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Location:
USA: GA, Lawrenceville | I want to invite you all to join with a group of folks who will be reading through the Bible together with a group. We are scattered all over the country, and overseas as well. There won't be discussion about it here ... just the once a year invitation. I am confident that some of you may be interested.
If you would like to be a part of the process (described in full below), please email me with your name, preferred email address, and phone number. Everyone is welcome! Feel free to pass this invitation on to anyone you think might be interested.
FOR 2014: ===================================================================
You are invited to join with others who have committed together to read through the entire Bible during the course of the year. We will all use the same reading plan, and we will use a simple email-based weekly “touch-base” reminder, to help everyone pay attention and remain on track.
Each day's reading is about 4-5 pages long, and will take you 15-20 minutes. The idea is to dedicate this short, important chunk of time to the reading of God's Word as a top priority ... usually, first thing in the morning. It will, along with prayer, give you a great start on the day, focused on the Lord ... and will give you things to meditate on as you go through your day. Of course you can choose to do the reading any time you want, but I highly recommend morning-time before other people and plans conflict.
In prior years, we’ve found that using a Bible that’s arranged in "chronological" order of the events as they occurred has proved to be a blessing for everyone. There are several different Bibles of this sort available (all have a somewhat different daily-reading order) ... this year, we will use "The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order", published by Harvest House, with notes authored by F. LaGard Smith. It is available in paperback from many sources, with prices starting at about $16 (ablebooks.com & Wal-Mart). Be sure to get the correct one – check to be sure it is ISBN: 9780736944311. Google for that number and you'll find many sources. If you want to join in with us, but cannot afford to buy it, email me and I'll provide a Bible for you.
This Bible uses the NIV translation, so it's easy to read. It includes occasional short notes to help guide you through "transitions" in the “story line”. This is the entire Bible - nothing is left out. The order of the text has been arranged chronologically … in the order that events occurred ... for instance, the “historical” books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles have some overlap with one another and with most of the other books of the Old Testament ... this Bible arranges them so it's much easier to "follow" what's going on, in context. Similarly, the four Gospels are "intermingled" (each passage is clearly labeled) as the story of Jesus' time here on earth unfolds. The various epistles are placed in the order that they were written during the time covered by the book of Acts. The notes help clarify things as you read.
We use a simple weekly-email “touch-base” process, which works in one of two ways. Each Sunday I send out an email to everyone – and if you want to take the simplest approach, you just reply to that email to tell me you are up to date with your reading. Alternatively, for those who find it helpful, I include in that email seven easy questions, one for each day's reading in the upcoming week. They are "observation" questions - the answers *don't* require deep thought or interpretation, they come straight from the text - often they highlight a particularly "neat" truth. The purpose is to help you pay attention, and to keep up with your reading. At the end of each week, when you reply to the email that I sent out the *prior* week, you can if type in your answers to the seven questions, &/or the chap:verse that holds the answer. Usually the answer is just one or a very few words. Again … if you prefer not to respond to the questions, then just reply simply at the end of each week and tell me what page number you have reached in your reading.
I will keep track of the answers for everyone who chooses to answer the weekly questions. The same email that I send out with the new questions will give the answers from two weeks before. It also includes congratulatory lists for people who are on-track (two of the lists relate to those who participate in Q/A). I never chastise anyone for getting behind or embarrass anyone by publishing “scores”. It's simply a reminder and encouragement, and seems to help people stay focused. Remember ... this is optional ... you can just send me a page-number progress-email each week if you prefer. And ... it’s fun!
If you are interested in participating, please **email me** as soon as possible so that there is not a last-minute rush to set things up. We will start on January 1st. All you need to do is to send me your name, email address and phone number (just in case there is an email problem). I'll respond with a sample of what the weekly email looks like, and answer any questions you may have. If you can't afford to buy the Bible we are using, let me know and I'll get one shipped to you as a Christmas present ... I can't imagine a better one to give!
Thank you for your interest, and for reading through this long explanation. Please feel free to call me with any questions - and INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to join us. In past years, we have had people from different "denominations", various states, and even from overseas who have been a part of this. My contact info: hvacsage at yahoo dot com.
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Owner/Admin
Posts: 3925
Location:
USA: GA, Lawrenceville | Hi, folks:
It's that time of year again! If you'd like to join with a group of us in reading through the Bible in *** 2015 ***, please reply to let me know. We will be starting up on Jan 1st. Feel free to copy your friends with this offer! We've have people participating from many states, and three different continents!
This year, we will be using the ESV Daily Reading Bible, using the popular M'Cheyne reading plan that mixes Old and New Testament together in each day ... you can order it from Amazon in paperback for $13.02 ($9.99 Kindle) using this link:
http://www.amazon.com/ESV-Daily-Reading-Bible-Through/dp/1433534878...
OR, if you'd like 4% of your purchase to be donated to help support Leah Weldon (a missionary in Nepal), first go to this link:
http://www.called2nepal.com/,
then type "ESV Daily Reading Bible M'Cheyne" in the search box and press Go.
OR, if you want to use your own ESV Bible without buying the one that's organized by date, you can print out the PDF that I've attached, which shows the readings for each day ... but it's *much* easier if you do it from a pre-organized copy, so I suggest that you buy one.
This will work like we did it last year and the year before ... once a week I'll email you a list of simple questions (straight from the text, no interpretation :~), one for each day's reading. And, once a week, you email me a REPLY to the previous week's reading, with the answers filled in (or, just email me to say your reading is up to date). I will compile all the responses, and my weekly email will congratulate those who are up to date in their reading, and also those who did well on the questions for that week, and also those who've done well for an extended period. If you'd like to see the format we use, I've attached a sample PDF below.
The idea is to have some simple "accountability" ... this helps folks stay with the program, when other things might otherwise intrude. The emails "exchange hands" on Sunday afternoons, and you'll have a one week "grace period" if you get a little behind. No one is criticized or embarrassed ... but you are congratulated as you faithfully continue!
If you want to participate, please EMAIL ME to let me know. The weekly questions will be based on the ESV translation this year.
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Attachments  MCheyne one-year reading plan..pdf (103KB - 6 downloads)
Sample Weekly Email.pdf (302KB - 6 downloads)
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Invitation to read the Bible in a Year
