New Testament Reading Plans

Transcription

1 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e New Testament Reading Plans Contents Reading the Text2 Whole New Testament...3 Luke-Acts...8 Mark...10 Paul s Letters...11 John s Gosel & Letters and Revelation...12 Sharing the Journey.13 BIBLICA EUROPE The Mount Conference Centre, Woodstock Link, Belfast, BT6 8DD biblicaeuroe@biblica.com

2 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s Reading the Text Tis for reading Deending on which reading lan you are using you may be reading u to 12 ages a day. This can be a lot for eole, esecially if they don t consider themselves to be readers. But it can be done. Here are some tis to hel you along the way. Don t multitask. Avoid the temtation to multitask. Instead, create sace so that you can devote yourself to each day s reading. Read big. On your first read-through of the New Testament don t try to catch every detail. Focus on the overall story. If you have questions jot them down and kee reading. Don t ski the introductions The Books of the Bible NT includes brief introductions that unack the context and literary structure of each book. They are well worth your time. Follow the natural breaks. Each day s reading concludes at the end of a book or a natural section break within the text. The breaks are indicated by line saces the bigger the sace the bigger the break. Watch out for the mid-way slum. It s not unusual to hit a wall halfway through your reading lan (esecially the longer ones). Try mixing u your routinechange the time of day you read, listen to the audio version etc. Or you could try a change of scenery-take your reading outside, or visit your favourite coffee sho. Don t give u, even if you fall behind. Suort from your grou can be a real boost and the free days over the weekend are retty helful too. However, if you fall behind significantly we suggest you jum to the age the rest of your grou are on and read the section you missed at the end. Subscribe to the daily s. Each day s contains a reminder of that day s reading, a short animation that introduces the assage, lus links so that you can read and listen online. Subscribe at *NB* Page numbers in these reading lans relate to age numbers in The Books of the Bible NT lease contact the office for reading lans relating to other Community Bible Exerience roducts. P a g e 2

3 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s Whole New Testament W E E K S T H R O U G H T H E W H O L E N E W T E S T A M E N T he left them until an oortune time. whoever is not against you is for you. worked all through the dough. and kill them in front of me. The end of Luke riests became obedient to the faith. word of God continued to sread and flourish. sread widely and grew in ower. The end of Luke-Acts The end of 2 Thessalonians I too have the sirit of God. The end of 1 Corinthians The end of 2 Corinthians The end of Galatians the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord The end of Romans The end of Colossians The end of Philemon The end of 1 Timothy The end of 2 Timothy WEEK and not as their teachers of the law. new treasures as well as old. forgive a brother or sister from your heart. but the righteous to eternal life. The end of Matthew WEEK to whom we must give account. The end of Hebrews The end of James not to tell anyone about him. The end of Mark WEEK The end of 1 Peter The end of Jude was later to betray him. what the Father has told me to say. The end of John WEEK grace day The end of 3 John what the Sirit says to the church. because the lague was so terrible. The end of Revelation. P a g e 3

4 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s 1 2 W E E K S T H R O U G H T H E W H O L E N E W T E S T A M E N T WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 7 WEEK 8 P a g e 4

5 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s WEEK P a g e 5

6 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s 1 6 ( 2 x 8 ) W E E K S T H R O U G H T H E W H O L E N E W T E S T A M E N T he aeared ublicly to Israel he left them until an oortune time. Go in eace. whoever is not against you is for you. a lam shines its light on you worked all through the dough. we have only done our duty. and kill them in front of me. to hear him at the temle. The end of Luke those who were being saved. riests became obedient to the faith. it increased in number. word of God continued to sread and flourish. and grew daily in numbers sread widely and grew in ower. under guard at Herod s alace. The end of Acts. The end of 1 Thessalonians. The end of 2 Thessalonians. WEEK and with a gentle sirit? I too have the sirit of God. give further instruction. The end of 1 Corinthians. my joy knows no bounds. WEEK The end of 2 Corinthians. died for nothing! The end of Galatians. we uhold the law. the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. WEEK for ever. Amen! The end of Romans. faith in Christ is. The end of Colossians. and ever! Amen. WEEK Grace day The end of Philemon. The end of Philiians. The end of 1 Timothy. The end of 2 Timothy. P a g e 6

7 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s WEEK the region across the Jordan followed him. and not as their teachers of the law. certainly not lose their reward. new treasures as well as old. teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees forgive a brother or sister from your heart. So they left him and went away. but the righteous to eternal life. he went outside and wet bitterly. The end of Matthew according to his will. to whom we must give an account. those who have faith are saved. The end of Hebrews. you have become a law breaker The end of James. not to tell others about him. not to tell anyone about him. I say to everyone: Watch! The end of Mark now you have received mercy. The end of 1 Peter The end of 2 Peter The end of Jude. God s wrath remains on them was later to betray him. Can a demon oen the eyes of the blind? what the Father has told me to say. that I myself may be in them. The end of John does not have life. The end of 3 John and who has come, the Almighty. what the Sirit says to the churches. an earthquake and a severe hailstorm Grace day Grace day because the lague was so terrible. the Sirit of rohesy who bears testimony to Jesus. The end of Revelation. P a g e 7

8 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s Luke-Acts Having Reading through the whole New Testament, these reading lans for Luke-Acts offer the oortunity to slow down and read deely. They can also be used as an excellent introduction to Community Bible Exerience giving the reader an overview of the life of Jesus and the early church. THE STORY is a articularly outreach friendly edition of Luke-Acts for more information lease visit htt://thestory.biblicaeuroe.com W E E K S T H R O U G H L U K E - A C T S until he aeared ublicly to Israel. he left him until an oortune time. it collased and its destruction was comlete. hear God s word and ut it into ractice. whoever is not against you is for you hear the word of God and obey it. until you have aid the last enny. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear. we have only done our duty. bring them here and kill them in front of me and astonished by his answer, they became silent. came early in the morning to hear him at the temle. And he went outside and wet bitterly. on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. The end of Luke those who were being saved. miraculously healed was over forty years old. riests became obedient to the faith. both men and women and ut them in rison. encouraged by the Holy Sirit, it increased in numbers. WEEK the word of God continued to sread and flourish. filled with joy and with the Holy Sirit. and grew daily in numbers. to join him as soon as ossible. the word of the Lord sread widely and grew in ower. WEEK from Cyrus and one of the early disciles. ut Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. he left Paul in rison. if he had not aealed to Caesar. The end of Acts. P a g e 8

9 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s P W E E K S T H R O U G H L U K E - A C T S and he lived in the wilderness until he aeared ublicly to Israel. he left him until an oortune time. and it collased and its destruction was comlete. are those who hear God s word and ut it into ractice. for whoever is not against you is for you as full of light as when a lam shines its light on you thirty kilograms of flour until it worked all through the dough We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty bring them here and kill them in front of me the eole came early in the morning to hear him at the temle And they stayed continually at the temle, raising God so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand and a large number of riests became obedient to the faith and encouraged by the Holy Sirit, it increased in numbers But the word of God continued to sread and flourish churches were strengthened in their faith and grew daily in numbers the word of the lord sread widely and grew in ower He was a man from Cyrus and one of the early disciles Felix wanted to grant favour to the Jews, he left Paul in rison with all boldness and without hindrance! P a g e 9

10 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s Mark These reading lans would be articularly suited to following on from courses like Christianity Exlored which use the gosel of Mark to exlore the Christian faith. 4 W E E K S T H R O U G H M A R K Introducing Jesus (6 ages) The identity of Jesus (10 ages) The mission of Jesus (10 ages) The Cross & resonses (6 ages) 2 W E E K S T H R O U G H M A R K Introducing Jesus & The identity of Jesus (16 ages) The mission of Jesus, the Cross & resonses (16 ages) P a g e 10

11 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s Paul s Letters The writings of Paul are often reached on but reading them as whole letters, just as the original reciients did, can give us a fresh ersective, esecially on Paul s astoral heart for these churches he established. 8 W E E K S T H R O U G H P A U L S L E T T E R S 1 Thessalonians & 2 Thessalonians P (10 ages) 1 Corinthians P (21 ages) 2 Corinthians P (14 ages) Galatians P (9 ages) WEEK 5 Romans P (24 ages) WEEK 6 Colossians & Ehesians P (16 ages) WEEK 7 Philemon & Philiians P (9 ages) WEEK 8 1 Timothy, Titus & 2 Timothy P (16 ages) 4 W E E K S T H R O U G H P A U L S L E T T E R S 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians & 1 Corinthians P (31 ages) 2 Corinthians & Galatians P (24 ages) Romans & Colossians P (30 ages) Ehesians, Philemon, Philiians, 1 Timothy, Titus & 2 Timothy P (34 ages) P a g e 11

12 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s John s Gosel & Letters and Revelation By reading through the writings of John and Revelation we can reflect on Jesus first and second coming something that can be articularly helful in the lead u to Christmas. : John 4 W E E K S T H R O U G H T H E W R I T I N G S O F J O H N & R E V E L A T I O N P There they stayed for a few days. from Judea to Galilee. was later to betray him.) Go now and leave your life of sin. Can a demon oen the eyes of the blind? : John Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day what the Father has told me to say that I myself may be in them they laid Jesus there The end of John Grace day : 1 John, 2 John, 3 John & Revelation The end of 1 John The end of 3 John and who is to come, the Almighty what the Sirit says to the churches silence in heaven for about half an hour. : Revelation an earthquake and a severe hailstorm because the lague was so terrible Sirit of rohesy who bears testimony to Jesus The end of Revelation 0 Grace day P a g e 12

13 C o m m u n i t y B i b l e E x e r i e n c e : N T R e a d i n g P l a n s Sharing the Journey Five Questions No matter which reading lan you are using the weekly discussion will be based on five simle questions. What did I notice for the first time? What questions do I have? Was there anything that bothered me? What did I learn about loving God? What did I learn about loving others? They are a bit different from your tyical Bible study questions. Why? Because, this isn t your tyical Bible study. When you read whole books of the Bible, you often notice things for the first time. You may have questions you never thought to ask before. There may be things that bother you a little. Allow the first three discussion questions to hel you navigate your resonse to the text. The last two questions invite you to consider what imlications the text has for how we live. Jesus once said that Scriture can be summed u in two commands: love God and love others. Use questions 4 & 5 to reflect on your relationshi with God and others in light of what you have just read. Making the most of your weekly gatherings If you have been in a small grou Bible study before, you might find these gatherings a little different. Here are some tis to hel you get the most out of them. Think book club. Treat your weekly gatherings more like a book club than a traditional Bible study. The discussions may be free-flowing and wide-ranging. That s the idea. You may have come to each week s discussion with lots of very secific questions. (That s what haens when you read big.) Try to focus on the big icture-where the overall story is moving. You may even want to suggest that your grou kees a list of things to revisit once you have finished the reading lan. Resect each articiant, wherever they are in their journey. It s likely your grou members come from a variety of backgrounds. You may hold different ersectives or assumtions about the Bible. Some may be lifelong students of the text; others may be new to it. Each erson still has something meaningful to add to the conversation. Listen actively, seak freely. Don t forget to add your voice to the conversation. You never know how someone else might benefit by hearing how God soke to you through his Word, what questions you had, or what you noticed for the first time. P a g e 13