Mary of Bethany

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 13-14 and John 12:1-26

Enjoy this video of Mary, created by The Skit Guys:

Tomb Raider: Lazarus

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 10-12 and John 11:30-57



I posted an image by this same artist on Monday. This one can be found on his deviantart page here

Also, one fun aspect of this Artist Bible Reading Project is that I get to see the ways people are using their God-given talents/interests to share the Gospel message. Who woulda thunk that magic could be a vehicle for sharing Scripture? Here's a card trick built around the story of Lazarus

Sheba and Lazarus

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 7-9 and John 11:1-29



I'm so intrigued by two of the characters we meet in our passages today. In our John passage there's Lazarus. He was best friends with Jesus. What must that have been like!? How must it have felt to rise from the dead? Above is Rembrandt's painting 'The Raising of Lazarus.' Below is one by French painter Leon Bonnat (1833-1922).



The second character I'm fascinated by is the Queen of Sheba. What an interesting inclusion in Scripture. She is a powerful woman, wise, and drawn to visit Solomon simply to see if the stories of his wisdom were true.

Lastly I share a kid-friendly video (white board drawings) of Lazarus rising which can be seen here.

Jesus Asserts His Deity

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 4-6 and John 10:24-42

In today's John passage we see Jesus assert his deity. What does it mean to be both human and divine? In this video you'll hear the words of Ravi Zacharias, who travels all over the world to defend the Gospel, debate naysayers, and reveal truth. Enjoy.

Beginning 2 Chronicles

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 1-3 and John 10:1-23



Today we start 2 Chronicles. How are you doing with the reading plan? Need any accountability/encouragement? Send me a message if you'd like occasional reminders (through text or whatever). My goal is to get all of us -- me included -- more excited about meeting with God daily in the Scriptures.

If you're like me then an overview of 2 Chronicles couldn't hurt. Here is once again the team from Bibledex:

How He Loves Us

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 28-29 and John 9:24-41

I love this worship video. I show it to youth groups, prayer groups, and anyone else who will watch it. Because it is such a great example of prayerful music, where the band leads us into deeper and deeper worship. This is the song 'How He Loves' by Kim Walker and Jesus Culture. Enjoy:

Jesus Heals a Blind Man

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 25-27 and John 9:1-23



The above art was done by artist eikonik whose deviantart work can be found here

Truth Shall Set You Free

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 22-24 and John 8:28-59

What does it look like for truth to set a person free? This skit is called "The Sin Chair" and was performed at Full Gospel Church in San Francisco. The song in the video is 'Every New Day' by one of my favorite bands, Five Iron Frenzy, who play Christian ska. Enjoy!

It's a trap!

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 19-21 and John 8:1-27



It's a trap! The religious leaders want to discredit Jesus. If he agrees to stone the woman then the crowd will stop believing Christ's message of love and forgiveness. If he ignores the woman's sin then he is going against the law. What to do?

Jesus didn't play their game. He demonstrated that when it comes to God, we receive full grace and full truth. Period.

In honor of John 8:12, check out this video called 'What if Darth Vader Joined your Small Group?' by the team at Bluefish

An oldy but a goody -- check out this song by Rebecca St. James called 'Go and Sin No More'

Best Description of the Trinity I've Ever Heard

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 16-18 and John 7:28-53

In today's John passage, the crowd is divided over Jesus. They understand that he is claiming something big. But they argue over whether Jesus is merely another prophet, or if he is truly the Messiah, or if his message even matters. It appears even Jesus got mixed responses to his sermons >-<

What is incredible is that Jesus is not only claiming to be the Messiah, he is also letting everyone know that the Holy Spirit is coming upon humanity in a very special way. This was an important message indeed.

There are aspects of the Trinity (God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) that are mysterious. But the following video is the best description of the Trinity that I have ever heard. It is delivered by theologian Ravi Zacharias, who has devoted his ministry to dialoguing with skeptics. Good stuff.

Jesus at the Festival of Booths

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 13-15 and John 7:1-27



What is Festival of Booths? Well, it is one of the 3 Jewish Holidays when believers travel to Jerusalem to celebrate God's faithfulness. The 'booths' refers to the tents that the Jewish ancestors used in the desert as they fled Egyptian slavery. During the Festival of Booths, families rebuild these tents and spend 7 days praying and remembering.

Jesus connected his Holy Spirit announcements to the meaning of The Festival of Booths. We'll hear more of this described in tomorrow's passage as well.

David's Mighty Men go for Water

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 10-12 and John 6:45-71

A fun video for kids -- the following is a story about David's Mighty Men, delivered via G.I. Joes. Enjoy.



And for our John passage:

Seeing the Big Picture

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 7-9 and John 6:22-44

Our Old Testament passage continues with the genealogy. If I asked you to give a quick overview of the Old Testament, could you do it? Here are some of the most entertaining summary videos I've come across. Let's start with a 3 minute of the whole Bible:



Here's a 3.5 minute one of the O.T. that doesn't take itself seriously at all.

Here's a 5 minute one that's less funny but is really well drawn.

If you want an O.T. summary with a little more meat in it, check out this 10 minute one by Jason DeRouchie:

Walking on Water

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 4-6 and John 6:1-21



What a beautiful painting! This was done by an artist named Yongsung Kim. And below is a clip from The Bible miniseries.

Genealogy from Adam

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 1-3 and John 5:25-47

Today's 1 Chronicles passage contains a genealogy from Adam. A long list of names seems to cry out for skim reading BUT the power of a genealogy is that it can show God's faithfulness from generation to generation. And the more we understand history, the more these genealogies come alive.

Here's a fun video of a drama team celebrating God's faithfulness through the generations:



If you would like an overview of 1 Chronicles to get a sense of what the book is about, check out this video from Bibledex

If you're interested in researching your own genealogy, check out ancestry.com where you can create your own family tree for free. Or google A.J. Jacobs cousins and check out the family tree that may one day include every recorded person, yeah-ah (because it connects through marriages too).

And lastly, here's a fun bonus video of the story of Jesus told by people currently living in Bethlehem:

John 5 and the Healing of a Lame Man

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 24-25 and John 5:1-24



I have to admit, the team that put this video together did a great job. It's a beautifully shot reenactment of Jesus healing a lame man on the Sabbath.

Two Healings -- of a nation and of a young boy

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 22-23 and John 4:31-54



Okay, so this image doesn't perfectly match our passage in John 4 but it's pretty close. Also, I should point out that today's passage in 2 Kings (and continuing to chapter 25) will help you understand the book of Jeremiah. It describes Jeremiah's context, his country's people and their struggles.

Awkward Penguins and the Water of Life

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 19-21 and John 4:1-30

Awkward Penguin has something to share today:


And here is a really fun stopmotion video put together for John 4:14. The artist is Colton Holmes and his church is Conroe Community Church:

StopMotion | Conroe Community Church from Colton Holmes Cinematography on Vimeo.

ELCA Pastor Megan Rohrer has this creative series where she sets religious images to pop music. Here's a video for John 4 that uses the song 1234 by Feist.

Idolatry and Sports

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 17-18 and John 3:19-36

Why did Israel fall? Idolatry.

This next clip is a punch in the gut (in a good way!). It's a small portion of a sermon that was delivered by David Platt. Enjoy.

The Bridge, a Modern Parable

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 15-16 and John 3:1-18

John 3:16, the most famous verse in the Bible. It's not hard to see why: the verse is a one-sentence summary of the entire Bible.

The following is a short movie that beautifully illustrates the truth of John 3:16. I strongly recommend you watch the full thing -- this is an award-winning film showing a modern parable that will stay with you for a long time. There are shorter versions on Youtube where it gets spliced or has sermon audio layered on top, blech, but below is the full feature. Enjoy.



Lastly I share a great song/dance performed at an URBANA conference that dramatizes the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus in the night. Check it out here on Vimeo.

Jesus, Her Little Baby Boy

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 13-14 and John 2



When we see Jesus, we think, "Messiah, Lord." But can you imagine how Mary must have felt about Jesus? He was her little baby boy. And clearly Jesus loved her very much. So the miracle in Cana is fascinating to watch because we get a little glimpse of their relationship -- that she believes Jesus can do anything but that Jesus knows God's plan.





Here is a decent flash mob (a dance routine) by a church that they say is inspired by John 2. I share it simply to give an example of a church that tried some different to share their message. Here is the video.

Generations of Disciples

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 10-12 and John 1:29-51



Discipleship. The word simply means to guide someone in following Jesus. We disciple because Jesus discipled.
I was lucky to land in a collegiate ministry that took discipleship very seriously. We encouraged one another in our faith. I had questions answered. I learned to study Scripture and to communicate my faith to others. Those were great years for me and I now understand firsthand the importance of discipling and being discipled.

In the Beginning was the Word...

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 7-9 and John 1:1-28

I absolutely love the first few minutes of this conference video, when out of the darkness comes spoken word, and the lone tapping that builds into a crescendo. Good stuff.

Theatre and Dance: Word and Pictures from Urbana on Vimeo.

Or here's a much shorter version from the same spoken word artist (that is only 2.5 minutes long) but meh, is missing the tap dancer and in my opinion, missing the atmosphere of the first video I shared.

If you're looking for a solid overview of John then once again, check out the Bibledex video

And lastly, here's a pretty concept from a blogger whose work can be found at practicalpages.wordpress.com

Who Shall I Fear? No one!

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 4-6 and Luke 24:36-53



We have a couple of powerful passages today, don't we? There is a miraculous healing in 2 Kings and Jesus ascending to Heaven in Luke. Let's praise with this next video because with God, we have no one to fear.

Elijah to Heaven

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 1-3 and Luke 24:1-35



And here's an engaging overview of 2 Kings from Bibledex

Simon Carries the Cross

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 21-22 and Luke 23:26-56



In my opinion, there are few scenes as heart wrenching as when Simon carries the cross. I think it impacts me because I'm always drawn to imagining myself in the scene. I grew up listening to a Ray Boltz song called Watch the Lamb that imagined this very same thing.

And lastly I share a video of part of an Easter service that you might enjoy. :-) Have a great day and we'll see you back here tomorrow for National Day of Prayer!

I think(?) the below image is from "The Greatest Story Ever Told" by George Stevens.

Run from Jezebel

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 19-20 and Luke 23:1-25



Today's passages are not exactly the most uplifting. In our New Testament passage, Jesus is turned over to Pontius Pilate. In our Old Testament passage, the victorious Elijah gets scared and runs away from Jezebel.

Elijah from DanStevers.com on Vimeo.

For a beautiful song that's loosely based on this this O.T. Scripture, check out Jezebel by Iron & Wine

Elijah and Judas

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 16-18 and Luke 22:47-71



What does faith look like? In today's readings we see Elijah look to God, and Judas look away. Why do we all struggle so much with building our faith in God?

Human Movement Videos

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 14-15 and Luke 22:31-46



I really enjoy the video I'm posting today. And to be honest, I had not heard of 'Human Video' competitions until beginning this year-long project. It just goes to show the kinds of things you'll find when you looking for Scripture-inspired, faithful art.

The Lord's Supper in Lego

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 12-13 and Luke 22:1-30



If you prefer sand with the Scripture being read then check out this video

For the fall of Jeroboam, I present two paintings:

That Song is Classic

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 10-11 and Luke 21:20-38


Are you up for some classical music inspired by the Scriptures? Here is a song from Handel that connects to our reading in 1 Kings today. Enjoy.