St James Bible in a Year Adventure » Resources

Can You Sum Up a Book in a Single Verse?

James — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:44:51 +0000

I recently came across (HT Mark Meynell) an intriguing attempt by Sarah Wilson at the Lutheran Forum blog to summarise the whole Bible in 66 verses. The idea is to take from each book of the Bible a single verse that sums up the basic theme of that book. So, for the book of Judges, which we completed recently, Sarah has chosen as a theme verse 17:6: ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.’ That seems a pretty good choice to me. For Ruth, it’s 1:16: ‘But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”‘

Now we’re in 1 Samuel, and Sarah has chosen 8:7: ‘And the LORD told him [i.e. Samuel]: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”‘ Can you see why she has made this choice? As you read through 1 Samuel, how would you summarise it? Which verse would you choose? What about for John’s gospel? Psalms and Proverbs?

Temple Objects – up close and in colour!

Christoph Lindner — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:44:26 +0000

As we come across a number of objects used in temple worship again and again in our readings, it would be great to know what they actually looked like. Well, we can – to a degree! Although the second temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, many Jews believe that a third temple will be built in its place in the future.
The Temple Institute in Jerusalem is dedicated to that vision and in preparation for it, has produced a number of vessels and garments, strictly following biblical instructions and pre-approved for use in temple sacrifice once the third temple is established.
Here is a gallery of some of the items – this link lands you in the middle, press “next” to see some of the more interesting objects…

Jewish Feasts, Jewish Calendar

Christoph Lindner — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:23:33 +0000

For many of us, the description of the Jewish feast days may not mean a lot. Here are two charts which hopefully help us to get a bird’s eye’s view of how the Jewish calendar works and the place of the big Jewish feasts in it…

(From: Holman Charts, 1993)

The Greatest Story Ever Told – the Whole Bible: Enter the Hero

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:27:45 +0000

The Greatest Story Ever Told – The Whole Bible: Enter the Hero from St James Church on Vimeo.

Part 3 in the Whole Bible Series. The Greatest Story Ever Told – the Whole Bible: Enter the Hero.

James Leach speaking in Gerrards Cross on Sunday 24th January 2010 in part 3 of a series of four talks giving an overview of the Bible.

The Whole Bible: The Rescue Plan

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:56:19 +0000

The Whole Bible – The Rescue Plan from St James Church on Vimeo.

Part 2 in the Whole Bible Series. The Greatest Story Ever Told – the Whole Bible: The Rescue Plan.

James Leach speaking in Gerrards Cross on Sunday 17th January 2010 in part 2 of a series of four talks giving an overview of the Bible.

Secret knowledge required to understand the Old Testament?

Christoph Lindner — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:08:28 +0000

Many Christians shy away from reading the Old Testament because they think an ordinary reader cannot really understand it. The IVP Introduction to the Bible begs to differ: “There is no special, secret knowledge required for the interpretation of the OT.” At the same time it acknowledges that God’s revelation in the OT first came to the Hebrews in the Near East thousands of years ago. So we must first make an effort to understand what it meant to them. The IVP introduction gives some helpful pointers to how we can gain a lot from a careful reading of the text:

1 Read broadly: Often in our forays into the OT we tend to atomize our Bible reading. Much better to read it often and in large chunks (and that is just what we are doing this year!). Take time to trace the story, the themes and common threads. Note how people interact with the same God we worship today. When we engage in this process, we will learn lessons of history and culture unconsciously, as if by osmosis.

2 Read inquisitively: Ask questions as you read (and some of you have already posted their questions on this blog!). For example, when we get to Isaiah, it will be helpful to ask what the historical context was: What happened during the reign of Ahaz and Hezekiah? We will find some answers in the books of Kings and Chronicles. Cross-referencing within the Bible can help to gain broader understanding (e.g. the place of Abraham in the New Testament). A concordance or a good Bible website will be helpful for this.

3 Read guide books: Even if you have bought a Bible-in-a-year edition to make reading easy, it will be extremely helpful to have a Study Bible to hand. If you find a book particularly challenging and you want to dig deeper, a commentary will be a great help. Many of them will go into too much detail as we march through the OT at quite a pace – there are one-volume commentaries which may be a good half-way house (e.g. Alister McGrath’s NIV Bible companion). Bible guides (like the IVP Introduction or the Lion Handbook) can provide general introductions to the Bible and specific books.

4 There are some great books that help us develop tools in reading our Bibles: they give us confidence that we can hear God’s voice even in more difficult texts. One that I have found useful is Dig Deeper.

One last encouragement: When Paul wrote 2 Timothy 3:16 he was referring to the Old Testament!
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

(To be continued…)
Have you got helpful hints on reading the OT? Let us know!

The whole Bible: In the beginning…

admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:38:39 +0000

The Greatest Story Ever Told – the whole Bible: In the Beginning… from St James Church on Vimeo.

James Leach speaking in Gerrards Cross on Sunday 10th January 2010 in part 1 in a series of four talks giving an overview of the Bible.

Listen to the 10:30am Oxford Road talk (extended version)…

Tips for finding the “One Year Bible” Books

admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:02:54 +0000

The “One Year Bible” books are in short supply. Amazon are quoting 2-4 weeks lead-time.

However, there some sellers on eBay who have stock. Check here for details. (Do not buy the chronological version if you want to follow our programme.)

While the One Year Bible is convenient, you do not need it to follow the programme. You can simply download the reading plan, or just come to this website to see what the day’s readings are.