Week of March 28 Readings

Mar 28: Ps 10-12; Acts 19:1-20
Mar 29: Ps 13-15; Acts 19:21-41
Mar 30: Ps 16-17; Acts 20:1-16
Mar 31: Ps 18-19; Acts 20:17-38
Apr 1: Ps 20-22; Acts 21:1-17
Apr 2: Ps 23-25; Acts 21:18-40
Apr 3: Ps 26-28; Acts 22

Week of March 21 Readings

This week we begin the Psalms.

In the words of one commentator, "The psalms are poetic discourse between Israel and God, who is said to hear and answer. Many are frank, unrestrained conversations. Some are prayers and praises that soar to the depths of human misery, anger, and frustration. A few are complacent and self-congratulatory and a few others are militant and chauvinistic. The psalms present a rich cross section of speech to and about God, and in some cases include speech from God. At their heart is the conviction that God is one to whom all can speak." [Walter Harrelson]

Mar 21: Job 34-35; Acts 15:1-21
Mar 22: Job 36-37; Acts 15:22-41
Mar 23: Job 38-40; Acts 16:1-21
Mar 24: Job 41-42; Acts 16:22-40
Mar 25: Ps 1-3; Acts 17:1-15
Mar 26: Ps 4-6; Acts 17:16-34
Mar 27: Ps 7-9; Acts 18

Week of March 14 Readings

Mar 14: Job 17-19; Acts 10:1-23
Mar 15: Job 20-21; Acts 10:24-48
Mar 16: Job 22-24; Acts 11
Mar 17: Job 25-27; Acts 12
Mar 18: Job 28-29; Acts 13:1-25
Mar 19: Job 30-31; Acts 13:26-52
Mar 20: Job 32-33; Acts 14

Week of March 7 Readings

We begin the Book of Job this week.

By nearly all scholarly accounts, Job is the finest wisdom text of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Job addresses the question of divine justice. In the words of one commentator, Job "is a story that speaks to every generation and to every individual who has known undeserved suffering."

Mar 7: Esther 9-10; Acts 7:1-21
Mar 8: Job 1-2; Acts 7:22-43
Mar 9: Job 3-4; Acts 7:44-60
Mar 10: Job 5-7; Acts 8:1-25
Mar 11: Job 8-10; Acts 8:26-40
Mar 12: Job 11-13; Acts 9:1-21
Mar 13: Job 14-16; Acts 9:22-43

Week of February 28 Readings

We finish Nehemiah and begin Esther this week.

Esther is a Jewish novella. Its setting is the Jewish diaspora community in the Persian Empire during Ahasuerus' reign. Esther is a young Jewish orphan. She becomes the Persian queen who rescues the Jews from the genocidal plot of one of king's advisors, Haman.

The book of Esther establishes the Jewish Festival of Purim, named after the lots Haman cast to determine the date of the genocide [the word "purim" means "lots].

Feb 28: Nehemiah 4-6; Acts 2:22-47
Mar 1: Nehemiah 7-9; Acts 3
Mar 2: Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22
Mar 3: Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37
Mar 4: Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21
Mar 5: Esther 3-5; Acts 5:22-42
Mar 6: Esther 6-8; Acts 6