Week #5 (Jan. 28-Feb. 3) - Joshua

We should now be done Deuteronomy and well into Joshua by the end of the week. Officially here's this week's schedule (even though the week is half over... I hope you've been able to get it off of the FUEL handouts or the side column on the webpage):

Sunday: Psalm 16-18
Monday: Deuteronomy 32-34
Tuesday: Joshua 1-4
Wednesday: Joshua 5-8
Thursday: Joshua 9-11
Friday: Joshua 12-15
Saturday: catch-up day!!

Enjoy your catch-up day on Saturday. If you need to do a significant amount of reading to get caught up, schedule that time to do it as early in the day as possible. If you do not need to get caught up, use Saturday to review some thing that you've already read (for instance, some of the Psalms we've already read, or Deuteronomy 6 or Galatians).

Here's a brief introduction and some background information to the book of Joshua:

The five books of Moses anticipated the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham regarding the Promised Land. Now, through a string of military victories under Joshua’s command, Israel conquered the land and apportioned it according to their twelve tribes. In these battles it became evident that God fights for His people when they are “strong and courageous” (1:6, 7, 9, 18, 10:25) and put their full trust in him. At the close of the book, Joshua charged the people to remain faithful to God and to obey his commands, and the people agreed to do so. “As for me and my house,” said Joshua, “we will serve the LORD” (24:15). Although anonymous, the book appears to contain eyewitness testimony, most of which is most likely written by Joshua himself.

As we read this book, think of what it means that we can be strong and courageous as we trust in His strength.

God's blessing as you keep seeking Him in the time you have in His Word!

Week #4 (Jan. 21-27)

OK readers, here's this week's schedule, which will take us almost all the way through the big and exciting book of Deuteronomy by the end of the week.

Sunday: Psalm 10-15
Monday: Deuteronomy 8-11
Tuesday: Deuteronomy 12-15
Wednesday: Deuteronomy 16-19
Thursday: Deuteronomy 20-24
Friday: Deuteronomy 25-28
Saturday: Deuteronomy 29-31

For those of you not in our class on Sunday, here is a very brief introduction to the book of Deuteronomy:

This book means "second law", and is a retelling by Moses of the teachings and events of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. It includes an extended review of the Ten Commandments (ch. 5) and Moses farewell address to a new generation of Israelites as they stand ready to take possession of the Promised Land. He reminds them of God's faithfulness and love, but also of God's wrath on the previous generation of Israelites because of their disobedience and lack of faith. Repeatedly he charges Israel to not only keep the Law, but to love and obey the one true God. There are blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. The book ends with the selection of Joshua as Israel's new leader and the death of Moses.

My favorite section from this book is from 6:4-9, dealing with the greatest commandment. Moses writes, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Think of ways that we can actively remember to love the LORD our God with our hearts, souls, minds and strength this week as we are faced with temptations to sin and distractions of the world. Can you think of times to talk about Him as you "walk by the way"? What are some reminders you can put up to remember to love the LORD? The Israelites put reminders on their hands and heads and doorposts... what can we do? Feel free to leave your ideas as a comment.

God bless you all as you grow to love the LORD in reading Deuteronomy this week!

Week #3 (Jan. 14-20)

I realize that I'm posting this a few days late, but I assume most of you have had the chance to see the schedule posted on the right side of the page.

This week we should have already finished Micah, we'll complete Galatians tomorrow, and begin our adventure through the big Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. Here's the schedule:

Sunday: Psalm 6-9
Monday: Micah 5-7
Tuesday: Galatians 1-2
Wednesday: Galatians 3-4
Thursday: Galatians 5-6
Friday: Deuteronomy 1-3
Saturday: Deuteronomy 4-7

If you've been having a little trouble with Galatians, here's a few things to keep in mind:

*Galatians is very different from John, Micah and the Psalms. Unlike a narritave, poetry or prophecy, Galatians is a letter written to deal with a theological issue.

*Because Galatians was written do deal with thelogical issues within the church, the Apostle Paul wrote this letter as an argument. This means that we may need to read this letter a little slower, as well as go back and make sure we understand what is written in order to follow his argument (this is why we are only reading 2 chapters a day).

*This letter deals with theology that is important for every single believer. The key verse is 2:16 where Paul writes that "a person is not justified (declared right before God) by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ... by works of the law no one will be justified."

Happy reading and I'll see you tonight!

Who's With Us?

Hello Everyone,

If you check out the side list, I've posted the reading teams from our High School FUEL group. We're going to use these groups for encouragement as well as organizing monthly times together to hang out and have fun.

If you weren't able to be there on Wednesday night, it's still not too late to join our group. Talk to me at church, give me a call, send me an email or post a comment letting me know that you want to join us.

Also, I've talked with a few others in our church (and elsewhere) that have decided to join us on our Scripture Adventure. If you are joining with us, leave a comment so that we can know who's with us.

Blessings as you read!

Prepare for the Prophets

As of today, we will have completed the book of John. Can you believe that in only a week we have read the entire book of John (plus 5 Psalms)? I hope you were able to know God a little more through these first few days in the Scripture Adventure. Feel free to use this posting to comment on anything you learned or were impacted by while reading John.

As of Saturday we are going to start with the book of Micah, and we are going to try to do it in 2 days. After meeting on Wednesday and hearing some of your reading tips, here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you read Micah:

*consider doing the whole book (7 chapters) at once. It will help you keep the flow of the theme of the book (plus you can then take 1 day off or use it to get caught up or get ahead).

*remember that the style is going to be much different than John. Micah was a Hebrew prophet that lived 700 years before Christ and he used poetic language to communicate his message.

Here's a little more background info to prepare you for your read:

Micah prophesied in Judah during the reigns of King Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (about 750-700 B.C.), at about the same time as Isaiah. It was a time of prosperity, and Micah denounced the wealthy, who were oppressing the poor, and warned of impending judgment. The northern kingdom (Israel) actually fell during Micah’s ministry, in 722, and Judah almost fell in 701 (2 Kings 18-20). The book contains messages alternating between words of warning and of hope. Micah told of a day when there would be peace among all nations, who would then be able to “beat their swords into plowshares” (4:3), and of a royal deliverer who would save Israel from all her enemies. This deliverer would be born in Bethlehem (5:2).

By the way, I was very encouraged by our meeting on Wednesday night. Thanks to everyone who came, and I hope that we can keep this up all year. Each of you were a blessing to me!

Anybody have any suggestions for a name for our group?

Week #2 (Jan. 7-13)

This week we will finish the book of John, and after reading about the story of Lazarus, we will hear a lot of the final teachings Jesus gave to His Disciples before His death. This is amazing stuff, so don't hesitate to ask questions or leave comments as they come up.

Here's this week's reading schedule:

Sunday: Psalm 1-5
Monday: John 10-12
Tuesday: John 13-15
Wednesday: John 16-17
Thursday: John 18-19
Friday: John 20-21
Saturday: Micah 1-4

I will post an introduction and some helpful information on the book of Micah later this week, so check back soon for that.

Also, if you weren't in our Sunday morning class this week, you missed our introduction study of the Psalms. I'll be sure to put up the main points from our study before our next reading from the Psalms.

Happy reading and I'll see you Wednesday night!

Helpful hint

Hi, this is Mandie. I'm really enjoying our Bible read through so far (all 2 days of it!), and I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys are learning through this. I've been reading in the New Living Translation, which may not be the most accurate for studying, but for a read through like this, it's wonderful! It's in every day language, so it really makes the stories come to life. If any of you are having a tough time reading in your translation, contact me or Curtis and we can hook you up with an easier translation like the NLT, or the NIV. And if you have any questions you can always call us, or post your question on the blog. Happy Reading!

Week #1 (Jan. 4-6)

Unlike a lot of other one year Bible reading plans, we aren't going to start in Genesis. Instead, we are going to start in the Gospel of John, and in case you are joining us late, we will end with John again.

Before you begin, here's a brief introduction to John's account of the life of Christ:

John wrote his Gospel to persuade people to believe in Jesus (20:30-31). From the opening verses he declares that Jesus is God, stressing his unique relationship with God the Father. He focuses on seven of Jesus’ miracles (called “signs”), to demonstrate his divinity. Jesus called people to have faith in him, promising eternal life. He proved he could give life by raising Lazarus (ch. 11) and by his own death and resurrection. John features Christ’s seven “I am” statements, his encounters with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, his Upper Room teachings, washing of the disciples’ feet (ch. 13-16), and his high priestly prayer (ch. 17). John also includes the most well-known summary of the gospel (3:16). The author, who is most likely the Apostle John (although he never declares himself to be the author), probably wrote this book about A.D. 85.

Here is this week's reading:

Thursday: John 1-3
Friday: John 4-6
Saturday: John 7-9

If you have any questions or observations, feel free to post a comment. I'll be sure to reply to them as soon as possible.

Be sure to set aside at least 20 minutes a day to do this. Trust me, it's not hard to find the time!

Also, if you'd like to listen to the bible online in the English Standard Version (the version I'll be reading), check out www.gnpcb.org/esv/. Type in the passage you want to read, then click the "listen" tab at the top of the screen.

Do your best to stick with the daily schedule. As you keep with it, you'll be amazed at how much you are reading. Also, if you don't already have one, get one of the check-box bookmarks from me.

Happy reading!

Prepare for the Scripture Marathon

Ok... so we are going to embark on a one year adventure through the Bible as a High School group. This is going to be the place where we can find out what we are reading this week, post comments or questions about the reading, and encourage one another to keep going.

Stay tuned for more info about our kick-off reading starting Thursday, January 4th.