Encounter the Bible

February 2, 2021 Welcome to Week 2 of Encounter! This week we cover a lot of ground in Luke.  In Luke 9:51, we read this: "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem."  Everything we read after that takes us to Jerusalem and to the crucifixion.  Thankfully, the crucifixion is not the end of the story as Luke's final chapter gives us the story of his resurrection and ascension. As you read, keep in mind the questions that I introduced last week.  We will use these every week as general questions to keep in mind as we read and that will help to formulate our reflections, observations, and questions. Our guiding questions are these: What stood out to you in the reading? Was there anything confusing or troubling? Did anything make you think differently about God? How might what you read change the way you live? Please post a comment below with some of your questions, comments, and reflections from this week's reading.

Welcome to Encounter!  I'm glad you have signed up for this journey.  As we read through the New Testament, we will be going in an order different from how the books are arranged in the New Testament.  We will be doing our reading in four "blocks," each headlined by one of the gospels. We will begin with the "Luke Block."  This block will include Luke, Acts (Luke's sequel to his gospel), and the letters of Paul (Paul's missionary journeys are recorded in Acts). This week, we will read through the first half of Luke.  In this section, we encounter Jesus' birth narrative and the beginning of his ministry, including teachings and miracles. Our guiding questions are these: What stood out to you in the reading? Was there anything confusing or troubling? Did anything make you think differently about God? How might what you read change the way you live? Please interact with each other through the comments using the questions above along with other reflectio...