2021 Bible Challenge
Bishop Lewis encourages members to read the Bible ...
Bishop Lewis has been encouraging the clergy and laity of the Virginia Conference to read the Bible in a year since 2017. Each year has featured a different way of reading.
- 2017- read the Bible straight through
- 2018- read the Bible chronologically
- 2019- read the Bible in a blended style; a mixture of Old Testament readings and New Testament each day.
- 2020-read the Bible with a thematic reading plan
2021- read the Bible straight through from Genesis –Revelation
- January - Genesis & Exodus
- February - Leviticus - Deuteronomy 4
- March - Deuteronomy 5 - 1 Samuel 17
- April - 1 Samuel 18 - 1 Chronicles 2
- May - 1 Chronicles 3 - Esther
- June - Job - Psalm 89
- July - Psalm 90 - Isaiah 17
- August - Isaiah 18 - Ezekiel 8
- September - Ezekiel 9 - Zechariah
- October - Malachi - Luke 18
- November - Luke 19 - 1 Corinthians 8
- December - 1 Corinthians 9 - Revelation
Follow the below link to get the suggested daily readings.
Tips on reading the Bible daily:
• Start reading the Bible today.
• Set aside a specific time and place each day. Set your schedule and then stick to it. Mornings are great; but feel free to use any time that works consistently with your schedule.
• Get a good study Bible to help to illuminate the meaning of the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek text.
• Choose a translation to use during your reading.
• Say a short prayer to God before you begin, asking the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and understanding.
• Dive in and enjoy the richness of God’s Word! Apply God’s Word to your life. Bible study should be practical and applicable. These seven steps will help you begin a journey in becoming a “lifelong learner” of God’s Word.
New Book: "Wonder clearing"
A Note from the Author
In the process of writing the novel, Wonder Clearing, a number of readers reviewed the draft. One of those readers was the Reverend James Nenninger. Jim is a retired Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor. He saw the possibility of using Wonder Clearing for discussion groups in churches. After I moved to Chelsea, Michigan, my wife and I started to attend a fabulous church called Chelsea First United Methodist Church. The pastors there, Joy Barrett and Rodney Gasaway, encouraged me to facilitate a group. This group’s charge was not only to discuss the book but also to help me develop a discussion guide for other churches. That guide has now been published.
Attached is a publicity flyer for Wonder Clearing, Discussion Guide. Please feel free to share the flyer with people who may be interested.
Roger K. Peters writing as Taylor Penfield
Recommended
Roger and I have been pastoral and professional colleagues through out our Christian ministry. We were "appointed beyond the local parish" as we both entered institutional chaplaincies.
I am very pleased to have been a part of Roger's writing of this book Wonder Clearing. I highly recommend Roger's book for your reading enjoyment and reflective thinking.
Small group discussion, will make this book a spiritually formative one for spiritual growth and contemplative practice. The Discussion Guide is a plus.
JD Nenninger
the social dilemma - recommended film
What's this film about?
The most important lesson from "The Social Dilemma" is that we should question everything we read online, especially if it is presented to us in a way that reflects a detailed understanding of our inclinations and preferences. And we should resist the "attention extraction model" that makes social media seem friendly and reinforcing.
(from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-social-dilemma-movie-review-2020)
The Social Dilemma is a 2020 American docudramafilm directed by Jeff Orlowski and written by Orlowski, Davis Coombe, and Vickie Curtis. It explores the rise of social media and the damage it has caused to society, focusing on its exploitation and manipulation of its users for financial gain through surveillance capitalism and data mining. It goes into depth on how social media's design is meant to nurture an addiction, manipulate its use in politics, and spread conspiracy theories such as Pizzagateand aiding groups such as flat-earthers. The film also examines the serious issue of social media's effect on mental health (including the mental health of adolescents and rising teen suicide rates).
The film features interviews with many former employees, executives, and other professionals from top tech companies and social media platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Apple. These interviewees provide their first-hand experiences of working in and around the tech industry. They state that social media platforms and big tech companies have been instrumental in providing positive change for society; they also note that such platforms have also caused problematic social, political, and cultural consequences. These interviews are presented alongside scripted dramatizations of a teenager’s social media addiction and a primer on how a social media
algorithm powered by artificial intelligence may work.
(from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Social_Dilemma)
If it doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t right. Check multiple “news” sources to make up your own mind.
An "eye opener" ...
I have recently watched the film “The Social Dilemma.” I highly recommend this “documentary” on how we are being used by the social media through our internet devices (cell phones and internet). The following statements describe it better. I watched the film on Netflix and plan to watch it several more times. I need to learn more about how I have been “duped” in this new addictive medium AND what I need to do to break that addiction.
Let me know what you think about this film.
- JimN