A Year with Luke

   Hello fellow pilgrims and travelers on the journey of faith. I would like to invite you to join me and the congregation I'm serving in reading the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles one chapter a week. There are 24 chapters in Luke and 28 in Acts and that equals 52, a whole year then. This idea has been offered by the Florida Annual Conference of the UMC, and since I was down there last week to help clean out my mother in law's apartment, I came across her church mail on this. I thought it would be a worthy challenge.

   The idea is to read one chapter each week, all at once, a couple times a week or parts until the week and the chapter are covered. You might want to read in different versions of Scripture each time during the week. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), The Message (MSG), Common English Bible (CEB), New Living Translation (NLT), New International Version (NIV), to name a few will give you a great source of discovery. This might be the time you tackle a parallel translation. They offer two or more versions side by side so you can see the difference. I have an 8 way parallel version which is pretty exciting for me, but that comes with the territory.

   The idea is that we will be reading together chapter 3 this week, and on Sunday Jan 19, I'll preach on the third chapter, and select one story or event to highlight. Chapter 4 for next week with the sermon on the Temptations of Jesus on Jan. 26. etc. I'll try to provide a summary or interesting results of my study here in the blog after the sermon is done. This might get you coming back here for follow up or for a chance to ask questions or respond to what I find.

   Another reason for doing this is that every church needs a common focus sometimes, and this would be an awesome way to encourage that. If the whole church was reading the same story of Jesus and then the same story of the beginning of the church, when we get to Acts, we might see how the Holy Spirit can join us together. If the purpose that Jesus gave us was to make disciples, then studying his teaching and seeing his life a week at a time, might be a great source of guidance, comfort, and encouragement for us. I'll try to juggle the depth of the lesson with interesting discoveries for those who may not have been on the path of following Jesus for as long as I have. I have to remember what it was like not to know all the stuff I do know now. And I have to learn stuff I don't know yet so I can growing in my faith, as will you.

   I will also be providing a Bible Study on the chapter we are looking at. Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday evenings we will have a class on Luke. You won't need a book except your Bible to do this and if you can't make every week, there is no penalty applied in any way. Come join us.

   Oh, another part of this challenge of reading a chapter a week of Luke includes the offer to find someone else to join you in the reading. It should be someone not in the church you go to, but a neighbor, co-worker, friend, or acquaintance who you would invite to read the same chapter you are and talk about it together. What did you learn about Jesus? Does he offer any help for the crazy life we are living now? Any surprises, or new discoveries, or something you knew but forgot? It doesn't have to be a Seminary Scholar debate, but a conversation about the most interesting person in history. Try it you might like it.

   Well, Blessings on your reading adventure

Pastor Jeff