Rooted in 2021

by Jeremy Shaffer

2021 marks the 5th anniversary of our church-wide Bible reading challenge. Many of you have been with us from the beginning, but there might be some out there who are new to LMBC and don’t know what it means to be “rooted.” Rooted is the name that was chosen for our church-wide Bible reading program which is based on Colossians 2:6 (NLT), “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him.” Over these last five years, we have continued to root ourselves deeper and deeper into His Word.

As we began in 2016, we took the approach of reading from a different theme or topic each month; in 2017, an abbreviated chronological reading of the Bible was the plan; in 2018, the focus was on a reading from a different genre each day of the week; in 2019, we took a biographical approach that allowed us to engage with the many characters that are found in the Bible. Then, in 2020, we took on the big task of reading the Bible through, from the beginning all the way to the end. In 2020 (not knowing how the world would change so drastically because of a virus) we added a weekly podcast that would give an overview of the reading for each upcoming week, which has been a huge success.

Now, taking into consideration all that we learned from 2020, the church-wide Bible reading for 2021 will be focused simply on Jesus. The first week of readings for each month will focus on a different aspect of the character and life of Christ. For example, in January you will read about Christ the Creator; other months you will read about the Controversial Christ, Christ the Coming King, and Christ the Sacrificial Lamb. Starting each month out with a week of readings from Jesus is sure to keep you rooted in Him. The rest of the readings for each month will be topically and/or thematically based.

But wait, there’s more. We will continue to produce a weekly podcast, this time, however, the podcast will be video-based with a team of two pastors. Each week a different dynamic duo will be hosting the podcast with encouragement and instruction about what to look for in your weekly reading.

Each month’s reading will be published in the Connect magazine, on our LMBC website, and in our LMBC church app, per our usual practice. Lastly, if you have completed the Bible reading for 2020, even though we haven’t been able to punch your card, we will still be giving gifts to those who complete the 2020 plan. Details for the distribution of the gifts will be available in the January Connect. Questions? You know what to do, send them to biblereading@lmbc.org, and I will talk with you all next time.