Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,

²“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ”

³The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”

⁴John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁵People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John.

⁶And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

⁷But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?

⁸Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

⁹Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.

¹⁰Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹“I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am — so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹²He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

¹³Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.

¹⁴But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”

¹⁵But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires. ” So John agreed to baptize him.

¹⁶After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.

¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

¹The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

²“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.

³“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.

⁵“God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

⁷At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

⁸When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.

⁹Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

¹¹“Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

¹²The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

¹³Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

¹⁴Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.

¹⁵And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you. ”

¹⁷And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.

¹⁸It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.

¹⁹By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

²⁰Then the man — Adam — named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.

²¹And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

²²Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!”

²³So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.

²⁴After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

¹Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision?

²Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.

³True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful?

⁴Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”

⁵“But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.)

⁶Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world?

⁷“But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?”

⁸And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.

⁹Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.

¹⁰As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous — not even one.

¹¹No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.

¹²All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

¹³“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.”

¹⁴“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

¹⁵“They rush to commit murder.

¹⁶Destruction and misery always follow them.

¹⁷They don’t know where to find peace.”

¹⁸“They have no fear of God at all.”

¹⁹Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.

²⁰For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

²¹But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.

²²We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

²³For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

²⁴Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

²⁵For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,

²⁶for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

²⁷Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.

²⁸So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

²⁹After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is.

³⁰There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.

³¹Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

¹Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone in Athens,

²and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith,

³and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles.

⁴Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come — and they did, as you well know.

⁵That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless.

⁶But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you.

⁷So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith.

⁸It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.

⁹How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.

¹⁰Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.

¹¹May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon.

¹²And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.

¹³May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.

¹At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth.

²He said:

³“Let the day of my birth be erased, and the night I was conceived.

⁴Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even to God on high, and let no light shine on it.

⁵Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it, and let the darkness terrify it.

⁶Let that night be blotted off the calendar, never again to be counted among the days of the year, never again to appear among the months.

⁷Let that night be childless. Let it have no joy.

⁸Let those who are experts at cursing — whose cursing could rouse Leviathan — curse that day.

⁹Let its morning stars remain dark. Let it hope for light, but in vain; may it never see the morning light.

¹⁰Curse that day for failing to shut my mother’s womb, for letting me be born to see all this trouble.

¹¹“Why wasn’t I born dead? Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

¹²Why was I laid on my mother’s lap? Why did she nurse me at her breasts?

¹³Had I died at birth, I would now be at peace. I would be asleep and at rest.

¹⁴I would rest with the world’s kings and prime ministers, whose great buildings now lie in ruins.

¹⁵I would rest with princes, rich in gold, whose palaces were filled with silver.

¹⁶Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child, like a baby who never lives to see the light?

¹⁷For in death the wicked cause no trouble, and the weary are at rest.

¹⁸Even captives are at ease in death, with no guards to curse them.

¹⁹Rich and poor are both there, and the slave is free from his master.

²⁰“Oh, why give light to those in misery, and life to those who are bitter?

²¹They long for death, and it won’t come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure.

²²They’re filled with joy when they finally die, and rejoice when they find the grave.

²³Why is life given to those with no future, those God has surrounded with difficulties?

²⁴I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water.

²⁵What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true.

²⁶I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes.”

¹O LORD, I have so many enemies; so many are against me.

²So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” Interlude

³But you, O LORD, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.

⁴I cried out to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy mountain. Interlude

⁵I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me.

⁶I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.

⁷Arise, O LORD! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked!

⁸Victory comes from you, O LORD. May you bless your people. Interlude

¹My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart.

²If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.

³Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

⁶Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

⁷Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.

¹⁰Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

¹¹My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

¹²For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

¹³Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.

¹⁴For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.

¹⁵Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹⁶She offers you long life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left.

¹⁷She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying.

¹⁸Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.

¹⁹By wisdom the LORD founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.

²⁰By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky.

²¹My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,

²²for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.

²³They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.

²⁴You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.

²⁵You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,

²⁶for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.

²⁸If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”

²⁹Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.

³⁰Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.

³¹Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways.

³²Such wicked people are detestable to the LORD, but he offers his friendship to the godly.

³³The LORD curses the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the upright.

³⁴The LORD mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.

³⁵The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!

¹Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.

²Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp,

³giving these instructions to the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God, move out from your positions and follow them.

⁴Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about half a mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.”

⁵Then Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do great wonders among you.”

⁶In the morning Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river.” And so they started out and went ahead of the people.

⁷The LORD told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses.

⁸Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’”

⁹So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come and listen to what the LORD your God says.

¹⁰Today you will know that the living God is among you. He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you.

¹¹Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River!

¹²Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.

¹³The priests will carry the Ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”

¹⁴So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.

¹⁵It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge,

¹⁶the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.

¹⁷Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

¹The Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on: every bit of bread and every drop of water,

²all their heroes and soldiers, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders,

³army officers and high officials, advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers.

⁴I will make boys their leaders, and toddlers their rulers.

⁵People will oppress each other — man against man, neighbor against neighbor. Young people will insult their elders, and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.

⁶In those days a man will say to his brother, “Since you have a coat, you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of ruins!”

⁷But he will reply, “No! I can’t help. I don’t have any extra food or clothes. Don’t put me in charge!”

⁸For Jerusalem will stumble, and Judah will fall, because they speak out against the LORD and refuse to obey him. They provoke him to his face.

⁹The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves.

¹⁰Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!

¹¹But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.

¹²Childish leaders oppress my people, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you; they send you down the wrong road.

¹³The LORD takes his place in court and presents his case against his people.

¹⁴The LORD comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people: “You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.

¹⁵How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” demands the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁶The LORD says, “Beautiful Zion is haughty: craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets.

¹⁷So the Lord will send scabs on her head; the LORD will make beautiful Zion bald.”

¹⁸On that day of judgment the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful: ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces,

¹⁹earrings, bracelets, and veils;

²⁰scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfumes, and charms;

²¹rings, jewels,

²²party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;

²³mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.

²⁴Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink. She will wear a rope for a sash, and her elegant hair will fall out. She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes. Shame will replace her beauty.

²⁵The men of the city will be killed with the sword, and her warriors will die in battle.

²⁶The gates of Zion will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground.

¹Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.

²As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple.

³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

⁴Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!”

⁵The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.

⁶But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

⁷Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.

⁸He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

⁹All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God.

¹⁰When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded!

¹¹They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

¹²Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?

¹³For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the God of all our ancestors — who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him.

¹⁴You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer.

¹⁵You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!

¹⁶“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed — and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.

¹⁷“Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance.

¹⁸But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah — that he must suffer these things.

¹⁹Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

²⁰Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.

²¹For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.

²²Moses said, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’

²³Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’

²⁴“Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today.

²⁵You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’

²⁶When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”