Friday, July 31, 2015

Sharing the Gospel

Today's Reading: Psalm 54-56 and Romans 3

A couple days ago I mentioned the 'Romans Road' way to share the Gospel. In case you wondered, here's an image of that method:



I learned something kinda similar from my college ministry, The Navigators. 'The Bridge' was a quick and conversational way to share the Gospel that I could (and very often would) share while out at a restaurant or coffee shop with someone:



Which can be done in a one-verse way with Romans 6:23:


Or done in a multi-verse way (ha). Whatever fits the situation.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Create in me a Clean Heart

Today's Reading: Psalm 51-53 and Romans 2

I got chills watching this next video. During a sermon, David Platt recited Romans 1-8 by heart. It's not merely impressive for the memory feat -- after all, my brother is an actor, I know people can devote large passages to memory -- but it's impressive because it's heartfelt. You can tell Platt meditates upon this passage and is trying to internalize it. Good stuff.

Romans 1-8 from Radical on Vimeo.



For an old school song inspired by Psalm 51, here's Keith Green performing 'Create in Me a Clean Heart'

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The Romans Road

Today's Reading: Psalm 49-50 and Romans 1

We start Romans today! If someone has never read the Bible before then there's two places I send them: for an emphasis on relationships, turn to John. And for an emphasis on philosophy, turn to Romans. Romans is a systematic overview of Christianity.

For that reason, it's not surprising that so many Gospel demonstrations are built upon verses in Romans. The one-verse presentation uses Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." That one verse contains the entire story of the Bible.

Other popular verses included Romans 3:23 and 5:8. The 'Romans Road' way of evangelizing is so popular that parody band ApologetiX even made a song about it:



Others:

For an excellent overview of Romans, check out the Bibledex video

Here is an interview with J.D. Crowley on why he chose to write a commentary on the book of Romans.

For kid's videos, here's a couple from LifeChurch: here and here

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Stand By Me is inspired by the Bible

Today's Reading: Psalm 46-48 and Acts 28

Everyone knows the song 'Stand By Me' by Ben E. King. In fact, warning, if you click the video below then you may just have the song stuck in your head all day. But did you also know that the song is based on Psalm 46:2-3? It's true! And now you know. :-D

Monday, July 27, 2015

Art from Broken Pieces

Today's Reading: Psalm 43-45 and Acts 27:27-44

In today's passage, Paul is shipwrecked, which is crazy. Paul endured so much to share the Gospel. The question is, after we've been beaten and battered, and thrown up on shore, can we still see God's goodness?

Sunday, July 26, 2015

U2 40 and a Sermon Remix

Today's Reading: Psalm 40-42 and Acts 27:1-26

This is a 'sermon remix' for Psalm 42, using the words of Matt Chandler. Very powerful, check it out:

Waiting - Matt Chandler Sermon Jam from Mike Meyer on Vimeo.



And if you're a U2 fan then check out the songs below. This performance took place in Chicago in 2005, and includes the songs 'Yahweh' and '40,' which is based on Psalm 40.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Comedian's Favorite Bible Verse

Today's Reading: Psalm 37-39 and Acts 26

Here's a funny little anecdote from comedian Tim Hawkins on 'his favorite Bible verse,' Psalm 38:7

Friday, July 24, 2015

Paul heading towards Rome

Today's Reading: Psalm 35-36 and Acts 25

When I was a teenager I loved seeing bands live, with the screaming guitars and pounding drums, and that bass line reverberating your whole body. Good times.

I still remember one of those bands, 2 Penny Sparrow, who impressed me by switching instruments every couple of songs -- so the drummer came up to sing lead vocals, the guitarist went to drums, etc. And every combination sounded great.

They must not have continued because I can't find any information about them online. Hmm. But to this day, their CD is one of my favorites. The following song is probably the most stretched lyrically but come on, it's also a song giving the whole story of Paul going to Rome, which is awesome. Check it out here.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Paul before the Royals

Today's Reading: Psalm 33-34 and Acts 24

The youth ministry over at LifeChurch put this video together. It gives a great summary of this section in Acts. Enjoy.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

My Time is in God's Hands

Today's Reading: Psalm 31-32 and Acts 23:16-35

In this video, artist Jakub Blank gives his response to Psalm 31.

My Times // Psalm 31 from Jakub Blank on Vimeo.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Psalm 29 through Contemporary Choral Music

Today's Reading: Psalm 29-30 and Acts 23:1-15

For those who enjoy contemporary choral music, here's a great rendition of Psalm 29 (in Hebrew) by the ministry Cor Cantiamo:

Monday, July 20, 2015

Turning up the Volume

Today's Reading: Psalm 26-28 and Acts 22



In Acts we read of Paul defending his faith. There are many ways to testify to the truth. When I was in college I had a Jewish roommate who would blast Matisyahu. I'm so glad he did. Matisyahu's lyrics always passionately share about his relationship with God.

Here is a song by P.O.D. and featuring Matisyahu that connects back to Psalm 27:3.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

The Most Famous Psalm in the World: Psalm 23

Today's Reading: Psalm 23-25 and Acts 21:18-40

Today we read Psalm 23, which is probably the most famous Psalm in the world today. There is no shortage of great art inspired by this poem, so let me share two of my personal favorites:



I served in a church where we had recovering addicts from Teen Challenge come lead worship each year. The song 'You Never Let Go' by Matt Redman was one of their staples. I will never hear the lyrics the same way after hearing such powerful testimonies from those guys. God never lets go, He is so faithful.

For funsies let's jump now to a video from the Jewish tradition. In the video below, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi gives an explanation of Psalm 23's meaning.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Follow Paul on the Map

Today's Reading: Psalm 20-22 and Acts 21:1-17

For the last few days I've been posting about the Psalms. Today let's go back to Paul's journey in Acts. Here's a simple video but very helpful. It's a map overview of Paul's third missionary trip:

Friday, July 17, 2015

Psalm 19

Today's Reading: Psalm 18-19 and Acts 20:17-38


The above image is by thamzmasterpiece on Deviantart

And for a discussion on some of the more complexing aspects of Psalm 19 check out this article by William Ross which is found at The Gospel Coalition

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Those are some pipes!

Today's Reading: Psalm 16-17 and Acts 20:1-16



The song above is for Psalm 17. Enjoy.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Psalm 13

Today's Reading: Psalm 13-15 and Acts 19:21-41

A reading of Psalm 13 over beautiful images: Psalm 13 by James Henault

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

In Paul's Footsteps: Ancient Ephesus

Today's Reading: Psalm 10-12 and Acts 19:1-20

Don't have money to fly to Ancient Ephesus and walk in Paul's footsteps? No worries! This video tour shows the spots we're reading about in Acts:

Monday, July 13, 2015

Blessed Be Your Name

Today's Reading: Psalm 7-9 and Acts 18

Blessed Be Your Name is one of my favorite praise songs of all time and it connects back to Psalm 9. I want it played at my funeral including the bridge part, "He gives and takes away..." Here it is from the original artist, Matt Redman, along with guitar chords:



And of course it's been covered by a lot of artists. From college students with ukeleles to other professional artists

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Mars Hill and the Unknown God

Today's Reading: Psalm 4-6 and Acts 17:16-34



This image helps to show how Mars Hill was a great lookout point. It gave a 360 degree view of the city. And from that hill a person could see all the major temples of the Roman/Greek gods. No wonder Paul takes this opportunity to share about the true God.

For some solid preaching on this section of Acts, check out N.T. Wright on Youtube here

Saturday, July 11, 2015

A Tree Firmly Planted

Today's Reading: Psalm 1-3 and Acts 17:1-15

We're starting Psalms today! If Leviticus is the most difficult book in the Bible then perhaps Psalms is the easiest? Because its poetry reflects the ups and downs of our own experiences. Whatever we're feeling, whatever we're going through, the psalmists have written our thoughts down into these desperate prayers.



The digital painting above was made by artist Rebecca Ninig and can be found on her deviantart page here

If you'd like an overview of Psalms, click here for the Bibledex video

Friday, July 10, 2015

The End of Job

Today's Reading: Job 41-42 and Acts 16:22-40

Today's art is inspired by our Job passage. It's a beautiful video by filmmaker Dan DiFelice. Enjoy.

Job | The Great Unknown from danDifelice on Vimeo.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Girding Loins and the Sounds of Silas

Today's Reading: Job 38-40 and Acts 16:1-21

In Job 38:3, God tells Job to "gird up your loins." Have you ever wondered what that means? The team at Art of Manliness put this helpful image together:



For our reading in Acts I'm sharing a song by ApologetiX. It's a parody of a Simon and Garfunkel classic, and it's titled 'Sound of Silas'

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

God Responds to Job

Today's Reading: Job 36-37 and Acts 15:22-41

A very simple video (I suppose for kids) sharing God's epic response to Job, by LifeChurch:

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Council at Jerusalem

Today's Reading: Job 34-35 and Acts 15:1-21

Just a basic retelling of Acts 15:

Monday, July 6, 2015

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Job Asserts Integrity

Today's Reading: Job 30-31 and Acts 13:26-52

I apologize if the image below is a little too intense for some viewers. I include it because my goal for this Reading Plan was to discover art that had been inspired by the Bible. I'm fascinated by the various ways Scripture impacts and inspires readers.

When this artist read Job 31:5, she had a strong reaction. She saw how the Old Testament passage connected to a modern setting. You can find this art at this link here

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Free Despite Suffering

Today's Reading: Job 28-29 and Acts 13:1-25



Happy Independence Day! What does it meant to have true freedom? Wouldn't you say it's when a person's sense of wholeness transcends circumstances? That's what I would call real freedom.

The image above was made by a Christian artist out of Southern California with the username EmberBlue. She describes her reason for making art like this: "My desire is to glorify my God and Savior Jesus through visual images by using the talent He has given me." Yeah-ah.

You can link over to this art on deviantart here. The artist includes a long, Job-focused quote from Max Lucado in the image description.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Peter is Freed

Today's Reading: Job 25-27 and Acts 12

Children's Ministry videos can be insane. Truly, insane. For example, in the video below, the narrator Sir Reginald Dufus Esquire III introduces the passage in Acts which is then delivered by a bunch of talking fingers. And it's fun, and strange, but well produced. Enjoy.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Job Longs for God

Today's Reading: Job 22-24 and Acts 11

The painting below is incredible but also uncomfortable to look at. It's a powerful image for Job's suffering. It was painted by Léon Bonnat, a French painter who lived 1833-1922.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Peter shares with Cornelius

Today's Reading: Job 20-21 and Acts 10:24-48

The following video is the passage in Acts read aloud with some computer animation. Technology is making it increasingly simple to animate to Bible passages. Enjoy.