THE BIBLE IN 10 MINUTES, 5 DAYS A WEEK

If you missed any of the weeks in this plan, you can find them here: https://www.firstdecatur.org/messages/offtheshelf/

WEEK THIRTEEN

Hello, and welcome to the final week of the Off the Shelf bible reading plan. Congratulations on completing this plan!

Last week we read from four of the letters that the Apostle Paul wrote. In total, our Bible contains 13 letters written by the Apostle Paul. Following Paul’s letters are other letters written by five additional authors. This week, we will conclude this plan by reading from letters written by Peter, John, and Jude. We will spend the last two days reading the final four chapters of the Bible in the book of Revelation.

DAY 1  |  Today we will read 1 Peter 1. This letter was written by Jesus’ disciple named Peter and is one of two letters in our Bible authored by Peter. Peter wrote this letter to encourage Jesus followers to stand firm in their faith despite the oppression they were facing because of their faith. With that in mind, today read 1 Peter 1.  

DAY 2  |  Today we will read 1 John 1-2.  This letter was written by Jesus’ disciple named John, who also wrote the Gospel of John and the book of Revelation. This letter is one of three letters written by John to address theological and behavioral issues in the Christian communities he was writing to. Keep this purpose in mind today as you read 1 John 1-2

DAY 3  |  Today we will read Jude. Jude was the half brother of Jesus, and he wrote this letter to warn his recipients about false teachers. Today, read Jude

DAY 4  |  Today we will read Revelation 19 & 20. The book of Revelation was written by Jesus’ disciple named John, who also wrote the Gospel of John and the letters we know as 1, 2 and 3 John.  John wrote this book to seven churches in what is modern-day Turkey. The book of Revelation can be confusing to read because it is a letter, but it also contains prophetic and apocalyptic literature. In other words, it contains prophecy and images that are difficult for us to decipher with absolute certainty. The good news is that we can decipher the overall message of Revelation. That message is that in the end, Christ will return, evil will be abolished, all will be made new, and we will be with God. Over the next two days, we will read the final four chapters of Revelation. As you read these chapters, please keep the overall message in mind. Today, read Revelation 19 – 20

DAY 5  |  Today we will read the final two chapters of the Bible. Please keep the notes from day 4 in mind as you read. Today, read Revelation 21-22.  

Thank you again for joining us on this journey over the past 13 weeks. We hope this has been an opportunity to better understand the overall story of the Bible.  As we move forward from here we would encourage you to continue in the practice of reading your Bible every week. Please check out the reading plans at https://my.bible.com/reading-plans for ideas. There are incredible plans on a variety of topics, and you can even read with friends. Thanks again for joining us for Off the Shelf!

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