The Bible is the story of God's campaign from ancient times to today and into the future. Reading or listening to the Bible daily is one way to get into SYNC with the many rhythms that are built into that story.
The readings for Life Season focus on the parts of the Bible that say the most about life as we know it--where it came from, what it means, how to live it, how to bless others with it.
As you read the Bible during Life Season, listen for the "Life Rhythm" and let it move you in some really good ways. Keep asking yourself,
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What does this Scripture tell us about God's campaign to bring life?
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What is the Spirit moving me to do as my campaign assignment today?
God's Spirit will keep giving you fresh answers to those questions.
How Life Season fits into the whole story the Bible tells
The world was full of life at the story's start. It was connected to God, blessed with everything imaginable, and it had no wounds or diseases to heal. But humans broke the connection, forfeited many of the blessings, and got some serious scars to show for it.
All this is Genesis 1-11, the first 1% of the biblical story. That is why God had to launch his campaign through Abraham in Genesis 12, to reconnect, heal, and bless the world that had fallen apart.
The other 99% of the Bible is the story of that campaign for authentic life, including
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what life should be like now
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how God's campaign is bringing life already
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what life will be when the campaign succeeds
If you use the SYNC Bible reading guides for the other six SYNC "seasons," you will cover the whole Bible in a year. The big story of the campaign gets clearer and richer as you appreciate it from all seven seasonal angles.
Options for readers
For once-a-week readings, use the items highlighted below in yellow. (Note: these highlighted items are different and much longer than the weekly readings for Just Do It Groups. For Just Do It readings see "Weekly Guide" under "Activities" or click here.
For one verse per day in a weekly cycle, use Jubilee Cards. (See "Jubilee Cards" under "Activities.")
Here is a preview of some of the perspectives on life in the biblical books we will read during Life Season:
Old Testament
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Genesis 1-11: The beginning of the whole story--how good life was and how bad it got because of human choices
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Job: life seems unfair when bad things happen to good people
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Proverbs: the wise way to live is to take God seriously, choose good over evil and promote life not death
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Ecclesiastes: the long, frustrating search for meaning in life
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Song of Songs: the place of love and sex in life
New Testament
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John: Jesus, the Life of the world. He does not just teach about life; he lives it and he opens the way for us to find authentic fulfillment in life
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James: wise living in light of Jesus's teaching and example
Looking back over all this, we gradually realize where and how we fit into the biblical story, and a fantastic thought dawns on us--this story is not about how to be religious. It's about how to live authentically!
Authentic life is ordinary life lived as if God matters. God's campaign is not a campaign to promote religious belief and activity but to make people more alive in every sense of the word--more connected, more healed, more blessed.
Authentic religious belief and activity are always related to everyday life. They are not in a religious compartment of life. They effect everything because the Real God is interested in every part of Real Life.
As we connect with God we discover that authentic life is more about being a life-giver than about getting life for ourselves. Getting life is not a goal for us to work toward. It's a gift, a byproduct of participating in the process of God's campaign to give life to others.
As Jesus summed it up, "If you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it." (Luke 9.24)
The way to discover life is to throw ourselves into God's campaign for life. To get better at that, we read the Bible and listen for the direction of the Spirit.
Introductions to books (leave this site)
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/john/
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/genesis-1-11/
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/job/
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/proverbs/
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/james/
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/ecclesiastes/
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/song-of-songs/
Other options for introductions to books of the Bible (leave this site)
The Message version of the Bible by Eugene Peterson gives the clearest and most potent descriptions of the significance of each book for today. These are not available free on-line as far as we know, but are worth the price of the book (Kindle available).
Videos
https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/introductions-to-the-bible/ -- short videos of professors giving introductions for ordinary readers
NIV Study Bible--more traditional "introductions" for classroom students
Download to format/print