Week of May 3, 2026
The Shema – Responding with Devotion to God
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
The Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, is sacred, certainly for the Jews, as they have made it part of their daily faith practice, but also for Christians, as we draw upon the Hebrew Scriptures for our understanding of how to follow Jesus. One scholar comments: “In fact, it’s been argued by some that the book of Deuteronomy is the most important book in the Old Testament, and the Shema comes from the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus quotes many books of the Old Testament, but He quotes Deuteronomy more than any other. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, Jesus quoted the Shema.” This week, consider how the Shema calls us to hear God’s Word, live in obedience, and worship with passionate devotion.
Monday | Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Israel was to hear and obey God (6:4). How do you listen to God on a daily and weekly basis? What gets in the way of listening to God? Israel’s God is echad, a Hebrew word translated as “one,” “unique,” or “alone.” How have Christians understood the “oneness” of God? How do you see God as being “unique”? What are the implications of an exclusive devotion to him … in other words, worshipping him alone?
Tuesday | Deuteronomy 6:10-25
What was the ongoing danger for Israel in the Promised Land? What are the “other gods” that we face living in America? What was the story that God’s people were to remember and pass on to future generations? What story do we share as a church? What is the goal that Moses desired for his people (6:24-25) … that the Apostle James wanted for his Christian readers (James 1:22)?
Wednesday | Deuteronomy 30:1-6
Moses expected Israel would not do a very good job of obeying God, and that the result would be God’s discipline. Yet what would be the outcome of Israel’s future repentance? What does this tell us about the character of God? What do you believe is meant by the phrase “circumcise your hearts”? Why was this necessary if Israel was indeed to love and obey God? How does this “circumcision” come about in Christian understanding?
Thursday | Mark 12:28-34
Jesus quotes the Shema + Leviticus 19:18 in speaking of the greatest commandment. How does loving God and loving people summarize the Ten Commandments? What does it mean to you to love God? What might the addition of “mind” to this list mean to our fully loving God? What is your greatest challenge in loving your neighbor?
Friday | 1 Corinthians 8:1-8
The context of this section of Scripture concerns eating food sacrificed to pagan idols. The bottom line is that the Apostle Paul doesn’t think it’s a big deal because there is only one God (remember echad from earlier in the week) who has made all things. What’s revolutionary is that he adds the Lord Jesus to this one God the Father (without explaining that this doesn’t mean there are now two Gods). What is the importance in your mind of maintaining a faith in God’s tri-unity … just one God? … yet three persons? How does this faith in the one Creator affect our view of created things? How do we maintain our worship of the Creator and not fall into worshipping the creation?
