Summer of the Bible 2014 - Week 1

Well, it's Summer (almost) - at least it's June 1 and that means it's time for the "Summer Bible Challenge"!  For the past three summers at the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown, I have invited people to join me in taking on the reading of the Bible over the summer.  At least selected portions of it!  The first summer we did a survey of the Old and New Testaments and the second year we read through the Book of Acts. Last year we focused on people in the Bible.

This year we're returning to a "survey" of the Bible.  Each week there will be selected passages to read, a brief background on the texts, some reflection questions - and posted here on the blog will be additional material to help you go more in-depth.

During each week of the summer, the Bible Challenge continues with a weekly Adult Bible Study following the texts of the Summer Challenge (Tuesdays at 4 p.m. at the church, starting Tuesday, June 10 - led by John Ames), a weekly Youth Bible Study (led by Caitlan Quinn), and of course a sermon in worship that will be on one of the readings from that week.

If you want to let me know you are participating in the challenge - comment here or send me an email.  I will be glad to keep track of which weeks of the challenge you accomplish.  There is always a treat/reward/bribe for everyone at the end of the summer who participates.

So visit here often - and let me know how it's going for you in the "Summer of the Bible Challenge."

-- Sara Holben (pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown)

WEEK 1:  "Creation"

Background on the Book of Genesis, chapters 1-2:

            The first five books of the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) are called the “Torah” or sometimes “The Law of Moses” or the “Pentateuch.”  Whatever name they are called, they appropriately begin “at the beginning.” Genesis is the narrative that tells about the beginning of the world, the people of Israel, and the community of faith.  It is, in many ways, an affirmation that Yahweh, the God of Israel, created all that is.

In our Summer of the Bible Challenge we will spend several weeks looking at the “beginnings” of our faith as we explore God’s “creation,” the “disruption” in that creation brought about by human action, and the “promise” that God makes for all of humankind through one particular family –Abraham and Sarah and their descendants. 

This week we will read two different accounts of creation.  While you may have read or heard these many times, we invite you to read them again – always being prepared to hear or see in new ways.  As Dr. James E. Davison writes about these passages:  “As you read, try not to get caught up in how these events relate to modern science.  It is more useful to ask yourself what these stories would have meant to the children of Israel as they heard them told many times.  The nations surrounding Israel believed in many gods. For them, the sun, the moon, and the stars were divine.  Observe that in the story of the creation of the heavens and earth in Genesis 1, a basic point is that there is only one God.  This God is above all things, and all things have been created by God.”[i]

Readings for week of June 1-8:

·      Genesis 1

·      Genesis 2

An easy week of reading!  To go more in-depth, scroll down to check out the other resources about Genesis 1 & 2.

Questions for reflection:

1.     To compare the differences between the 2 stories, consider these questions:

a.     In what order or sequence did creation take place?

b.     How is the creation of humans described?

c.     What is the task of the human creatures?

2.     Dr. Davison asks us to consider what these stories would have meant to the children of Israel … but the question is still relevant to us in the 21^st century.  What do they mean to us?

3.     What do we learn from having two different versions of creation?

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[i] The Year of the Bible, Dr. James E. Davison (Louisville, KY: Bridge Resources, 1996) p. 2.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:  (you may need to copy and paste the URL in your own browser for each of the links)

• Background resources on Genesis (Explore a variety of resources on the Book of Genesis as well as related topics in Old Testament studies):  https://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20 … 
• Videos about Creation in Genesis:  go to https://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20 and look for the link to the short videos on the right hand side of the page.  
• "Image of God - Genesis"
• "Understanding Creation"
• "Haydn - The Creation - The Heavens are Telling" (YouTube) … Enjoy this recording of Haydn's beautiful choral piece.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Jkktpp9QI
• Excerpt from PBS series "Bill Moyers: Genesis" …  There are portions of the discussion on the "Image of God" as seen in Genesis 1 and 2 (with questions for reflection) posted at:   http://www.tc.pbs.org/wnet/genesis/pdf/CHAPTER2.PDF  (The website for this PBS series can be found at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/genesis/resource.html)