Bible-Reading Coach

This week we’ll read more books than any other week.

The bulk of our time will be on the small books of James, 1 Peter, and 1 John. We'll also read through the super-small books of 2 Peter, 2-3 John and Jude.

For the first time since Acts, we’ll be reading letters that we know were written by someone other than Paul, namely the writers who the books are named after. Interestingly, these four authors include two of the 12 disciples an...

This week we finish off the writings of Paul, with two very short letters. One (Titus) to a pastor, and another (Philemon) to a slave owner who was now a Christian. Philemon is a short, but complicated book about how a slave owner and a slave (both now Christians) should treat each other as brothers in Christ.

But we’ll spend most of the week reading Hebrews, a book whose authorship is a mystery, but whose message couldn’t be cleare...

This week we’ll read six books, tying week 39 for the most books read in one week – at least until week 51, when we’ll read seven books.

All were written by Paul. The first four are his instructions to the churches in the towns of Philippi, Colossae and Thessalonica. The final two are to Timothy, who was pastoring the church Paul had planted in the city of Ephesus. The letters to Timothy are the first of what are called the pastoral...

For the next few weeks we’ll be reading an increasing number of books. No, we’re not going faster, the books are just getting smaller. Because they weren’t written as books, but as letters.

This week we’ll read three mid-sized books written by Paul to churches he had planted. Two were written to Christians in large cities (Corinth and Ephesus), one was written to churches in several small towns in a mostly rural region (Galatia).

So ...

1 Corinthians is one of the most personal, practical books in the New Testament. Written by the apostle Paul to a church that was having lots of problems, it contains many passages that you’ve probably heard out of context at weddings, funerals, and communion services.

This is a great time to see them in their original context and learn from them in an even deeper way.

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This week, we’ll finish up the last few chapters of the book of Acts, then spend most of our time in one of the most pivotal books in world history, Paul’s letter to the Romans.

It is the Bible’s most detailed description of Christian theology. It’s also the book that inspired Martin Luther to start the Reformation which has altered all of history since that time.

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Sup...

What a week of reading we have!

Over the next several days we’ll see what happened in the very early days and years of a brand-new thing called “the church.”

We’ll also read about

• The start of Christian persecution
• How quickly the gospel spread
• How new believers taught each other to follow Jesus
• How they cared for each other
• Their excitement about sharing their newfound faith

This week, we’ll even see the word “Christia...

This week we’ll read the last of the Gospels, written by the youngest of the 12 disciples. It’s not just the last of the four Gospels as they appear in the Bible, it’s the last one to have been written and it tells us a lot about Jesus that we haven’t read in the previous three Gospels. In fact, about 90 percent of John’s account is found only in John.

In this episode we’ll point out some of those differences and...

The Gospel of Luke is a favorite among people who love science, logic and research. Why? Because it was written by a man who tells us in the first four verses that he interviewed eyewitnesses, he did the research and he wrote an orderly and reliable account of the life of Jesus – a life filled with miracles, healings, plus a resurrection and ascension into heaven.

This is an amazing week of reading, written by someone with great jou...

Why does the Bible give us four different versions of the life of Jesus? This week, we’ll answer that question for you. We’ll also take a look at Mark, the second of the Gospels as they appear in the Bible, but the first Gospel ever written – and the shortest of the four.

And we’ll take a look at how Jesus, as busy as he was, and as much as he loved people, did not trust crowds at all. He didn’t chase fame or power, but presented a ...

This is as big a week as we’ve had yet. Not only do we move from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we also start the Gospels and meet Jesus for the first time. It doesn’t get bigger than that.

This teaching starts by talking about what happened between the testaments so we can have a better understanding of the big changes ahead. Then we’ll walk through Matthew and its message of the kingdom of God, including Je...

This week we will finish our reading of the Old Testament. These books, especially the final three, are not just the last books of the Old Testament, they were the last ones. Because of this, they give us the clearest picture we have of what things were like before the 400-year gap between the testaments.

As you read, note the patience of God as even the prophets question him, and take note of how quickly we tend to fall away from G...

This week we’ll read more books than we have in any previous week – six in all.

Aside from the story of Jonah, the other books are far less well known. But they have a lot to teach us.

They jump back-and-forth in the timeline, so this teaching will help you with that. But what we’ll also see is the variety of sins that God condemns. While we tend to concentrate on certain sins while ignoring others, God pays attention to all of them ...

What a week of reading this is! As you can tell from the title, there’s a lot going on.

First, we’ll read the last of the Minor Prophets, then we’ll read the first of the Major Prophets. We’ll also read two stories that are as well-known as any in the Bible – the fiery furnace and the lion’s den. Then we’ll read two equally-compelling, but lesser-known stories – the handwriting on the wall in Daniel, followed by the prophet (Hosea) ...

As we finish the epic prophecy of Ezekiel this week, we’ll see the final destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. We’ll also read a couple of the most well-known images of the entire book.

This is the final section of Ezekiel, called the Book of Consolation. It includes the amazing, mind-bending vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, and a wonderfully detailed vision of a restored temple.

We’ll also learn a little more about the nature a...

Last week we started the book of Ezekiel by reading just a few chapters. Now we’ll spend the next two weeks in this epic book.

In this week’s reading, we’ll come to the end of the prophecies against Jerusalem because this is when the siege of the city finally happens, followed by its quick fall. We’ll also read about Ezekiel as he endures a huge personal loss, followed by a command from God to do something that will help us understa...

This week we’ll read one very short book (Lamentations) and start one very long book (Ezekiel). Written in different places by different authors, they have one big thing in common. They’re about the fall of Jerusalem.

In Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah laments the recent fall of Jerusalem after a long, brutal Babylonian siege – a siege that he prophesied would happen, then he witnessed firsthand. In the first 12 of Ezekiel’s 48 c...

This is the last of three weeks in Jeremiah, the Bible’s longest book. In it, we’ll see the short-term imprisonment of Jeremiah, followed by a request to change his prophecies to positive (he doesn’t).

We'll also see how both the king and the people give in to the fact that the collapse of Jerusalem is inevitable, so they try to find escape routes, which God closes.

Finally Jerusalem falls, then a puppet king rebels, causing Babylon ...

This is the second of three weeks that we’ll spend together in Jeremiah. The siege of Jerusalem continues, and Jeremiah is thrown in prison because they hate his prophecies. But even from prison, the king calls for Jeremiah, begging him to change his prophecies to give the people something positive.

After letting him know their doom is assured, God has Jeremiah give an illustrated sermon with him wearing the wooden yoke of a beast o...