Dave Miller's 2024 Bible Reading Challenge

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 15:1-39, Mark 7:1-8:9 Background:    The battle escalates.  Jesus' ministry has moved into phase 2. The early Galilean ministry was one blessing after another - miracles, popularity, crowds, and adulation. But as we saw yesterday, Jesus' teachings began to drive people away, slowly but surely. He did not back off, not even a little.  In today's...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   John 6:22-79 Background:    This is when it all turned around. There were crowds following Jesus, thousands upon thousands of excited people who were seeing healings, watching demons flee, and being fed by supernatural means. Jesus was the coolest thing that had happened in their lives. But then he began to teach them and it got ugly. The Synoptics have told us abo...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 13:53-14:36, Mark 6, Luke 9:1-17, John 6:1-21 Background:    Today's readings focus on two stories that are among the most familiar in the life of Christ. First is the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 the food of one young man. It is one of the few stories recorded in all four gospels. It is followed in three of the four gospels by the story of Jesus walking...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Mark 5, Luke 8:26-56 Background:    These three stories (or two, the second having two parts), again demonstrate the amazing power of Christ. He casts out the legion of demons, showing his remarkable power there, he heals the woman with the issue of blood, and he raises a young woman from the dead. Demons, disease, and death - Jesus dominates them all. Anyone wonde...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 13:24-52, Mark 4:26-34 Background:    The parade of parables continues in today's readings. Matthew records six different parables here, and Mark has two of them, variations on those that Matthew told. Here are some principles for reading the parables and understanding them. Jesus, according to his own words, told parables to communicate truth to ...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-25, Luke 8:4-18 Background:    "Jesus told stories so that people would understand him better." So many preachers have used Jesus' love for parables as a reason to be a storyteller in their messages. They reference Jesus' parables as their reason for such a tactic. He told stories to make his sermons understandable to the masses....

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 11:20-12:50 Background:    Matthew's treatment of the early Galilean ministry of Jesus wraps up in today's readings. He has called, challenged, and empowered his disciples. He has done miracles that would amaze even the jaded people of the 21st Century. And, as we see in chapter 12, his battle with the religionists continues to escalate. Chapter 12 begins w...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 11:1-19, Luke 7:18-35 Background:    Today's reading is brief - the Matthew and Luke readings are virtually identical. They speak of the ebb and flow of the ministries of John and Jesus. John steps back in humility to prepare the way of the Lord, fading into the background so Jesus can take his place as the focus of the nation. His humility and kingdom focu...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 10 Background:    Jesus reveals much of his leadership philosophy in Matthew 10. In the opening verses, he names his inner circle, the "Twelve" who would form the leadership core of his work (well, 11 of them would!). Volumes could be written about Jesus as a leader, but a few highlights must suffice here. Jesus did not pick the best and the brigh...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 8:18-9:38 Background:    Each of the Gospel writers had a purpose. They were not simply chronicling the life of Christ, but they were making a point with the stories they told. Matthew was showing the authority of Jesus as King, the rightful king in the line of David, Israel's true ruler. He chose certain stories in a certain order based on his purpose and ...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Luke 7:36-8:3, 19-21 Background:    In Luke 7:36-8:3 we see two stories that show Jesus' concern and compassion for a group of people that the religious world often forgot, discounted, or disrespected - women. Jesus treated them as people, as co-bearers of the image of God, and as people of worth and value. At the end of Luke 7, we have a shocking story o...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 8:1-17, Luke 7:1-17 Background:    After a side-trip into the early chapters of John and an excursion in Matthew and Luke in the wonderful teachings of the Sermon on the Mount (and its cousin, the Sermon on the Plain), we return to the early Galilean ministry of Jesus in today's readings. After years of obscurity, Jesus appeared before John and was baptized...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Luke 6:17-49, 11:1-36 Background:    Did Jesus preach the same sermon twice, with a few tweaks, or did Luke and Matthew just disagree about the details of the same sermon? That's the question that faces us as we look at today's passage in Luke 6. It is clearly a retelling of the Sermon on the Mount, but there is quite a bit that is different. The setting is differe...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Matthew 6:19-7:29 Background:    In one of my favorite movies, Inigo Montoya tells Vizzini that the word he keeps using, "inconceivable," doesn't mean what he thinks it means. Today's reading has some of the most misunderstood and misapplied scriptures in the Bible. Some of its teachings do not mean what people seem to think that they mean.  After dealing with...