that following Jesus will not always make life easier, but it will make our lives fruitful. Stay close to Christ. Let His Word remain in you. Love people sacrificially. And trust that a life connected to Jesus will bear fruit that lasts.

John 14. Day 219 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: John 14 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled. Jesus Is the Way. The Promise of the Holy Spirit.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." — John 14:6

John 14 begins with Jesus speaking comfort to His disciples on the night before the cross. They are confused, afraid, and beginning to realize that Jesus is going away. His response is simple: "Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." Jesus promises that He is preparing a place for them and then makes one of the clearest claims in all of Scripture: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Jesus is not merely showing us a path to God. He is the path. To know Jesus is to know the Father.

Jesus also promises that His disciples will not be left alone. The Father will send the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who will remain with them, teach them, and remind them of everything Jesus has said. Then Jesus gives them something the world cannot give: His peace. The peace of Christ does not depend on easy circumstances. It comes from knowing that we belong to Him, that His Spirit is with us, and that He has already secured our future. John 14 reminds us that when life feels uncertain, we do not have to understand everything in order to trust the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

John 13. Day 218 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: John 13 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet. Love That Serves. A New Commandment.

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." — John 13:35

John 13 takes us into the upper room on the night before the cross. Jesus knows exactly what is coming, yet instead of demanding honor, He takes the place of a servant and washes His disciples' feet. The One who came from the Father kneels before men who still do not fully understand Him, including the one who will betray Him. Jesus then tells them, "I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you." Greatness in the kingdom of God is not measured by how many people serve us, but by how willing we are to humble ourselves and serve others.

Jesus then gives His disciples a new commandment: love one another as He has loved them. The standard is no longer simply loving others as ourselves. Jesus points to His own sacrificial love as the model. This kind of love will become one of the clearest marks of His followers. John 13 challenges us to ask whether people can see Jesus in the way we treat one another. The world may hear what we believe, but it often notices first how we love. Follow the example of Christ, take the lower place, serve people who cannot repay you, and let your love make it unmistakable that you belong to Jesus.

John 12. Day 217 - Read the Bible: The New Testament in a Year

Episode Notes:

Today's Scripture: John 12 (CSB)
Podcast Homepage: The New Testament in a Year
Bible Reading Plan: Navigators Bible Reading Plan
Contact Sean: seanbailey1985@gmail.com
Follow NTIY on Facebook: facebook.com/newtestamentinayear

In Today's Episode
Extravagant Worship. The King Comes to Jerusalem. A Grain of Wheat Must Die.

"If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be." — John 12:26

John 12 brings us to the final days before the cross. Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus' feet in an act of extravagant worship, while Judas complains about the cost. Then Jesus enters Jerusalem as crowds wave palm branches and shout, "Hosanna!" Yet Jesus knows the road ahead will not lead first to a throne, but to a cross. When some Greeks ask to see Him, Jesus responds by saying His hour has come and compares His death to a grain of wheat that must fall into the ground and die before it can produce much fruit. The path to glory will run through sacrifice.

Jesus then turns that truth toward His followers. Those who serve Him must follow Him, even when following costs something. He also warns that many had seen His signs and still refused to believe, showing that proximity to Jesus is not the same as surrender to Him. John 12 challenges us to ask what kind of Jesus we are willing to follow. Are we only interested when He fits our expectations, or will we follow Him through surrender, sacrifice, and obedience? True discipleship is not simply admiring Jesus from the crowd. It is laying down our lives and following the King wherever He leads.