Hi First Presbyterian Church, 

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Our one-year Bible reading journey begins very soon - on September 9! As we travel this journey together, I will be helping you along each week by providing context on our readings during my Mid-Week Meet-Ups. I’d like to begin today. 

If you’ve already downloaded the Bible App and explored the One-Year Bible Reading Plan or picked up your hardcopy of the reading plan (which are available in the church lobby), you will notice that each day we will read two chapters of the Old Testament, one chapter of the New Testament, a Psalm, and a few verses of Proverbs. Before we begin a new book of the Bible, I will give you a little context of that book to help you understand what you’re reading. On September 9, we will be reading from Genesis, the Gospel of Matthew, Psalms, and Proverbs. Here’s what you need to know to prepare you for your reading.

Genesis
Genesis is the first book of the Bible. In this book, we learn that God created humanity with the intent to be in relationship with God. However, human sin continually pushes us away from God. In Genesis, we see that God begins the plan to free us from ourselves and bring us back into relationship with God. While you will encounter many people throughout the book, the central person to the story of Genesis is Abraham. In the story of Abraham, we learn a little about the character of God - specifically, that God will not break promises. God promises to give Abraham land, descendants, and to make him a blessing. As you read this book, ask yourself: How is each story a fulfillment of one of these promises, a threat to one of these promises, or an example of how God overcomes an obstacle to promise fulfillment?

Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew is one of the four accounts of the life of Jesus in our New Testament. It is very similar in content to the Gospels of Mark and Luke. What makes Matthew’s Gospel unique is its emphasis on the Old Testament. For example, the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John quote from the Old Testament a combined 65 times. The Gospel of Matthew alone quotes from the Old Testament 55 times! Matthew speaks repeatedly of how Jesus “fulfilled” the scriptures. Matthew really wants us to see how the story of Jesus is really a continuation of the story of God’s faithfulness to Israel in the Old Testament. As you read, ask yourself: How is Jesus fulfilling promises that God had made generations before? 

Psalms
The Book of Psalms was written and compiled over many generations of Israelites. Many of the Psalms likely go back to King David; however, we don’t really know who wrote most of them. In any event, here is the most important thing to remember about the Psalms: They were always used in the context of worship. In other words, they aren’t someone’s private poetry that we are reading. They were written to be used and reused in worship. Some of the Psalms are for individual worship. Some of the Psalms are for group worship. There are different kinds of Psalms, including praise, thanksgiving, and lament. As you read each Psalm, ask yourself: What does it mean that God is worshipped like this? 

Proverbs
The book of Proverbs was written over countless generations by unknown sages. Some of them date back to the days of King Solomon while others were written many centuries later. The Proverbs originated as folk sayings used in people’s homes and from schools for educating the royal household. The focus of the book of Proverbs is on what a person is like who is wise in God’s eyes. As you read through the book, ask yourself: How would a wise person use this proverb? 

I hope this context helps you as you open the Bible and start reading on September 9! 

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron