Hey Theology Students

For all of you who weren't in class last week or missed Wednesday night this week, we will not be having our Sunday Night Theology class this week (Sunday, January 27th) due to the all church business meeting. We will continue next week immediately after the Superbowl... which we will all we watching at the Sando's home.

Also, Saturday night there will be a special prayer meeting for the High Schoolers at my house before the Saturday night prayer session at the church. The High School prayer gathering will be at 6:30 at my house on Saturday night, and the main session begins at 7:30 at the church. I hope a lot of you guys will be able to make it.

God bless!

What's Up With Job?

First of all, in case you're wondering how long it'll be until we're done, it should be only a few more weeks. With all of the "catch-up" days we had and taking some time off for things like camp, we ended up falling just a little behind. But remember, as we talked about at the beginning, it's not a race but learning to develop the good and godly habit of spending time in God's word.

Now to Job... this book is considered one of the greatest poems ever written by both literary and theological standards as it deals with the problem of human suffering and God's loving control of all things (often referred to as His 'sovereignty'). It also contrasts the supremacy of God's wisdom over the human wisdom of Job and his friends.

I know we are reading what appears to be bigger sections than what we usually do, but the flow of this book is different from a lot of what we've previously read. My favorite part of this book is the end when God silences all of the accusations. I know that this is a rebuke we could all stand to hear quite regularly...

Happy Reading in 2008!

To "Incline" and Being "Inclined"

We had an interesting discussion last night in our theology class as we continued to look at the role of the Bible in not only shaping our beliefs (theology), but also in the priorities of our beliefs (our worldview). Many of us are not struggling with having incorrect doctrine about God, but having the right affections and appreciation for our beliefs.

The two verses we looked at last night both came from yesterday's reading, and I think it's worth reminding everyone about our responsibility as well as our dependence on God to see us having a more God-honoring system of beliefs and worldview.

Psalm 119:36 "Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!"

Psalm 119:112 "I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end."

The author understand his need to have God change his heart, but he also recognizes the role that he has to take to set his heart toward the things of highest value... the "testimonies" of God, and not "selfish gain". From this disciplined and prayer filled life as a disciple of Jesus, we all can join this Psalm writer when he says in Psalm 119:127 that he loves God's commandments above even fine gold.

Enjoy some of the best letters ever written this week, many of which were written from a filthy Roman prison.

Encouragement for the Chronicles

Hey Readers,

Here's a bit of info about 1 and 2 Chronicles. First of all, they start off with a few chapters of genealogies, which I know can be a little tiring and discouraging to read. But press through (even skim them if you want) because by the time you get to chapter 10 you will start to read some of the most interesting history in the Bible.

The books of the Chronicles primarily focuses on the southern Kingdom of Judah. 1 Chronicles mainly focuses on reign of King David while the second books talks about many of the other great (and not sot great) kings of Judah. I hope you enjoy many of the fascinating stories in these books.

It's also worth noting that these books were most likely written after the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed and the people went into exile and then returned 70 years later. This book was written to encourage these returning exiles that God had not forgotten about them but that He has a loving plan and future for His people.

Enjoy!

Some Knowledge About Wisdom

Hey Readers,

Here's a bit of information to help you understand the book of Ecclesiastes a little more. Ecclesiastes contains reflections of an old man, the "Preacher" as he considers the question of meaning in life. He looks back and sees the futility ("vanity") of chasing after even the good things this life can offer, including wisdom, work, pleasure and wealth. Even if such things are satisfying for a time, death is certain to end this satisfaction. In fact, God's judgment on Adam for his sin (Gen. 3:17-19) echoes throughout the book (especially 12:7). Yet the person who lives in the fear of the Lord can enjoy God's good gifts. Young people, especially, should remember their Creator while they still have their whole lives before them (12:1). Traditionally interpreters of Ecclesiastes have identified the "Preacher," who is also called "the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (1:1), as Solomon (tenth century B.C.).

Schedule Update

Hey Readers,

Just a quick note to let you know that the schedule has been updated in the right margin. Sorry for the delay. I hope that you've been enjoying Ezekiel.

The Greatest Letter Ever Written

Hey Readers,

I hope that you enjoyed reading Romans, although if you're like me you found many parts of it very confusing. But that's ok... my old pastor calls Romans "the greatest letter ever written" because it is the best summary of the entire good news of Jesus Christ.

When I first became a Christian, I sat down and read the entire book or Romans and was so excited because it was the first time that the Bible made sense to me. Yet since then I have read Romans many, many times and each time I realize how deep this book is. It took my old Pastor over 9 years to preach through the entire book, so don't be discouraged if you felt like you missed stuff while trying to read through it in a week. My encouragement to you... read it again and again and again.

If there are 16 chapters of anything in the world worth memorizing, I'd say it would be Romans.

Blessings as you keep reading, and enjoy Ezra and Nehemiah.

A New Look... A New Format

Hey Readers,

So, after months and months of looking at the same style for this blog, I thought it'd be nice to change things up a bit.

Also, for now I'll just be posting the weekly schedule on the right side. I'll keep the posted schedule going back for at least two months, and we'll use this section to provide more information about what we're reading and dealing with questions and issues that come up in the reading.

Feel free to comment and enjoy the rest of Acts. I'll be posting some helpful information on Romans soon.

A Little Bit About Acts

Acts picks up where the Gospels left off, recording the early progress of the gospel as Jesus; disciples took it from Jerusalem throughout Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the Mediterranean world. The story begins with Christ's ascension and the events of Pentecost. As Gentiles begin responding to the gospel , the focus shifts to Paul and his missionary journeys. Acts forms a bridge between the four Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, showing how the apostles carried on Christ's work and providing a historical background for Romans through Revelation. The Acts of the Apostles is the second of the two New Testament books written by Dr. Luke. Like his Gospel, Acts was a letter to Luke's friend Theophilus, written sometime in A.D. 62-64.

Week #34 (Aug 19-25)

Ok readers, here's the schedule for this week:

Sunday: Psalm 79-80
Monday: Judges 9-10
Tuesday: Judges 11-13
Wednesday: Judges 14-16
Thursday: Judges 17-19
Friday: Judges 20-21
Saturday: Proverbs 21

Blessings!

Week #33 (Aug 12-18)

We'll be starting two new books this week. Here's the schedule:

Sunday: Psalm 78
Monday: Lamentations 1-2
Tuesday: Lamentations 3-5
Wednesday: Judges 1-3
Thursday: Judges 4-5
Friday: Judges 6-8
Saturday: Proverbs 20

The book of Lamentations (which is right after Jeremiah) was written by Jeremiah as he witnessed his home town of Jerusalem be destroyed by his enemies. Lamentations is his own emotional reaction to what he wrote about earlier in the book of Jeremiah.

Judges is the history of Israel beginning after the book of Joshua leading up to the time of Samuel the prophet, King Saul and King David. In Judges we read about the continued moral decline of the nation... just when you think it couldn't get any worse, it does! But God is always at work.

Happy reading.

Ahh VBS (Aug 5-11)

In all of the chaos of 150 kids this week, I forgot to post the schedule. Hopefully you all saw it posted on the side.

Sunday: Psalm 76-77
Mon: Jeremiah 43-46
Tue: Jeremiah 47-49
Wednesday: Jeremiah 50
Thursday: Jeremiah 51
Friday: Jeremiah 52
Saturday: Proverbs 19

We'll have Jeremiah finished by the end of the week. Keep watch for our next "reading party".

After Camp (July 29-Aug 4)

Hey Readers,

In the one year reading schedule, here's what's up this week:

Sunday: Psalm 74-75
Monday: Jeremiah 26-29
Tuesday: Jeremiah 30-31
Wednesday: Jeremiah 32-34
Thursday: Jeremiah 35-38
Friday: Jeremiah 39-42
Saturday: Proverbs 18

For those of you who were at camp and have given up on the one year Bible reading, I hope that you were encouraged by Dewey's challenge. If you are able to read one chapter of the New Testament every day, by the time you pay for camp next year you will have read the entire New Testament. And it only takes 5 minutes.

Remember, set realistic goals. God loves a faithful heart.

The Rest of July (July 15-28)

Hello Readers,

Here is the schedule for the remainder of July. I'm posting this now because I will be gone the next two weeks at Jr. High and Sr. High School camp at Hartland. Since it is mostly High Schoolers who are reading, we will continue the first week, but we will take a break the second week (during Sr. High School week). If you are reading and not going to camp, feel free to read what you'd like, but strive to stay in the discipline.

July 15-21
Sunday: Psalm 73
Monday: Jeremiah 9-11
Tuesday: Jeremiah 12-14
Wednesday: Jeremiah 15-18
Thursday: Jeremiah 19-22
Friday: Jeremiah 23-24
Saturday: Proverbs 17

July 22-28
No Scheduled Reading
(high school camp week)

Have fun while you read and enjoy the beauty of summer!

Week #28 (July 8-14) Psalms

Hello Readers,

Here is this week's reading, which is going to be made up primarily from the Psalms. We're going to be doing this for two reasons:

1. We're running a little behind on the Psalms.
2. I love the Psalms, and I hope that the reading this week can fill us with praise to God as we read these beautiful and inspired songs and poems of praise.

Sunday: Psalm 44-48
Monday: Psalm 49-54
Tuesday: Psalm 55-59
Wednesday: Psalm 60-64
Thursday: Psalm 65-68
Friday: Psalms 69-72
Saturday: Proverbs 16

May you be filled with praise and joy as you read this week!