HERE'S HOW:
Grab a Bible. If it fits your style, also grab a journal to write in.
Which Bible version is best? The one you read! If you don’t have one, let us know! Print, Online, and Apps are available.
Invite family or friends to join you.
Pray! Ask the Holy Spirit to help you as you read. HE WILL.
Check to see if there is a video to watch today
Look up and read the assigned reading for the day.
Look up the assigned Psalm that day: pray it out loud.
Pray! Ask the Father to apply those readings to your life and to help you join Jesus where He is already working. HE WILL.
Participate in Worship on Sunday!
Prefer a printable study guide? Click this button which contains our reading guide from now through the end of March. All the videos will be here, so check back each week!
CHAPTER 7 (continued) – THE RISE AND FALL OF ISRAEL’S KINGDOM
April 8
Read 2 Samuel 19-21, then Pray Psalm 91. David’s heart for his children, despite their flaws and sometimes evil behavior should not be missed. God called David one who is after His own heart. **When praying Psalm 91 today, spend extra time on this one. It was written by David after surviving many battles against insurmountable odds. David didn’t view these words as symbolic or “spiritualized”. We shouldn’t either! Pray Psalm 91 often!!
April 9
Read 2 Samuel 22-24, then Pray Psalm 92 and Psalm 93. Remember that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book, only divided because scrolls weren’t large enough. As such, David’s song of praise in 2 Samuel 22 creates a “bookend” with Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2. Spend extra time with David’s song and what it means for us, right here, right now! Treat it like a Psalm. (Hint: pray it!)
April 10
Read 1 Kings 1-3, then Pray Psalm 94. As Tim Mackie pointed out in the Kings video, this is a pivotal book in the Story of God. Several HUGE events happen. Stay with the story even when you will feel like you are washing away amidst the details. Watch for two things: even in the midst of all of this political and social upheaval, God is working. He’s there sending His Word (through the Prophets!!) into the cauldron of chaos. Even the Prophets begin to question: “Where is God?!?” as everything unfolds. So don’t miss your prayers of the Psalms especially as you go through this powerful story. They will begin to have new meanings and additional depths for you as you do.
Also, take note: Whenever you see the phrase, “high places” these are VERY terrible places where everything we can imagine that is evil and detestable to the Lord happened, and many things we cannot imagine happened there too.
April 11
Read 1 Kings 4-7, then Pray Psalm 95. Solomon builds the temple. But zoom in on 1 Kings 6:11! What is the Lord interested in? And moreover, note 1 Kings 6:38 and 7:1! What was Solomon interested in?!?
April 12
Read 1 Kings 8-10, then Pray Psalm 96. Note Solomon’s prayers and blessings (chapter 8) and then note what the Lord says to him in response (1 Kings 9:3-9). These words of the Lord have a distinct chill to them, because we can all feel what is coming.
April 13
Read 1 Kings 11-13, then Pray Psalm 97. The chills start to unfold in chapter 11. However, be sure to read 1 Kings 11:11-13 in light of 2 Samuel 7:8-16. This is not just “for the sake of David” but because of God’s promise of the Messiah! See Zechariah 9:9-13, Matthew 1:1, Matthew 21:1-9.
April 14
Read 1 Kings 14-16, then Pray Psalm 98. Many references to “high places” where terrible things were done. The “high places” are, essentially, hives of evil and the hideousness of the dark powers and principalities of this world. Thus, it is important to note that as the story unfolds, the Lord responds to such things.