LifelongFaith Associates


Choose the path that helps you to grow

Getting Started

Try the following activities to launch your study of Scripture. . . .
  1. Watch the video overview of the Old Testament and New Testament
  2. Participate in the three-session “Gospel Presentation Series" at church
  3. Participate in the 30-Day Bible Experience: Read one book of the Bible 

Growing with Scripture 

Try the following activities to grow in your study of Scripture. . . .
  1. Learn how to read the Bible in a small group
  2. Develop a daily plan for reading the Bible​​
  3. Learn how to pray with the Bible: Lectio Divina
  4. Develop a daily devotions practices using the Bible

Going Deeper 

Try the following activities to going deeper in your study of Scripture. . . .
  1. Join a Gospels Bible study group
  2. Take an online course: Hebrew Scriptures, Gospels, Letters of Paul
  3. Study and pray the Psalms as a spiritual practice​
  4. Develop a personal Bible study plan

Introduction: "The Whole Sweep of Scripture" with N.T. Wright

Introduction: How to Read the Bible
THE PRIMA PROCESS

Prima is the Latin word for first. In the PRIMA process, each letter of the word stands for a step in reading and studying the Bible individually or with a group. Using the PRIMA process helps you remember to keep God first in your life!

Pray. Begin with a prayer that your time with the Bible will draw you closer to God.

Read attentively, trusting that God will give you what you need to learn or grow.

Imagine what was going on when the passage was first written. What is its cultural and historical context? Try to put yourself into the story. What was the author trying to get across?

Meditate on what you have read. How does this fit in the context of the rest of the Bible's teaching? with the church's teaching? What do you think God is teaching you?

Apply what you have read to your life. God may be calling you to address a particular issue or relationship. Or you may find words of comfort and support you need at this particular time. Carry God's word into the rest of your day, the rest of your life!

(This article is from The Catholic Youth Bible, Revised, Brian Singer-Towns, general editor. Copyright © 2005 by Saint Mary's Press.

Read a Book of the Bible 

Take your own self-paced, online journey through the Bible with the help of the Enter the Bible website. Read a Book of the Bible while you learn about the people, places, culture, and theological themes in the Gospels. Watch the videos, when included, to explore more deeply the Bible and its message and meaning for today.

Use a Catholic Study Bible

​Little Rock Catholic Study Bible
Purchase on Amazon

Gospel Presentation Series
Three Thursdays - 7:30 pm to 9 pm - Church Center
Join us for three presentations that will provide a guided tour of the Gospel and what it means for our lives today. 
  1. Portrait of Jesus and His Life - Presenter _______
  2. Teachings in the Gospel - Presenter _______
  3. Jesus' Ministry in the Gospel - Presenter _______

Gospel of Matthew

Gospel of Mark

Gospel of Luke 

​Learn How to Read the Bible - Join a Small Group

The Bible Blueprint: A Catholic’s Guide to Understanding
and Embracing God’s Word
Catholics are hungry for a greater knowledge of the Bible. By reading
the Bible, we enter into a more intimate relationship with God who
reveals himself to us throughout salvation history, culminating in the
Incarnation of Jesus—the Word made flesh. Unfortunately, for many
Catholics, reading and understanding the Bible can be intimidating.
Many Catholics have grown up “biblically deprived” and have developed a
sort of “bibliaphobia”—a fear of reading the Bible! The good news is that,
with a few tips and some practice, reading and understanding the Bible
can become much easier and extremely fulfilling. The Bible Blueprint: A
Catholic’s Guide to Understanding and Embracing God’s Word is designed
to help Catholics overcome their initial fears of the Bible and to discover
God’s loving Word and its power for their lives

Session 1 Discovering the Bible Blueprint
Session 2 Overcoming “Bibliaphobia”
Session 3 Preparing to Enter God’s Library
Session 4 The Bible’s Floor Plan
Session 5 Information Blocks: Footnotes and Cross-References
Session 6 Recognizing Symbolic Language in the Bible
Session 7 Do the Math--Numbers in the Bible
Session 8 Draftsman Tools: The Tools of Interpretation
Session 9 First Steps and Next Steps

Develop a Daily Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading Plan 

Reading the Bible is one of the best ways to learn about God and His desire to have a relationship with you. You can start now by downloading A Year with the Bible, a guide that will walk you through daily passages, help you engage with God’s word and deepen your walk of faith. When you download the guide, you will also be able to access Bible study resources, memorization apps and search tools that will help expand and deepen your Scripture journey.
american_bible_society_year_with_bible.pdf
File Size: 103 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Pray with the Scriptures - Lectio Divina

Small Group Bible Study

Gospel of Mark

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The shortest of the four gospels, Mark is the earliest account of Jesus' life. With no mention of Jesus' infancy, Mark begins with Jesus' baptism in the Jordan by John and climaxes with the announcement of his resurrection to the women at the tomb. Mark asks everyone to answer Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?" and challenges believers in every generation to accept the harsh reality of the cross. Mark, along with Matthew and Luke, is one of the synoptic gospels. It is the primary gospel of year "B" in the Catholic Church's liturgical cycle.

You can obtain copies of the book when you register for the study group. 

Gospel of Matthew

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With a scholar's mind and a pastor's heart, Tom Wright walks you through Matthew in this guide designed especially with everyday readers in mind. Perfect for group use or daily personal reflection, this study uses the popular inductive method combined with Wright's thoughtful insights to bring contemporary application of Scripture to life. This guide by Tom Wright can be used on its own or alongside his New Testament for Everyone commentary on Matthew. It is designed to help you understand Scripture in fresh ways under the guidance of one of the world's leading New Testament scholars. Thoughtful questions, prayer suggestions, and useful background and cultural information all guide you or a group more deeply into God's Word,

Gospel of Luke

Picture
With a scholar's mind and a pastor's heart, Tom Wright walks you through Luke in this guide designed especially with everyday readers in mind. Perfect for group use or daily personal reflection, this study uses the popular inductive method combined with Wright's thoughtful insights to bring contemporary application of Scripture to life. This guide by Tom Wright can be used on its own or alongside his New Testament for Everyone commentary on Luke. It is designed to help you understand Scripture in fresh ways under the guidance of one of the world's leading New Testament scholars. Thoughtful questions, prayer suggestions, and useful background and cultural information all guide you or a group more deeply into God's Word.

Online Gospel Course
On-your-own or with a small group

Gospel of Matthew
Dr. Dale Martin
​Yale University

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The Gospel of Matthew contains some of the most famous passages that both Christians and non-Christians are familiar with. However, Matthew also presents itself paradoxically as preaching a Torah observant Christianity and a Christian mission that seeks to reach gentiles. The figure of Jesus in Matthew is that of a teacher, the founder of the Church, and the model for the apostles and Matthew's own community. Matthew seems to be writing for a church community that needs encouragement to have faith in a time of trouble.
  1. Matthew: The Most Famous Gospel
  2. Jesus and the Torah in Matthew
  3. The Foundations of the Church in Matthew
  4. Jesus as a Model for the Disciples
  5. The Stilling of the Storm in Matthew

Go to Open Yale Courses to watch the Video Presentation. 

Gospel of Mark
Dr. Dale Martin
Yale University

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The Gospels of the New Testament are not biographies, and, in this class, they are read through a historical critical lens. This means that the events they narrate are not taken at face value as historical. The Gospel of Mark illustrates how the gospel writer skillfully crafts a narrative in order to deliver a message. It is a message that emphasizes a suffering messiah, and the necessity of suffering before glory. The gospel's apocalyptic passages predict troubles for the Jewish temple and incorporate this prediction with its understanding of the future coming of the Son of Man.
  1. The Gospels Not As Biographies [00:00:00]
  2. A Critical Reading of Mark [00:13:44]
  3. Mark's Messiah [00:22:18]
  4. The Apocalyptic in Mark [00:30:26]

Go to Open Yale Courses to watch the Video Presentation. 

Gospel of Luke
Dr. Dale Martin
​Yale University

Picture
The Gospel of Matthew contains some of the most famous passages that both Christians and non-Christians are familiar with. However, Matthew also presents itself paradoxically as preaching a Torah observant Christianity and a Christian mission that seeks to reach gentiles. The figure of Jesus in Matthew is that of a teacher, the founder of the Church, and the model for the apostles and Matthew's own community. Matthew seems to be writing for a church community that needs encouragement to have faith in a time of trouble.
  1. The Structure of Luke and Acts [00:00:00]
  2. The Themes of Luke [00:17:35]
  3. The Geography of Acts [00:34:03]

Go to Open Yale Courses to watch the Video Presentation. 

Gospels Self-Study

Take your own self-paced, online journey through the Gospels with the help of the Enter the Bible website. Read the Gospel and learn about the people, places, culture, and theological themes in the Gospels. Watch the videos to explore more deeply the portraits of Jesus in the Gospels and his teachings.
​ 

Develop a Gospel Reading & Study Plan with an App

The YouVersion Bible App is free for your phone, tablet, or computer. It has hundreds of Bible versions in hundreds of languages. The team at YouVersion creates reading plans for users. The Gospels reading plan will help you read through all four Gospels in thirty days. Get firm grasp of Jesus' life and ministry in a short span of time.

Download the App and then search for the Gospels Reading plan. 

Study and Prayer the Psalms

Bible Devotions & Bible Studies

Bibles Online
Daily Devotions & Readings: http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/devotions
Devotions and readings suggested for daily meditation and prayerLectionary readings from the Presbyterian Church USA.
Daily Lectionary Readings:  www.usccb.org/nab/index.shatml
Lectionary readings for every day of the year are available online - in print, audio, and video. People can also subscribe to the Daily Readings RSS Feed, go to the iTunes store and type in "Daily readings from the New American Bible" in the search window, and listen to the Daily Readings on their computer from the RSS feed where you can play the audio using your mp3 player.

Daily Word of Life - Reading and Praying God's Word at Home: www.daily-word-of-life.com
The Daily Word of Life's Home Bible Study, created by author Kay Murdy, is intended to give beginners a firm foundation in the study of Scripture and assist more experienced readers of the Bible, covering an overview of the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Synpotic Gospels. 

The E-100 Challenge - 100 Essential Bible Verses
The Essential 100 Challenge™ (The E100) is an effective Bible reading program built around 100 carefully selected short Bible passages — 50 from the Old Testament and 50 from the New Testament. It enables people in your church to get the big picture of God's Word and in the process develop a daily Bible reading habit. The E100 is a carefully selected list of short Bible passages - usually one to two chapters in length and can easily be read in 10 minutes or less. The E100 Challenge takes a reader through all of the major types of biblical writing including Historical books, Poetry and Wisdom Literature, the Prophets, the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles and Revelation. 

Invitation to the Word: http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/theologyandworship/invitation-word
Invitation to the Word is just that — an invitation to Jesus Christ, the living Word, through Scripture. It is an invitation for congregations, communities, small groups and individuals to be immersed in the Spirit through the Word. It is an invitation to five simple practices that can form us into Scripture-shaped communities, congregations and individuals. It is an invitation to read, pray, study, remember and live Scripture. Free, downloadable resources online. 

Journeys: http://journeys.americanbible.org
Whether it's a daily or weekly e-mail Bible study, audio, print, or a text message, you can explore the eternal truths of the Bible in the way that best fits your life. With a variety of topics topics to choose from, each journey contains verses and Bible studies each day of your journey—making God's Word relevant and personal to you.

Lectio Divina: http://journeys.americanbible.org/topic/lectio-divina
Lectio Divina is a weekly framework for a faithful and respectful reading of the Bible, coordinated with the Catholic lectionary calendar. (English and Spanish versions)

Our Daily Bread: http://odb.org
Our Daily Bread is daily devotional that help readers spend time each day in God’s Word. It is published and distributed worldwide in more than 40 languages. Our Daily Bread radio is a daily audio program that features insights from the pages of Our Daily Bread. Each daily thought is designed to draw the listener into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and to evoke responses of worship, love, trust and obedience. Our Daily Bread is distributed via print, radio, podcast on iTunes, email, rss, and mobile (in the Apps Store at iTunes). For social networking users, find Our Daily Bread on Twitter andFacebook.

What Does the Bible Say to You?: www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/The-Bible/Read-the-Bible/What-Does-the-Bible-Say-to-You.aspx
What Does the Bible Say to You? presents Bible verses by theme around everyday life issues: emotions and feelings, life situations, life transitions, and family and friends.