Happy Friday readers! How are we in week 32 already!?

Whether you are just joining us, thinking about joining us, or have fallen behind and thinking about giving up because you’re behind in the reading … you are not alone! There’s a few of us (your pastor included) who are a tad behind in the readings…but stick with it!

If there is anything I have discovered this far in the process and journey of reading through the Bible this year, is that when I take time each day to read from God’s Word, I truly do feel grounded throughout the day.

And when I am behind in my readings, it is easier to feel overwhelmed, guilt, shame, embarrassment and all the feels… so if this is you … you are not alone! But maybe today is the day we let go of the guilt, live into the grace of God for our lives, and find a moment in which we can be filled with gratitude. Maybe today is the day we pick up our Bibles and maybe just read a short part of the readings! Read the Psalms. Just read something and allow yourselves to become centered and grounded back into reading from God’s Word.

And if you’ve not joined us to this point, and have been thinking about joining in with the reading, get ready, because we’re just about to turn the corner to starting in the New Testament!

Have a beautiful weekend!

I’m going to make a point to sit outside, enjoy the beauty of God’s creation around me, and settle in to read God’s Word for a bit, what about you?

Below is a few words from the Bible Project Reading Group and the readings for this week, with Day 1 beginning today, August 6, 2021.

We are almost to the end of our journey through the Old Testament, and what a journey it has been! You may have noticed that we are ending with Chronicles, in the tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures, instead of with Malachi. If we ended with the book of Malachi, we would be ending with a Day of the Lord motif, which is picked up nicely by John the Baptist in chapter 3 of Matthew. However, we are ending with Chronicles for a couple of reasons.

We will spend the last few weeks reviewing the entire biblical story as retold in Chronicles before jumping into the Gospel. The chronicler will take you on a historical overview of the whole Bible, constantly emphasizing the hope of the coming King from the line of David. This King will reunify the people, establish a new covenant and new temple, and finally fulfill the age-old promise to bring blessing to all the nations. That King, of course, is Jesus.

Chronicles was almost certainly the last book in the Hebrew Scriptures during Jesus’ time. Matthew would have been referencing this ancient order when penning his Gospel account. Chronicles is full of genealogies, which is exactly what Matthew picks up on in chapter 1 of his book where he records the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah. 

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peace be with you,

Pastor Kendra

Day 1: Read Malachi 1-2, Psalm 63.Watch Malachi.

Day 2: Read Malachi 3-4, Psalm 64.

Day 3: Skim 1 Chronicles 1-10, read Psalm 65. Watch Chronicles.

Day 4: Read 1 Chronicles 11-14, Psalm 66.

Day 5: Read 1 Chronicles 15-17, Psalm 67.

Day 6: Read 1 Chronicles 18-21, Psalm 68.

Day 7: Read 1 Chronicles 22-24, Psalm 69.