So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17
The Greek word Paul chose for new in this verse is kainos referencing a new creation that has not existed previously. This has greater implications than if Paul had instead used neos, meaning new in an already established category.
This biblical concept of kainos new is a pillar of Christian doctrine. Since God is about the work of making us new every day, we are transformed throughout our lives into a new creation, continuously growing in our resemblance to the one we follow, Jesus Christ. Evidence of this transformation can be found in our words, attitudes, actions and lifestyle.
One way that we open ourselves to experience kainos new is by practicing the spiritual discipline of reading Scripture. This is because we encounter God in the pages of Scripture. And each time we meet the living God, we are changed.
With that in mind, I invite you, the Holston Conference, to join me in reading through the Bible together individually and collectively in 2022. As we participate in “Read Together” in community, we open ourselves to experience God's presence and kainos on an individual basis and as a conference.
- Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett
December 6, 2022 Nehemiah 5-9 (CEB) Nehemías 5-9 (RVR1960) Nehemiah 5 Internal unrest Then there was a great protest of the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. 2 Some said, “With our sons and daughters we are many, and we all need ...
December 5, 2022 Deuteronomy 23-25 (CEB) Deuteronomio 23-25 (RVR1960) Deuteronomy 23 The Lord’s assembly No man whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off can belong to the Lord’s assembly. 2 No one born of an illegitimate marriage can ...
December 4, 2022 Acts 21-22 (CEB) Hechos 21-22 (RVR1960) Acts 21 Paul travels to Jerusalem After we tore ourselves away from them, we set sail on a straight course to Cos, reaching Rhodes the next day, and then Patara. 2 We found a ship crossing ...
December 3, 2022 1 John 1-3 (CEB) 1 Juan 1-3 (RVR1960) 1 John 1 Announcement about the word of life We announce to you what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have seen and our hands handled, ...
December 2, 2022 Malachi 1-3 (CEB) Malaquías 1-3 (RVR1960) Malachi 1 A pronouncement. The Lord’s word to Israel through Malachi. Love of Jacob 2 I have loved you, says the Lord; but you say, “How have you loved us?” Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s ...
December 1, 2022 Ecclesiastes 11-12 (CEB) Eclesiastés 11-12 (RVR1960) Ecclesiastes 11 Take risks; life is short Send your bread out on the water because, in the course of time, you may find it again. 2 Give a portion to seven people, even to eight: ...
November 30, 2022 Psalms 137-139 (CEB) Salmos 137-139 (RVR1960) Psalm 137 Alongside Babylon’s streams, there we sat down, crying because we remembered Zion. 2 We hung our lyres up in the trees there 3 because that’s where our captors...
November 29, 2022 Nehemiah 1-4 (CEB) Nehemías 1-4 (RVR1960) Nehemiah 1 Loss of Jerusalem These are the words of Nehemiah, Hacaliah’s son. In the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the fortress city of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my ...
November 28, 2022 Deuteronomy 20-22 (CEB) Deuteronomio 20-22 (RVR1960) Deuteronomy 20 Rules for warfare When you march out to battle your enemies and you see horses, chariots, and a fighting force larger than yours, don’t be afraid of them, because ...
November 27, 2022 Acts 19-20 (CEB) Hechos 19-20 (RVR1960) Acts 19 Paul in Ephesus While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul took a route through the interior and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. 2 He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy ...
November 26, 2022 2 Peter 1-3 (CEB) 2 Pedro 1-3 (RVR1960) 2 Peter 1 Greeting From Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who received a faith equal to ours through the justice of our God and savior Jesus Christ. 2 May you have ...
November 25, 2022 Zechariah 8-14 (CEB) Zacarías 8-14 (RVR1960) Zechariah 8 The word from the Lord of heavenly forces came to me: 2 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims: I care passionately about Zion; I burn with passion for her. 3 The Lord ...
November 24, 2022 Ecclesiastes 9-10 (CEB) Eclesiastés 9-10 (RVR1960) Ecclesiastes 9 Everyone faces the same fate So I considered all of this carefully, examining all of it: The righteous and the wise and their deeds are in God’s hand, along with ...
November 23, 2022 Psalms 134-136 (CEB) Salmos 134-136 (RVR1960) Psalm 134 A pilgrimage song. All you who serve the Lord: bless the Lord right now! All you who minister in the Lord’s house at night: bless God! 2 Lift up your hands to the ...
November 22, 2022 Ezra 6-10 (CEB) Esdras 6-10 (RVR1960) Ezra 6 Darius responds Then King Darius made a decree, and they searched the archives where the documents were stored in Babylon. 2 But a scroll was found in Ecbatana, the capital of the ...
November 21, 2022 Deuteronomy 16-19 (CEB) Deuteronomio 16-19 (RVR1960) Deuteronomy 16 Passover celebration Wait for the month of Abib, at which time you must perform the Passover for the Lord your God, because the Lord your God brought you out of ...
November 20, 2022 Acts 17-18 (CEB) Hechos 17-18 (RVR1960) Acts 17 More troubles for Paul Paul and Silas journeyed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, then came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was Paul’s custom, he entered the...
November 19, 2022 1 Peter 4-5 (CEB) 1 Pedro 4-5 (RVR1960) 1 Peter 4 Therefore, since Christ suffered as a human, you should also arm yourselves with his way of thinking. This is because whoever suffers is finished with sin. 2 As a result, they don’t...
November 18, 2022 Zechariah 1-7 (CEB) Zacarías 1-7 (RVR1960) Zechariah 1 The people change In the eighth month in the second year of Darius, the Lord’s word came to Zechariah the prophet, Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson: 2 The Lord was terribly ...
November 17, 2022 Ecclesiastes 7-8 (CEB) Eclesiastés 7-8 (RVR1960) Ecclesiastes 7 Wisdom is better than wealth A good name is better than fine oil, and the day of death better than the birthday. 2 It is better to go to a house in mourning ...
November 16, 2022 Psalms 131-133 (CEB) Salmos 131-133 (RVR1960) Psalm 131 A pilgrimage song. Of David. Lord, my heart isn’t proud; my eyes aren’t conceited. I don’t get involved with things too great or wonderful for me. 2 No. But I have...
November 15, 2022 Ezra 1-5 (CEB) Esdras 1-5 (RVR1960) Ezra 1 Permission to return to Jerusalem In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia’s rule, to fulfill the Lord’s word spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Persia’s King Cyrus. ...
November 14, 2022 Deuteronomy 13-15 (CEB) Deuteronomio 13-15 (RVR1960) Deuteronomy 13 False prophets and false gods Now if a prophet or a dream interpreter appears among you and performs a sign or wonder for you, 2 and the sign or wonder that was ...
November 13, 2022 Acts 15-16 (CEB) Hechos 15-16 (RVR1960) Acts 15 The Jerusalem Council Some people came down from Judea teaching the family of believers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom we’ve received from Moses, you can’t be ...
November 12, 2022 1 Peter 1-3 (CEB) 1 Pedro 1-3 (RVR1960) 1 Peter 1 Greeting Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s chosen strangers in the world of the diaspora, who live in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2 God the Father ...