Bible Reading Planner - Step 2

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <P><FONT SIZE="-1">Notes for: <A HREF="#week2">Week 2</A> | <A HREF="#week3">Week 3</A></FONT></P> <H2><A NAME="week2"></A>Week 2</H2> <H3>GENESIS</H3> <P>The name <I>Genesis</I> means the book of the "beginnings". It tells us about the beginnings of the earth and of man and woman. It tells us too about how sin and death came into the world. It contains the first references to God's provision of a way out for sinful mankind.</P> <P>In fact, GENESIS is a vital foundation for understanding the Bible.</P> <H3>DAILY NOTES</H3> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="5" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <TR> <TD>SUNDAY <BR><I>Genesis 2</I></TD> <TD>Note the special creation of man (verse 7) and of woman (verse 22) and the true marriage relationship (verse 24).</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>MONDAY <BR><I>Genesis 3</I></TD> <TD>God had said that sin (disobedience) would bring death (verse 3) and so it did (verse 19). See Romans 5:12.</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>TUESDAY <BR><I>Genesis 4 </I></TD> <TD>Man was now dying and in need of salvation. he could serve God by faith and have hope of eternal life (verse 4 with Hebrews 11:4) or give himself over to sin like Cain who killed his own brother (verses 5-8).</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>WEDNESDAY <BR><I>Genesis 5</I></TD> <TD>Cain's descendants (of chapter 4) are contrasted with the better line from Seth (verse 3 onwards) leading to Noah (verse 29).</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>THURSDAY <BR><I>Genesis 6</I></TD> <TD>Only Noah and his family were separate from the violent society around them. God showed them what to do so that they could be saved (verse 14) and also how to do it (verses 15-16). The Bible tells us what we must do and the life of Jesus shows us how we may please God.</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>FRIDAY <BR><I>Genesis 7</I></TD> <TD>Noah believed what God had said and he built the Ark. We need faith in God's way (Hebrews 11:7) and must prepare for the judgement to come (2 Peter 3:1-7, 11-13).</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>SATURDAY <BR><I>Genesis 8 </I></TD> <TD>God remembered Noah (verse 1). The dove with the olive branch has become a symbol of peace (verse 11). God will never destroy the earth (verse 22 and Genesis 9:13-15).</TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P></P> <HR> <H2><A NAME="week3"></A>Week 3</H2> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="10"> <TR> <TD> <H3>MATTHEW</H3> <P>The New Testament begins with the "family tree" of Jesus to show his connection with Abraham (Genesis 12) and King David (2 Samuel 7) in the Old Testament.</P> <P>Matthew (the tax collector who became a disciple) was chosen by God to write and show that Jesus was the promised Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. Notice the frequent references to the Old Testament preceded by phrases like "as it is written ..."</P></TD> <TD> <PRE> ABRAHAM | DAVID ____________|_____________ | | SOLOMON NATHAN | | JOSEPH MARY (Later married to Mary) (the mother of Jesus) (Matthew 1:16) (Luke 3)</PRE></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <H3>DAILY NOTES</H3> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="5" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <TR> <TD>SUNDAY <BR><I>Matthew 1 </I></TD> <TD>Jesus is the Son of God (verses 18-20). Through his mother, he was also a descendant of David (1,000 BC) and of Abraham (2,000 BC) as promised in the Old Testament.</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>MONDAY <BR><I>Matthew 2</I></TD> <TD>The son of David was destined to be a King and, like David, would be born in Bethlehem as foretold by the prophet Micah (700 BC) (Micah 5:2 and Luke 1 :32).</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>TUESDAY <BR><I>Matthew 3 </I></TD> <TD>God's promise to send a Saviour, with a forerunner (John the Baptist) was made through Isaiah in about 700 BC (Isaiah 40:1-5). Jesus had no sin to repent of, but was baptized by John as an act of humble obedience (verses 15-17).</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>WEDNESDAY <BR><I>Matthew 4</I></TD> <TD>Jesus used the Old Testament for guidance in dealing with problems and temptation (verses 4, 7, 10).</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>THURSDAY <BR><I>Matthew 5</I></TD> <TD>The Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7) is often thought impractical today, but these are Jesus' rules for the Christian life and every follower of Christ must try to live by them.</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>FRIDAY <BR><I>Matthew 6</I></TD> <TD>The prayer of Jesus is a pattern on which we may base our prayers. We should pray for God's kingdom to come on earth and for Jesus to come and put the world right (verse 10).</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>SATURDAY <BR><I>Matthew 7 </I></TD> <TD>We need to build on the sure foundation of Christ and God's word, to be safe (verses 24-27). Salvation is not for everyone but for those few who really desire it (verses 13, 19, 21).</TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P></P> <HR> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="-1"><A HREF="#top">Top of page</A> | <A HREF="step1.htm">Step 1</A> | <A HREF="step3.htm">Step 3</A> | <A HREF="brtable.htm#table">Table of Readings</A></FONT></P> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="-1"> <A HREF="../index.html"><IMG SRC="../images/snicon.gif" ALIGN="MIDDLE" BORDER="0" WIDTH="28" HEIGHT="39"></A><A HREF="../index.html">Home</A></FONT></P> </BODY>