Day-by-Day Chronological Reading Plan, a 7-Day IntroductionSample

Genealogies in the Bible strike some readers as uninteresting. However, these are part of God’s Word, and we can learn from them. Among other things, the genealogies give us a sense of the passing of time, moving the story along. We also get a picture of the connectedness of people and events in the Bible’s narrative. This is not a patchwork of loosely connected stories, but one story God is writing on the world. Meditate on the contrasts you find in Genesis 11:1-9. Now read the passage in light of Acts 2:1-21, noticing both the contrasts and the parallels with that passage. One problem reflected in Genesis 11 is that these people had an arrogant disregard for God’s mandate to “fill the earth” (Gn 9:1). Think about how that mandate was ultimately fulfilled through the church in Acts as it advanced the kingdom of God in the world.

• How are you called to participate in God’s mandate to “fill the earth” by sharing the good news with others?