First Presbyterian Church of McAlester

06/11/2026

Increase your Peace
Day 4
Peace When the World Is Chaotic

God’s peace is real when we’re too busy to think. God’s peace is real when our hearts break. And God’s peace is real even when the world we live in seems a little unreal.

With all the daily drama, family drama, digital drama, political drama, and global drama out there, your world can feel chaotic and overwhelming. Maybe you get angry, worried, or exhausted when you think about it all. If everything is so broken, is it possible to make peace?

When you choose to love, trust, and follow Jesus, you are called to be a peacemaker. You’re called to actively make the kind of peace on Earth that God gives you. Peace that shares gratitude, freedom, and hope instead of adding to the noise.

When you see someone being rude and stirring up a fight, stick up for the person they’re hurting. Peacemakers can make peace by standing up for others in need. When people complain, peacemakers can make peace by helping others focus on what they can be thankful for. When things are carelessly or even intentionally broken, peacemakers make peace by cleaning up messes and correcting wrongdoing.

Through Jesus’ sacrifice and the restoration of God, you have endless peace to look forward to someday. You can look forward to a glorious new day and a planet that lacks all chaos. But don’t sit around and wait. In the meantime, make God’s peace flourish in the world around you.

Ask yourself: Where would I like to see more peace and less struggle in my world or in the world at large?

Challenge yourself: Copy the prayer below on a piece of paper. Fill in the blank with your answer from the “Ask yourself” question above.

Pray: Thank You for Your _________ in this world. God, help me increase Your peace. Surge Your peace through me and give me grace. You make all things new. Amen.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

06/10/2026

Increase your Peace
Day 3
When Your Heart Breaks

God’s peace is lasting. But have you ever faced a tough circumstance and thought “Where did His peace go?” Like, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of peace in the valleys of life. When your parents get a divorce. When your friends abandon you. When someone close to you dies. Where is peace when your heart is in pieces?

When really bad things happen, you don’t have to pretend things are fine. You can trust God is still good. You can trust He is near to you. You can trust He is working to heal and restore you even when you can’t see it or feel it.

Reach out for help from close friends and especially from trusted Christian friends when your heart is broken. God often uses His people to help us heal and to be physically present with us as we walk through difficult times.

Ask yourself: What is breaking my heart right now? It could be for myself, for others, or for the world in general.

Challenge yourself: Copy the prayer below on a piece of paper. Fill in the blank with your answer from the “Ask yourself” question above.

Pray: When my heart is broken by __________, God, increase Your peace. Mend me with peace and give me trust. You are still in control. Amen

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

06/09/2026

Increase your Peace
Day 2
Peace When I’m Restless

“I have too much to do!” Wake up. Eat breakfast on the way to school. After-school practice (sports, drama, dance, music—you name it). Dinner. Homework. YouTube. Video chat with a friend. “Oh no! It’s time for bed and I forgot to spend even a hot second with God today.” Ugh.

How can anyone find peace when there’s just so much to do all the time? It can feel like there’s just too much to do each day. Too many boxes to check. And it crowds out your quality time just learning from your Bible, journaling, praying, and just generally spending some time with God.

Guess what. You’re not the first person to have felt this way.

It’s time to pray. Time to sit like Mary and listen for a minute. Time to bring your worries to God.

Ask yourself: What is something I want to bring to God right now?

Challenge yourself: Copy the prayer below on a piece of paper. Fill in the blank with your answer from the “Ask yourself” question above.

Pray: When I am __________, God, increase Your peace. Blanket me in peace and give me rest. Heal me to send me. Amen.

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭38‬-‭42‬ ‭NIV‬‬

06/08/2026

Increase your Peace
Day 1
The Peace That God Gives

Welcome to your first day of learning all about how to increase peace in your life. And who wouldn’t want more peace, right?

What do you need when everything’s too scary, too loud, too busy, too tiring, too stressful, too argumentative, just too much? You need peace!

And what kind of peace do you need? Like, just a quiet place? Or, like, just making everyone around start smiling and acting nice?

Quiet is great. Acting nice is great. But you know what’s greater? God’s true and lasting peace. It’s a foundation of goodness and trust that will be there for you, no matter what else may happen around you.

“Peace when I’m restless. Peace when my heart breaks. Peace in the chaos. Peace when the world shakes. The peace that You give me is more than the world takes.”

God can always give you more peace than the world can take from you.

This Bible Plan will show you more ways you can increase God’s peace—even when your heart is breaking or the world is in chaos.

Tomorrow, you’ll read about how to increase God’s peace when you’re feeling restless.

Ask yourself: What areas of my life don’t feel very peaceful right now?

Challenge yourself: Write down any areas of your life that don’t feel very peaceful right now. Fold the paper you wrote them on up several times. Hold it in your hands while you pray the prayer below.

Pray: God, thank You for offering me peace. The situations I’m holding in my hands right now aren’t very peaceful. Please work in these situations. Please help my heart to feel You holding me close, giving me peace. Thank You for being so trustworthy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

06/08/2026

God’s Purpose for your life
Day 5 of 5
JESUS FIRST

Every day, we have a choice to make about what kingdom we’re serving—either God or ourselves. When we put ourselves and our desires first, that means we’re putting Him last—and He will return the favor in His kingdom. So we should not seek great things for ourselves here, but do as God asks us, making Him our priority.

Because the truth is this life is a breath, and there’s far more coming than we can imagine. Remember: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed . . . according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). For the believer, this is not unto salvation, because if you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are assured heaven. However, what’s being evaluated are the rewards for how we served Christ here—and that will shape how we live in heaven.

The challenge for you is to realize that right now you are setting the tone for eternity—the authority and privileges you’ll have forever. So put Jesus first. Humble yourself now, and He will lift you up.

Jesus, You are my priority. Lead me in how to serve You well. Amen.

“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

First Reading Deuteronomy 28:1-6
Second Reading John 21:1-14

06/06/2026

God’s Purpose for your life
Day 4
YOU MATTER

God’s determined will is what He’s going to do, and what you and I must understand is that He doesn’t make such plans exclusively for world events or nations. Rather, He also makes such plans for individuals. He makes them for you (Psalm 139:15–16).

We can know for certain that there are aspects of our lives that are part of God’s determined will. For example, today’s verse tells us the Father chose where, when, and to whom we would be born. God actively chooses our personalities, talents, and abilities. Likewise, the Lord creates and equips us with His purposes in mind.

So take heart that you are not a mistake. Understand that there are certain aspects of your life that are part of God’s sovereign, determined, unchangeable plan that will happen. Of course, this may raise questions for you—especially when thinking about the hardships you’ve experienced and even the unfortunate decisions you’ve made. But do not lose sight of the fact that He planned your existence, and your life matters immensely to Him. Therefore, look for His good purposes in every part of His plan for you.

Jesus, thank You for Your determined plan for me. To You be the glory. Amen

“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

06/06/2026

God’s Purpose for your life
Day 3
A HINDRANCE OF SELF-WILL

Is there a driving goal in your life that takes God’s place in your heart? Perhaps it’s to attain a certain level of status or have a certain kind of relationship. You know what it is because it consumes your thoughts, prayers, and sleepless nights. Sadly, it may also be blinding you to God’s plans.

At the core of this is self-will—the uncontrolled impulse inside us that demands our own way. So when considering the pursuit of God’s will, we must be aware that our minds may be so overtaken with our own goals that we’ve become insensitive to the Lord’s promptings. Don’t let this happen.

God wants to meet the deepest desires of your heart. Yes, He may have a different way to satisfy your soul than you’ve chosen. But take heart; He is not insensitive to the longings in you—and, in fact, answers them more fully than you can imagine. However, realize that He is also vigilant to ensure that nothing else takes residence on the throne of your heart—which is His rightful place. So make God your driving goal, and leave the rest to Him.

Jesus, reveal any self-will that’s hindering me, and take Your rightful place on the throne of my heart. Amen.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

06/05/2026

God’s purpose for your life
Day 2
ACCEPTED COMPLETELY

The inner drive for acceptance—either from ourselves or from others—can lead us down dangerous paths. We can engage in destructive behaviors with the desire to prove ourselves valuable, desirable, capable, or worthwhile. It never begins that way, of course. Initially, we may engage in activities and habits that are quite harmless to bring out the best in ourselves or show ourselves worthy. But when one thing after another fails to address our deep inner need, we can become addicted to that which covers over or dulls our pain rather than heals it.

Friend, understand that at the core of what you feel is ultimately a deep need to be accepted by God. You must understand that you were created by the Lord with purpose and excellence (Psalm 139:13– 16). You don’t have to run from your mistakes, because He forgives you of them through Christ’s death on the cross. And regardless of your past, you have a good, worthwhile, and wonderful future.

So right now, repeat to yourself: “In Jesus, I am accepted by God. I am who He wanted me to be. I have purpose and worth.” Stop doubting your value and seeking significance through sin. Instead, embrace who He created you to be.

Jesus, thank You for accepting me. Help me take hold of Your love. Amen.

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬