Dear Readers,

It is my prayer that you are finding it a blessing to be reading through the Bible. I pray that God is strengthening your faith and giving you new insights into himself and his word.

If you have missed some reading, it is okay. Pick up your Bible and begin reading where we are now. It is better to start again now than to think you have to try and catch up. It is often too hard to catch up and one tends to quit reading all together. So start in II Kings 24 today.

After the book of Kings we will begin reading in the NT book of Acts. This book is the story about how God through the Holy Spirit and the disciples causes the church to grow. We will see the awesome work of the Holy Spirit in newness and growth. The first nine books are predominantly about Peter and the disciples and spread of the gospel in "Jerusalem, Judah, and Samaria." The last part of the book of Acts has as its main character Paul and the spread of the gospel "to the ends of the earth." The key verse in Acts is Acts 1:8.

Have a good week reading!

DAY ONE, JUNE 11 - II KINGS 24-25
Chapter 24
Why was Judah going to be destroyed?
Under whose reign was that fulfilled?
Who was the country and king who captured Judah?
Who was the final king of Judah and what do you know about him?
For what would you be known for if there were a record of your time?
Chapter 25
What happened to the temple?
What happens to sacred things when they are not used for the purpose of worshiping and honoring God?
Have you seen that in anyway in your life?
How does God preserve the royal line of David?
How does God make sure his will and promises are true even when things look bleak?

DAY TWO, JUNE 12 - ACTS 1-3
Chapter 1
To whom was the book of Acts written?
What other book is written to the same person? HINT: Luke 1:1.
For how many days did Jesus appear to people after his resurrection?
What are the disciples to wait for?
What will happen when the Holy Spirit comes upon the people?
In what way is that still true for you today?
After Jesus ascended into heaven, what did the disciples and other followers of Jesus do continually?
How much emphasis, time, and energy are you placing on prayer?
How did the disciples choose someone to replace Judas?
Chapter 2
When was Pentecost in relationship to the resurrection?
Describe what happens that day and what is it evidence of?
How is the Holy Spirit evident in your life?
What did some of the people think about the disciples?
How does Peter refute that charge?
This is the first sermon recorded by a disciple. What facts and information does Peter include in this sermon?
How can we learn from this sermon when presenting the gospel to someone?
How many were saved that day?
According to verse 42f, what disciplines did the new believers follow?
How are those disciplines included in your life?
Is there anything you need to change in order to grow more in your faith?
Chapter 3
How did God confirm the ministry of Peter and the other disciples?
In what way are you like the beggar in this chapter?
What are you asking God to do for you?
According to verse 16, what healed the man?
NOTE: When we are in need, sometimes all we can do is say the name of Jesus. There is power in his name because it represents the God Almighty, the author of Life.
What is Peter calling the people to do now?
What sin in your life do you need to turn from?

DAY THREE, JUNE 13 - ACTS 4-5
Chapter 4
What happens to Peter and John?
What religious leaders were present?
What was the last event recorded earlier in the Bible when all of the religious leaders were together?
How might that have made Peter and John feel?
When was the last time your were filled with great fear and uncertainty?
Why was Peter able to be so bold?
How do you rely on the Holy Spirit?
How does the Bible describe Peter and John in verse 13?
How does that give you hope and confidence in the Holy Spirit?
What proclamation do Peter and John make in verses 19-20?
In what way should that be our proclamation today?
What do the disciples and followers of Jesus continue to do?
Chapter 5
What happened to Ananias and Sapphira?
Was it the act of lying and deception against the Holy Spirit or the act of keeping the money that was wrong?
NOTE: the NT church was so new that any sin entering needed to be dealt with or the church could be destroyed. Sin needed to be stopped immediately or it could gain a stronghold.
What sin do you need to eradicate from your life?
What was the high priest's feeling toward the disciples and what did he do to them?
How does God protect them?
What does Gamaliel suggest be done with the disciples and their teaching?
How has Gamaliel's suggestion proven that Christianity if real and that following Jesus is truly of God?

DAY FOUR, JUNE 14 - ACTS 6-7
Chapter 6
What began to happen, as usually does among people?
What wisdom in dealing with this issue did the 12 disciples come up with?
How are you dealing with the fact that our faith needs to be demonstrated in word and deed?
What happened to Stephen?
How does God show his favor with Stephen during the council meeting?
Can others see in your continence that you belong to Jesus?
Chapter 7
What does Stephen say in regard to the charges against him?
What blessing did God give Stephen so he was able to face what was ahead?
Who was the first martyr for the Christian faith?
Who held the coats of the stoners and witnessed the martyrdom?
CHALLENGE: What do you know about this young man?
What do you admire about Stephen?
To what extent are you willing to go for the sake of the cross and the truth of the gospel?

DAY FIVE, JUNE 15 - ACTS 8-9
Chapter 8
Describe Saul.
What was the result of the persecution and how could this even be seen as a blessing?
NOTE: The book of Acts now shows the spread of the gospel from Judah into Samaria. How are you seeing Acts 1:8 beginning to be demonstrated?
Describe the ministry of Philip.
What happens when the Peter and John come to pray for the new believers?
NOTE: A new outpouring of the Holy Spirit is often a confirmation that God is working in a new area. You will see that as the evidence of the gospel going from Jerusalem to Judah to Samaria to the ends of the earth.
How does Philip help the Ethiopian Eunuch? What questions does he ask?
What can we learn from this in regard to witnessing and having an open door?
Chapter 9
What did Saul want to do?
What were the followers of Jesus called at that time?
Describe what happened to Saul on the way to Damascus.
Describe how you came to know Jesus was personal and real in your life.
What happened to Ananias and how did God use him?
What has Saul been chosen by God to do?
How are you God's instrument for this time and place?
What does Saul immediately do after being restored and what to others recognize in him?
Can others recognize you are different because of the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in your life?
Describe the church according to verse 31.
Describe the events and people that Peter encountered at the end of this chapter. What can you learn from these events and people?

DAY SIX, JUNE 16 - ACTS 10-12
Chapter 10
How do Cornelius and Peter get together?
How does God prepare each one for this encounter?
How have you seen God prepare you for a new insight about Him and His work?
Describe Peter's vision.
What does Peter say in verse 28?
What does that tell us about how God values all people?
How does God confirm this to Peter and other Jews in person as Peter speaks to Cornelius?
What do you think that says about our responsibility to the people of the world?
Chapter 11
What more to you learn about this event with Peter's retelling to other Jewish Christians?
What joy, comfort, and hope does this give to you personally?
How does this fulfill the promise in Acts 1:8?
When did the term "Christian" begin being used?
Through the work of the Holy Spirit, what continued to happen to the early church?
How are you seeing growth in the body of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit today?
Chapter 12
What did Herod Agrippa do to James? What did he do to Peter?
According to verse 5, how does the church respond?
What can we learn from this?
Describe what happens to Peter while in prison.
How did the church first respond to this miracle?
How do we sometimes respond to God's great miracles in our life?
What did God do to Herod and why?

DAY SEVEN, JUNE 17 - ACTS 13-15
Chapter 13
What does God tell the believers in Antioch of Syria to do with Barnabas and Saul?
What was their first stop on their first missionary journey?
What happened there?
What is Saul also called?
When did John Mark leave them?
What other cities did Barnabas and Paul stop in and what happened at each?
What is happening to Christianity in non-Jewish areas of the world?
Chapter 14
Where is the next stop on the missionary journey? What happens there?
List the next cities according to verse 6?
Find a map and trace the path of the first missionary journey.
Where and to whom is God sending you to be his "missionary" today?
What do the people want to do to the disciples after the lame man was healed?
How do people today still want to worship and follow a personality instead of God?
What did Barnabas and Paul do when they returned to the church in Antioch?
How are you giving testimony to others on the great and mighty work of God in your life?
Chapter 15
What was the argument among the early church?
What does it represent?
How do you need to fight against legalism in your life and preach God's grace instead?
How does the early church handle this dispute? What is the conclusion?
What can we learn from it?
Why did Paul and Barnabas separate?
How was this separation a blessing to the spread of the gospel?
What can we learn from this?

YOU CAN ALWAYS USE THESE FOLLOWING SUGGESTIONS FOR ANY BIBLE READING:

Always begin your time of God with prayer. Ask him for understanding and insights. You can pick out a verse, thought or feeling from the passage and think on it (mediate) on it all day. Meditating on God's word means to digest it, put it into your mind, think on it, and concentrate in different ways on the passage.

Some ways you can do this is:
1. Put yourself into the scene.
2. Emphasize different words in the verse.
3. Paraphrase the passage in your own words.
4. Pray the passage back to God if it is a prayer, song, poem, etc (personalize it).
5. Use SPACE PETS acrostic to ask some standard questions.
     S - Sins to confess? Do I need to make restitution?
     P - Promises to claim? Have I met the conditions(s)?
     A - Attitudes to change? Am I willing?
     C - Commands to obey? Even if I don't feel like it?
     E - Examples to follow? One to copy or avoid?
     P - Prayers to pray? Is there something I need to tell God?
     E - Errors to avoid?
     T - Truths about God or the Bible I need to believe?
Adapted from 12 Dynamic Bible Study Methods (Chapter 1) by Richard Warren and William A. Shell.