Biblica New Testament Challenge
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
I recently completed a New Testament reading challenge with my church which I loved. It went like this:
~We used a version of the NT published by Biblica that had all the chapter and verse numbers removed. It flowed better that way and read more like a letter or a story.
~The books were rearranged into four sections. Each section started with a gospel and was followed by letters that went along with that gospel. For example, it starts with Luke and Acts, followed by the letters of Paul (in chronological order) because Luke traveled with Paul.
~Each book had a short introduction explaining why it was written and some other key points, which I found extremely helpful.
~We read approximately ten pages a day, six days a week, for eight weeks.
~We met together in a small group once a week to discuss what we’d read. The meetings were more like a book club than a Bible study. Each week we answered five questions: Did you notice anything for the first time? Did anything bother you? What questions do you have? What did this teach you about loving God? What did this teach you about loving others?
I highly recommend this version of the New Testament. I found it much easier to read for long stretches and I think it would be a great way for someone who’s never read the Bible before to start out.
The challenge itself was so helpful in getting me back into reading my Bible, and now that it’s over I can’t wait to start another study. I loved our group meetings because everyone came with questions and insight, but no one was argumentative or judgmental. I hope our church does a read-through of the Old Testament when Biblica publishes it!
From rachieannie:
I have never heard of that version but it sounds amazing!
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From Maria:
How cool! I didn’t know that the Bible had been published in this way. It would be interesting to read it more like a story without all the numbers in it. Thanks for sharing!
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