July 2022 Bible Binge
Many of us will have binge watched a whole series on Netflix or another streaming service. Some of us may have found ourselves staying up late at night to finish reading a captivating novel. Others of us may have listened to an audio book while going for a long walk.
Yet often we only read the bible in small bite size pieces. It is a bit like going to see a musical at a theatre in the city, but only seeing one song each night. After the opening number you go home and go back the next night for the second song etc. Each song may be great as a stand alone item, but it has a greater significance when seen as part of a whole musical
In the same way, while, meditating on small portions of the bible is valuable, a bible binge can help us get a wider perspective.
Last year we challenged people to read the whole New Testament in as short a time as possible.
This July we would like to challenge you to binge on a Gospel.
-
Pick one of the four Gospels (Mark is the shortest, Luke is the longest, and Matthew & John are in between)
-
Plan to Read/Listen/Watch to your chosen gospel multiple times between now and the end of July. We suggest between 4 and 8 times
-
Pay attention to the overall flow of the gospel. See what themes and/or events stand out to you. (For example in Mark it seems to me that in the first 8 chapters the various events help to reveal who Jesus is; then Jesus asks his disciples reflect on who he is; then he does intensive discipleship with them; and that culminates in the events of Easter week.)
How could I possibly do that?
It is best to plan a mix of media. Eg read through your chosen Gospel twice, listen to it 3 times, and watch it once.
-
Read your chosen Gospel. Depending on the Gospel it will take 1-2 hours.
-
You could do it in a single sitting or
-
break it up into 30 minute blocks or
-
break it up into 5 chapters at a time
-
The bigger the chunks the better overview you will get
-
Listen to your chosen gospel on the Youversion bible app. You can even increase the speed so you can listen to a whole Gospel in less than 1 hour
-
Listen while driving, gardening, washing up, exercising, walking, sitting……
-
If you get distracted for whatever reason, don’t stress, just reengage with where the narrator is up to.
-
Watch a Gospel