This fall our weekly home Bible study group began reading through the Bible. Our basic aim is to read each week's passages around the dinner table with our families, then to meet as families and discuss the passages that we have read. Since reading plans are part of my job description, I created a reading plan for us to use, which you can download here (254KB PDF).

Unlike other Bible reading programs, this one is designed to take four years to complete the OT, two years to read the NT, Psalms, and Proverbs. That is because this reading plan is designed for dinner-table Bible reading, and one-year Bible reading plans are too fast for that, especially if you want to allow time for conversation about the passages that have been read. On days that we read together as a family (which is approximately half of the evenings most weeks), we like to spend about 30 minutes reading and discussing Scripture, and about 30 minutes reading another book (we're currently working on Little Britches by Ralph Moody, a book and a series that I would certainly recommend both for enjoyment and for life lessons).

Our weekly family Bible reading brings me to the topic of this post. This week, I am beginning a series of blog posts called "Exploring Scripture with the NLT Study Bible" (label: Exploring Scripture). Every week, I plan to choose one or more passages from our family reading and explore some question or interesting issue in the text, using the NLT Study Bible as my first point of entry, but going beyond it as far as time allows. My aim is not to pimp the NLT Study Bible, at least not directly, but to see what are its strengths and weaknesses in daily, family use. I expect that this process will highlight places where the NLTSB is strong, but I also expect that it will uncover weaknesses that should be remedied. Ultimately, my aim is to prepare for the inevitable process of creating a second edition.

So I want to extend a serious invitation to you. First, what questions about the text would you like to see addressed in this series? Second, if you would like to read through the Bible with our Bible study group, please let me know by getting in touch with me, and come share your own thoughts in the comments each week or on your own blog. Or, if you just want to do something similar in your own -- reading the Bible with the NLT Study Bible and writing about it -- let us know that, too (comments on this post are a good place to do that), so that we can follow along with you on your journey.

Labels: Exploring Scripture