M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The First Sin
3 (A) The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 3 except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”
4 “No, you won't!” the snake replied. 5 “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”
6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7 At once they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.
Sin Brings a Curse
9 The Lord God called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?”
10 The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”
11 “How did you know you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?”
12 “It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”
13 (B) The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The snake tricked me,” she answered, “and I ate some of that fruit.”
14 So the Lord God said to the snake:
“Because of what you have done,
you will be the only animal
to suffer this curse—
For as long as you live,
you will crawl on your stomach
and eat dirt.
15 (C) You and this woman
will hate each other;
your descendants and hers
will always be enemies.
One of hers will strike you
on the head,
and you will strike him
on the heel.”
16 Then the Lord God said to the woman,
“You will suffer terribly
when you give birth.
But you will still desire
your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 (D) The Lord said to the man,
“You listened to your wife
and ate the fruit
I told you not to eat.
And so, the ground
will be under a curse
because of what you did.
As long as you live,
you will have to struggle
to grow enough food.
18 Your food will be plants,
but the ground will produce
thorns and thistles.
19 You will sweat all your life
to earn a living;
you were made out of soil,
and you will once again
turn into soil.”
20 The man Adam[a] named his wife Eve[b] because she would become the mother of all who live.
21 Then the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.
22 (E) The Lord said, “They now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever.” 23 So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made. 24 Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.
The Preaching of John the Baptist
(Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.1-18; John 1.19-28)
3 Years later, John the Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judea. 2 (A) He said, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven[a] will soon be here.”[b]
3 (B) John was the one the prophet Isaiah was talking about, when he said,
“In the desert someone
is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
for the Lord!
Make a straight path
for him.’ ”
4 (C) John wore clothes made of camel's hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey.
5 From Jerusalem and all Judea and from the Jordan River Valley crowds of people went to John. 6 They told how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them in the river.
7 (D) Many Pharisees and Sadducees also came to be baptized. But John said to them:
You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? 8 Do something to show you have really given up your sins. 9 (E) And don't start telling yourselves that you belong to Abraham's family. I tell you that God can turn these stones into children for Abraham. 10 (F) An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into a fire.
11 I baptize you with water so you will give up your sins.[c] But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals.[d] He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 (G) His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks.[e] He will store the wheat in a barn and burn the husks in a fire that never goes out.
The Baptism of Jesus
(Mark 1.9-11; Luke 3.21,22)
13 Jesus left Galilee and went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John kept objecting and said, “I ought to be baptized by you. Why have you come to me?”
15 Jesus answered, “For now this is how it should be, because we must do all God wants us to do.” Then John agreed.
16 So Jesus was baptized. And as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. 17 (H) Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him.”
The First Offering on the New Altar
3 During the seventh month[a] of the year, the Israelites who had settled in their towns went to Jerusalem. 2 (A) The priest Joshua son of Jozadak, together with the other priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his relatives rebuilt the altar of Israel's God. Then they were able to offer sacrifices there by following the instructions God had given to Moses, the man of God. 3 (B) And they built the altar where it had stood before,[b] even though they were afraid of the people who were already living around there. Then every morning and evening they burned sacrifices and offerings to the Lord.
4 (C) The people followed the rules for celebrating the Festival of Shelters and offered the proper sacrifices each day. 5 (D) They offered sacrifices to please the Lord,[c] sacrifices at each New Moon Festival, and sacrifices at the rest of the Lord's festivals. Every offering the people had brought voluntarily was also presented to the Lord.
6 Although work on the temple itself had not yet begun, the people started offering sacrifices on the Lord's altar on the first day of the seventh month of that year.
The Rebuilding of the Temple Begins
7 King Cyrus of Persia had said the Israelites could have cedar trees brought from Lebanon to Joppa by sea. So they sent grain, wine, and olive oil to the cities of Tyre and Sidon as payment for these trees, and they gave money to the stoneworkers and carpenters.
8 During the second month[d] of the second year after the people had returned from Babylonia, they started rebuilding the Lord's temple. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else who had returned started working. Every Levite over 20 years of age was put in charge of some part of the work. 9 The Levites in charge of the whole project were Joshua and his sons and relatives and Kadmiel and his sons from the family of Hodaviah.[e] The family of Henadad worked along with them.
10 (E) When the builders had finished laying the foundation of the temple, the priests put on their robes and blew trumpets in honor of the Lord, while the Levites from the family of Asaph praised God with cymbals. All of them followed the instructions given years before by King David.[f] 11 (F) They praised the Lord and gave thanks as they took turns singing:
“The Lord is good!
His faithful love for Israel
will last forever.”
Everyone started shouting and praising the Lord because work on the foundation of the temple had begun. 12 (G) Many of the older priests and Levites and the heads of families wept bitterly because they remembered seeing the first temple years before. But others were so happy that they celebrated with joyful shouts. 13 Their shouting and crying were so noisy that it all sounded alike and could be heard a long way off.
Peter and John Heal a Lame Man
3 The time of prayer[a] was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and Peter and John were going into the temple. 2 A man who had been born lame was being carried to the temple door. Each day he was placed beside this door, known as the Beautiful Gate. He sat there and begged from the people who were going in.
3 The man saw Peter and John entering the temple, and he asked them for money. 4 But they looked straight at him and said, “Look up at us!”
5 The man stared at them and thought he was going to get something. 6 But Peter said, “I don't have any silver or gold! But I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, get up and start walking.” 7 Peter then took him by the right hand and helped him up.
At once the man's feet and ankles became strong, 8 and he jumped up and started walking. He went with Peter and John into the temple, walking and jumping and praising God. 9 Everyone saw him walking around and praising God. 10 They knew he was the beggar who had been lying beside the Beautiful Gate, and they were completely surprised. They could not imagine what had happened to the man.
Peter Speaks in the Temple
11 While the man kept holding on to Peter and John, the whole crowd ran to them in amazement at the place known as Solomon's Porch.[b] 12 Peter saw that a crowd had gathered, and he said:
Friends, why are you surprised at what has happened? Why are you staring at us? Do you think we have some power of our own? Do you think we were able to make this man walk because we are so religious? 13 (A) The God that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and our other ancestors worshiped has brought honor to his Servant[c] Jesus. He is the one you betrayed. You turned against him when he was being tried by Pilate, even though Pilate wanted to set him free.
14 (B) You rejected Jesus, who was holy and good. You asked for a murderer to be set free, 15 and you killed the one who leads people to life. But God raised him from death, and all of us can tell you what he has done. 16 You see this man, and you know him. He put his faith in the name of Jesus and was made strong. Faith in Jesus made this man completely well while everyone was watching.
17 My friends, I am sure you and your leaders didn't know what you were doing. 18 But God had his prophets tell that his Messiah would suffer, and now he has kept this promise. 19 So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven. 20 Then the time will come when the Lord will give you fresh strength. He will send you Jesus, his chosen Messiah. 21 But Jesus must stay in heaven until God makes all things new, just as his holy prophets promised long ago.
22 (C) Moses said, “The Lord your God will choose one of your own people to be a prophet, just as he chose me. Listen to everything he tells you. 23 (D) No one who disobeys this prophet will be one of God's people any longer.”
24 Samuel and all the other prophets who came later also spoke about what is now happening. 25 (E) You are really the ones God told his prophets to speak to. And you were given the promise God made to your ancestors. He said to Abraham, “All nations on earth will be blessed because of someone from your family.” 26 God sent his chosen Son[d] to you first, because God wanted to bless you and make each one of you turn away from your sins.
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