Bible Reading Plan

The question of Jesus’ identity dominates the first half of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus begins answering this question by revealing His authority and power. He has the authority to teach God’s Word, forgive sins, and call disciples. He has the power to drive out demons, heal diseases, and bring the dead back to life. The ultimate…

Jesus’ ministry begins and is summarized in His proclamation, “The time promised by God has come at last! The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” The kingdom of God had come near in the person of the King. It is indeed Good News, and it calls for…

With God, every significant event is preceded by a time of intense preparation. Mark tells us that God sent John the Baptizer to “prepare the way of the Lord.” John proclaimed the need for spiritual cleansing in preparation for the Messiah and His kingdom. Jesus, Himself, is prepared for ministry through baptism and temptation, orienting…

The lesson of Job mimics the Passion of Christ, who remained faithful to God even as He was being betrayed, mocked, tortured, and crucified.  These seven days are called Holy Week because without the crucifixion, there would have been no Resurrection Sunday. Had Christ not hung on the cross, taken on our sins, and defeated…

God finally shows up and reminds Job of everything he does not know about Him. Through a series of questions, He reminds Job of the type of God He is— incomprehensible, all-knowing, all-powerful, and the ultimate arbiter of good and righteousness. He is beyond all comprehension, and He deserves our trust and praise. This is…

The search for wisdom has been a constant in mankind’s history. It is in almost every one of our religious texts and many of our stories, and it is a running question throughout Job. Job does not know why he is suffering. His friends do not know why he is suffering. And everyone wants an…

God is Job’s hope for vindication against his friends lambasting his integrity. God is Job’s hope for restoration of community. God is Job’s hope for the redemption of everything that sin, death, the curse, and Satan have broken, stolen, and destroyed in his life.  Though God’s redemptive plan for His people includes provision and protection…

Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu initially did not speak a word to Job. His suffering was too great. They remained silent for a week. But once they started speaking, telling Job what they really thought, Job probably wished they had remained silent. From their speeches, we see that for them the reason for…

After experiencing extreme loss and pain, there is nothing left for Job to do but lament, mourn, grieve, express sorrow. He refuses to falsely incriminate himself and he refuses to blame or abandon God. But Job does not hesitate to express his anguish in the strongest terms. His lament is almost entirely in the form…

One of the hardest parts of suffering as Christians is, that in the midst of it, we must come face-to-face with a sovereign God. He is utterly in control. Scripture describes our God as one who is intimately aware of our lives, and sometimes that can be most difficult when we are suffering. Suffering and…