My Favorite Book Club

Last year, a friend and I decided to start a new book club to read and study the greatest book of all, the Bible. A group of seven women read it from cover to cover in chronological order.

We all usedThe Daily Bible in Chronological Order: 365 Daily Readings (Harvest House).

We met every other Thursday night at each other's homes. In our initial meeting, just before January 1, we drew straws for the days of the week. I drew Tuesday. I would read the segments for every Tuesday and make a presentation on them. If I was not going to be present, I would email my findings to another person in the group to read. Each of these presentations was 10 minutes or less, getting us through the information within the three-hour session. We always spent time in prayer, sharing, and refreshments as well.

It was a truly remarkable group. Five of us came from a CRC background, one was Baptist, and one was from a Bible Chapel. One of us was a fairly new Christian and we were all blessed to hear how she responded to some brand-new stories and concepts.

For the most part, the year was an absolute success. We not only got to read the Bible from cover to cover, but we also learned much from each other’s individual understanding of certain passages and the meaning of life in general. A few times we were stumped, which led to further studies. We felt the awe of each other's discoveries. While we did not always agree with each other, we never argued, nor did we push our point. We treated each other with great respect as we struggled through the book of Job, sang through the Psalms, and wondered through Revelations.

We spent some time in laughter too as we read through certain parts. Our humor was contagious, loud, and heartfelt. Often the husband sitting elsewhere in the house would listen and wonder how in the world it could be so funny. The dynamics of our group always made us feel truly blessed to be in each other's presence, with God in the room with us.

I loved this way of studying the Bible, as it seemed that history came alive. When I read about David hiding from Saul, I would also be reading the psalms he wrote at the time. The whole book became such an interesting story. There are also some excellent helpful devotional insights at the start of the chapters.

I highly recommend this type of study with this particular Bible for anyone who has an interest in reading the Bible from cover to cover. I will definitely read it again, and I am sorry that our little group finished. God has blessed each one of us, over and over again.