There are three two weeks reading courses that will take you
quickly into passages of the Bible that are foundational for all
Christians. This was prepared by Phil
Yancey and Tim Stafford. Many of us are
familiar with Phil Yancey from a number of his books like “The Jesus I Never
Knew” and “What’s So Amazing About Grace.”
These passages were selected with two concerns in mind: first they are
frequently quoted or referred to.
Second, they are relatively easy to read and understand.
1. Two Weeks on the Life and Teachings of Jesus
Day 1 – Luke 1, Preparing for Jesus’ arrival
Day 2 – Luke 2, The story of Jesus’ birth
Day 3 – Mark 1, The beginning of Jesus’ ministry
Day 4 – Mark 9, A day in the life of Jesus
Day 5 – Matthew 5, The Sermon the Mount
Day 6 – Matthew 6, The Sermon on the Mount
Day 7 – Luke 15, Parables of Jesus
Day 8 – John 3, A conversation with Jesus
Day 9 – John 14, Jesus’ final instructions
Day 10 – John 17, Jesus’ prayer for his disciples
Day 11 – Matthew 26, Betrayal and arrest
Day 12 – Matthew 27, Jesus’ execution on a cross
Day 13 – John 20, Resurrection
Day 14 – Luke 24, Jesus’ appearance after resurrection
2. Two Weeks on the Life and Teachings of Paul
Day 1 – Acts 9, The conversion of Saul
Day 2 – Acts 16, Paul’s Macedonian call and a jailbreak
Day 3 – Acts 17, Scenes from Paul’s Missionary journey
Day 4 – Acts 26, Paul tells his life story to a king
Day 5 – Acts 27 – Shipwreck on the way to Rome
Day 6 – Acts 28, Paul’s arrival in Rome
Day 7 – Romans 3, Paul’s theology in a nutshell
Day 8 – Romans 7, Struggle with sin
Day 9 – Romans 8, Life in the Spirit
Day 10 – 1 Corinthians 13, Paul’s description of love
Day 11 – 1 Corinthians 15, Thoughts on the afterlife
Day 12 – Galatians 5, Freedom in Christ
Day 13 – Ephesians 3, Paul’s summary of his mission
Day 14 – Philippians 2, Imitating Christ
3. Two Weeks on the Old Testament
Day 1 – Genesis 1, A story of creation (7 days)
Day 2 – Genesis 2:4b-3, Another story of creation (in the
garden) & the developmental story of humanity and brokenness (sin)
Day 3 – Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac
Day 4 – Exodus 3, Moses’ encounter with God
Day 5 – Exodus 20, The gift of the beginning of God’s law
and relationship with humanity
Day 6 – 1 Samuel 17, David and Goliath
Day 7 – 2 Samuel 11, David and Bathsheba
Day 8 – 2 Samuel 12, Nathan’s rebuke of the king
Day 9 – 1 Kings 18, Elijah and the prophets of Baal
Day 10 – Job 28, God’s answer to Job
Day 11 – Psalm 51, A classic confession
Day 12 – Isaiah 40, Words of comfort from God
Day 13 – Daniel 6, Daniel and the lions
Day 14 – Amos 4, A prophet’s stern warning