Faith & Spirituality

In this book of lament poems, we come to a deeper understanding of the grief and trauma that the Israelites experienced with the Babylonian exile. Note, that this is a book filled with questions like: Why, God!? - and it was still included in the Bible. Why is that? What does that tell us about God? What does that say about people?

The book of Jeremiah tells us about a prophet who had a message to share with the tribe of Judah. How does this message differ from the message brought by Isaiah? What makes someone a prophet? How does this fit into our Bibles as a whole? We will answer these questions and more as we journey through this book together.

In this book about the prophet Isaiah, we encounter our first prophetic literature in our journey through the Bible that started in Genesis. However, you will remember that many others have stood before God and His people as a translator: Moses, Elijah, and many more. Isaiah is a book that is looking backwards to the Israelites’ history, and forward to the hope of the Kingdom that God promised them.

The Songs of Solomon, or Songs of Songs, is a very misunderstood book of the Bible. It is so unique in style that it stands alone. The author of this creative book tells us about two characters and their love story. But what does this have to do with God? Why is this book in our Bible? And what does it mean for us today? It is impossible to understand without a few keys.

The book of Ecclesiastes is part of the Wisdom Literature section of our Bibles - it is filled with existential questions and ponderings which are then met with reflections on the Torah (the first 5 books of our Bible). It reads as a guide for how to live life well as a believer, without shying away from the hard truths and questions that we all have.

In this book of Proverbs, we get a glimpse into what is described in 1 Kings 4:29-34 : God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore… He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five…. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

Let’s dive into the precious Psalms together. This well-loved collection of prayers will help us to understand God’s character better. It will also put the rest of what we read in the Old Testament into practice: giving us a model for how to apply the Bible to our own daily prayer life. This will be done when we read about how the authors reflected on examples of the Israelites’ lived experiences.

Before we jump into this book of Job, we need to pause and recognize that we are now entering a whole new territory: All the previous books that we journaled through followed the story of the people of God as it happened in history. This book takes a different approach, and it is about a different nation.

In this book of Esther, we read a beautiful narrative about how a single person’s actions can have a big influence. It is a story of boldness and courage that is beloved by many believers today.