COMMUNITY BIBLE EXPERIENCE
In February we're taking the opportunity to read through the whole of the New Testament together. If you have never done this before why not set yourself the challenge of reading the whole New Testament. You won't be alone in doing it, you will learn so much and hear speak God through it.
Our Sunday series, our Life Groups and Podcasts will all be based around this as we journey together until May 2024.
LOVE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION
The Bible is a vital resource, both for those exploring the Christian faith and those who have faith. When people want to understand more about Christianity, the number one place they go (after Google!) is the Bible. For Christians, reading the Bible is the practice that has the biggest impact on spiritual growth.
Love, Death and Resurrection is the New Testament in a new format, created for the Community Bible Experience: chapters, verses, footnotes, headings and double columns are removed. While these references can be helpful, they break up the text and often get in the way of seeing the big picture. The cover has been designed carefully to look more familiar to someone who has never picked up a Bible before.
The order of the New Testament books has also been changed. For example, the book begins with the Gospel of Luke, which tells the story of Jesus, and then follow straight on with Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, that tells the story of the church that Jesus founded. Paul’s writings, which are arranged in order of length in the New Testament, are reorganised into chronological order, to give a sense of following the story.
The format is a book group, not a Bible study. People read around 6 pages a day, Monday to Friday (with Saturday and Sunday to catch up!) During the week they get together to discuss what they have read using five simple questions, the first of which is, “What did you notice for the first time?”
Reading such large sections results in the New Testament being read in whole books, rather than just a few verses. The result is a greater understanding of the big picture of the Bible.
FIVE QUESTIONS
to ask yourself and help facilitate discussion:
What did I notice for the first time?
What questions do I have?
Was there anything that bothered me?
What did I learn about loving God?
What did I learn about loving others?
START A GROUP
The great thing about Community Bible Experience is how easy it is to facilitate. The only preparation that is required of the Leader is to pray and read the text. Facilitating means you don’t have all the answers. Instead, you are wanting to facilitate the discussion of what people have read in the Bible.
Your group may include people who are new to the Bible and others who have been reading the Bible all their life. More than anything, the groups are about sharing what people heard from God as they read his Word.
Join our Community WhatsApp Group
If you’re unable to make it to a group we’d love you to join our Community WhatsApp group made especially for the Community Bible Experience. Share your thoughts, encouragements and hear others share theirs as we journey the New Testament together.
Need help starting a group?
Starting a group can be scary so anything we can do to help you then we’d love to hear from you.
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TIPS FOR READING
Don’t multitask.
Avoid the temptation to multitask. Instead, create space so that you can devote yourself to each day’s reading.
Read big.
Don’t try to catch every detail. Focus on the overall story. If you have questions jot them down and keep reading.
Don’t skip the introductions.
There are brief introductions that unpack the context and literary structure of each book. They are well worth your time.
Follow the natural breaks.
Each day’s reading concludes at the end of a book or a natural section break within the text.
Watch out for the mid-way slump.
It’s not unusual to hit a wall halfway through your reading plan. Try mixing up your routine - change the time of day you read, listen to the audio version etc. Or you could try a change of scenery-take your reading outside or visit your favourite coffee shop.
Don’t give up, even if you fall behind.
Support from your group can be a real boost and the free days over the weekend are helpful too. However, if you fall behind significantly jump to the page the rest of your group are on. You can read the section you missed on the Catch-Up days or at the end.
