The NorthWord
NorthWord is a daily Christian podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican Family. Hosted by Father Aaron from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.
Here's how it works: Every Sunday we release the full sermon preached that morning. Then Monday through Saturday, you get 3-5 minute daily reflections based on that sermon - one thought you can actually use each day. Every Wednesday we explore the rhythm of Jesus' life and how his followers have lived it out for 2,000 years.
Whether you're Pentecostal, Orthodox, Baptist, Catholic, or just curious about faith - this is for you. Ancient faith. Real life. No fluff.
The Word. The North. Your Week.
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The NorthWord
THURSDAY: It Is Written
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Every time the devil tempts Jesus, He responds the same way: "It is written" - and quotes Deuteronomy. Why that book? Why those words? This Thursday we discover that Jesus isn't just surviving temptation, He's fulfilling Israel's story and getting it right where they got it wrong.
Good morning. This is Northword. Good morning indeed. This is Northword, the Word, the North, your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. I'm your host, Father Aaron, and I hope everybody's having a good start to Lent. Everybody's having a fruitful start to Lent. There's a detail in Sunday's gospel that's easy to miss, but once you see it, it changes everything. Every time the devil tempts Jesus in the desert, Jesus responds the same way. Not with a miracle, not with spiritual heroics. He says this. Deuteronomy is the book Moses gave to Israel right before they entered the Promised Land, after 40 years in the wilderness. It's a long sermon, essentially reminding the people of everything God has said and done during their desert wandering. It's the story of a people who faced hunger and fear and uncertainty and kept failing the test over and over again. Jesus goes into the desert for 40 days and faces the same three categories of temptation Israel faced for 40 years. And where Israel grabbed, complained, and demanded, Jesus holds. He quotes the very word God gave Israel in their failure, and he gets it right where they got it wrong. He's not just surviving temptation, he's fulfilling a story. He is being the Israel that Israel couldn't be. And his weapon is the word. Not willpower, not superior discipline, the word of God, deeply known, deeply lived. This is why the early church and every serious Christian tradition since has paired lent with scripture immersion. Not as homework, not as religious duty, but because when the hunger hits, and it will hit, you need something already inside you to answer it. You can't pull up a Bible verse in the moment of temptation if you've never put it in. Jesus could say it is written because he had already lived in what was written. Here's your Thursday practice. Read Deuteronomy chapter 8 today. It's short. It's the passage Jesus quotes first. Read it slowly, and notice how much of your own story is in it. This is Northward, the Word, the North Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith, in collaboration with the Anglican family. If you're enjoying this podcast, please leave us a review and share this with your friends. In that way you can help us reach more and more people with the Word of God. Until tomorrow, God be with you. In the name of Fower, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.