Bible Challenge Blog

Ascribe majesty to God’s name and give thanks to God with praise, with songs on your lips, and with harps; this is what you shall say in thanksgiving.
(Ecclesiasticus 39.15)

Did you know that the word “thanksgiving” is mentioned in the Bible 69 times? It generally signified an expression of thanks to God, accompanied by prayers on behalf of God’s people. The Psalms are filled with words of thanks and gratitude.

The ancient Israelites offered thanks because God remained ever faithful to the covenant made with their ancestors at Sinai. They offered words of gratitude for all of God’s saving acts.
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As we journey through this sixth week of our Bible Challenge, we read the book of Leviticus, the Third book of the Torah in the Hebrew Scriptures, and begin the Gospel of Mark, the oldest of the Synoptic Gospels, I invite you to consider the laws and commandments given to Moses and the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. Why were these laws and commandments given to a new people on a journey to a new land? What did they mean in the context in which they were given/written? How did they inform life in the wilderness, life in the promised land, life in the exodus and in the Diaspora? How do they inform Jewish life today? [Read more...]

As we continue on this year-long spiritual journey together of reading the Bible in 365 days, we do hope you’ll join us for any and all of the Bible Challenge Check-Ins. Upcoming check-ins include one this Sunday, Nov. 11 at 10:10 a.m. with the Rev. Canon Will Mebane and Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. with the Very Rev. Tracey Lind. [Read more...]

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
My God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
(Psalm 18:1-2)

It’s been a wild 48 hours so I’m slow in getting this weekly Bible Challenge email message to you.  My apologies!

Now in Week 4, we’re reading the Exodus – the great tale of liberation.  I invite you to imagine yourself in this drama.  Consider what it must have been like to be slaves in Egypt, serving Pharaoh and building his great pyramids.  In your mind’s eye, witness the plagues, experience the night of Passover, and walk across the Red Sea.  [Read more...]

Dear Bible Challenge Companions,

We’re beginning Week 3, and we have more than 180 folks engaged in the Bible Challenge.

During the first two weeks of our Bible Challenge, we’ve had two check-ins. One was a spontaneous gathering on a Sunday morning, and one was our regularly scheduled monthly gathering last Wednesday. There was a lot of energy with many questions, insights, excitement and some frustration (reading the Bible everyday requires discipline). [Read more...]

Dear friends,

It is the second week of the Bible Challenge. I hope you’re having as much fun as I am reading and reflecting on the inspired word of God and the story of our spiritual ancestors.

This week, as we continue our journey through Genesis, we will come to some of the most complicated stories in the Hebrew Scriptures:
Sodom and Gomorrah, Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and Esau. As you carefully read and reflect on these texts, ask yourself:

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Dear Friends,

Today we begin the Bible Challenge. I am delighted that more than 150 members of the Trinity Cathedral congregation have decided to read the entire Bible over the coming year. I offer you some thoughts and questions to ponder on the first day of this spiritual adventure. You can view the entire reading schedule online.

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