I was raised in a denomination that took the Bible very seriously: “We speak where the Bible speaks, and are silent where the Bible is silent!” In many ways, it was a great advantage, because I had quite a bit of knowledge by the time I graduated high school graduation: not only could I name all 66 books by sixth grade, but I could also sketch the life of Jesus, Paul’s missionary journeys, the kings of united Israel and major kings Israel and Judah, the miracles of Elisha, the plagues of Egypt , and the sons of Jacob. Name the twelve apostles? No problem. Find Jerusalem, Samaria, and the Sea of Galilee on a map? I could draw the map.
But I didn’t really know what the Bible was about. I would have said it was about a lot of things—mostly Jesus, right? I didn’t see how it all held together. My first glimmer of the unity of scripture came during my sophomore year in a denominational college, in a course called “Old Testament Literature.” My professor was known for choking up in class. A lot of my fellow students were embarrassed by him, but I will always be grateful for the way he pushed me down the road to salvation.
I can’t go into all the insights and convictions of that pivotal class, but the light first came on when he 
mentioned the two trees. Skimming over Genesis, he paused to point out the description of the garden in Genesis 2. The Tree of Life at the center usually gets little notice, because of all the snaky glamour of that other tree, but he referred us to Revelation 22:2: “on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” I don’t remember whether he implied it or said it, but the connection clicked: the tree of Revelation was the same tree that appears in Genesis. The beginning tied directly to the end.
The discovery that the Bible was a unified narrative led to my conviction that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied throughout scripture, and hence, my savior. Wasn’t I taught that before? Sure, but I wasn’t listening too closely, and the central teaching was surrounded and often obscured by secondary issues. It’s ridiculously easy for the church to tilt off-center and lost sight of what she’s all about. But to this day, I peg my salvation from that class, and the revelation that scripture tells one story. It tells the story.
Several years ago I joined forces with Emily Whitten, my blogging partner at RedeemedReader.com, to write a one-year through-the-Bible study guide for ages 10 and up. Our aim was to plant a sense of the scriptural unity in the minds of young students, or new students. A lot of people had the same idea at that time, such as Phil Visshur (creator of Veggie Tales) who produced a new series to teach kids What’s in the Bible? R. C. Sproul’s book by the same title was selling briskly.
We wanted to create something in the middle—for kids old enough to be independent readers, as well as new Christians of any age who don’t have a clue where to begin. (I wrote the lessons I’ll be posting; Emily adapted the material for younger kids.) We wanted the study to be accessible, easy to use, not too burdensome, and not too long. In a year, a family or study group or individual could get a firm grasp of all the major themes and chronology of scripture.
Lots of excellent Bible curriculums pace slowly through the depths; we frankly aimed at the highlights, but also for building a framework for deeper study. God’s revelation in history unfolded over time: beginning with hints, followed by covenants, followed by systems, followed by types and prototypes, followed by prophesies coming into ever sharper focus before the reality bursts through the screen. As we enter the brisk pick-up season of fall, huddle up during the winter, emerge from our caves in spring, and wind slowly down at the end of summer, we can watch His story unfold.
HERE’S THE PLAN
If you’d like to join me, the reading challenge will come in forty-nine installments, roughly four per month, to be posted on Tuesdays. Obviously, this leaves three weeks out of the loop, so I’ll skip Christmas week, Easter week, and the week of July.
The study follows a chronological rather than a canonical pattern. That is, rather than marching through the books of the Bible in the order they’re arranged, we’ll look at Job in connection with Genesis and selected Psalms of David along with I and II Samuel; team Daniel with Nehemiah, Joel and Malachi with the first chapters of Matthew and Luke, and so on.
Each week’s challenge will include 3-6 Bible chapters (or the equivalent), a short overview with further relevant scriptures, a key verse, 5-7 thought/discussion questions, and 2-4 suggested activities for kids. The readings can be divided up for family devotional times, homeschool Bible classes, or personal study times. The approach might also work well for a discipleship or mentoring situation where you meet with a new Christian once a week over coffee.
What does this look like? For a sneak peek at a sample weekly challenge, click here.
And click here for an overview chart of the whole year, including themes and readings.
We’ll kick off with Challenge One next week. Come along for a thrilling ride!
I live in East Texas and even though I don’t belong to the denomination you mention, I recognize it by the motto you mentioned. I am surprised how prolific that denomination is around here because I haven’t seen it much anywhere else (I’m not originally from Texas). My friends who belong to the church say they are a “New Testament” church, meaning, if it wasn’t in the New Testament we were not to apply it in our lives, such as using instruments in worship.
I think Biblical illiteracy is one of the worst epidemics afflicting Christians today and I think it is wonderful that you will be taking us on this journey.
I am also envious that you had such a great OT teacher. I took an OT class for a literature credit in college and learned very little about the literary merits of the OT, although I did learn a lot about the Professor’s opinion concerning its validity and historical accuracy.
That was not the Professor’s goal. He wanted us to mock the Bible as he did and he succeeded with many of the students. For me he challenged my beliefs, causing me to evaluate them. The result was I came out believing stronger than ever and with good solid arguments behind my convictions.
That denomination is also very strong in Tennessee–TX/TN seems to be the axis. As I mentioned, there were benefits (such as learning to sing a Capella–in harmony!), but also legalistic nit-picking. I’m glad that more Christian authors are starting to take notice and focus on the “whole story” aspect of the Bible, since I agree with you that the level Bible illiteracy, even among professing Christians, is appalling. Here’s my small contribution to solving that problem!