Encounter the Bible

  Welcome to Week 2 of our journey through the wilderness.  As you read, you will encounter some familiar stories such as the 12 spies, Korah's rebellion, and the talking donkey.  You will also encounter less familiar stories and instructions.  As you read both the familiar and the new, keep in mind that all that happened to God's people in the wilderness was preparing them for life in the Promised Land, a land that was at the crossroads of culture, a land where they were supposed to live in such a way that put God on display to the cultures around them. Enjoy your journey through the wilderness! As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  Use these as general questions to keep in mind as you read to help formulate your 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 th...

Give yourself a pat on the back!  You made it through Leviticus! This week we start a 3-week journey through the book of Numbers.  In the Hebrew scriptures, this book was known as "In the Wilderness." In many ways, we can identify with this title as we've gone through the "wilderness" of the past few years.  As we journey with the Hebrew people on their way to the Promised Land, we will encounter many times when they are disobedient to God, and we will encounter many times when God affirms this disobedient people as his own as he continues to lead them to the Promised Land. How would you compare your "wilderness" experiences with that of the Hebrew people? As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  Use these as general questions to keep in mind as you read to help formulate your 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 ...

 Leviticus in a week! We're going to cover Leviticus in a whirlwind!  It's easy to skip over a book like Leviticus because it seems so far removed from us from both cultural and faith perspectives.  Why learn about rituals and festivals we no longer keep? Here are three reasons to invest in Leviticus: 1) The sacrificial system, while no longer in effect, points us to the work of Christ.  As the book of Hebrews points out, those sacrifices happened day in and day out for years, but now Jesus is the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for sin. 2) The three major Jewish festivals have carried over into the Christian tradition.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread points us to Good Friday; the Feast of Firstfruits points to Easter; the Feast of Booths points us to Pentecost. 3) Chapters 17-27, sometimes called the Holiness Code, deals with sanctification (being made holy) and help us to better understand who we are called to become in Christ. As you read, keep in mind our rea...