HOT-Adventure I
May 28, 2023
Praise the Lord for His leading along our life journey!
This is a newly launched activity aligns with the slogan of year 2023 “Let Us Embark This Life Adventure, With Faith We Sow And Take Root In Him”. The event started at 3:30pm of this Sunday with approximately 80 attendees. Sister Elaine, with sister Lolita interpreting, introduced this as a lifetime adventure of studying the Bible. The first milestone was set to complete the reading of the key biblical history in the Old Testament within 3 years.
Following the introduction, Pastor Gavin and sister Ivy shared the theme “The Blueprint of Life Adventure – Embarking on the Life Adventure of the Old Testament.” They shared the blueprint for this Bible study adventure in a slide, encompassing all the 39 books covering books of history, wisdom, and prophecy. Pastor Gavin recommended reading the Old Testament in chronological order, highlighting four major eras: the era of formation, theocracy, monarchy, and restoration.
In Genesis chapters 1 to 11, which detail the creation, fall of man, great flood, and tower of Babel, the era of formation began with the biblical history of Abraham to Joshua. During this period, God chose specific people, gave the law, and manifested His promises. The era of theocracy followed, with priests and judges leading the nation. This period covered the biblical history of Joshua to King Saul. The era of monarchy began with King Saul, David, and Solomon, leading to a united Israel nation that later divided into northern and southern kingdoms, followed by the 70 years of exile. The era of restoration covered the biblical history from prophets Jeremiah to Nehemiah. Pastor Gavin emphasized that this Bible study adventure would focus on the timeline encompassing Torah/Pentateuch, Book of Joshua, Book of Judges, Books of Samuel and Kings (which paralleled with the Books of Chronicles), Book of Ezra, Book of Esther, and Book of Nehemiah.
After that sister Janelle presented an overview of Book of Genesis, highlighting 14 key incidents that illustrate how God walked with mankind throughout a timeline. She then briefly showcased the following incidents using a slides presentation:
- chapter 1-2, creation of the heavens and the earth;
- chapter 3, Adam and Eve disobedience to God;
- chapter 4, Cain’s jealousy towards Abel;
- chapter 5-8, the great flood;
- chapter 9-10, humanity continued to grow from Noah’s family;
- chapter 11, the tower of Babel;
- chapter 11-15, God’s calling to Abraham;
- chapter 16-23, birth of Ishmael and Isaac when Abraham was old;
- chapter 24, Isaac married Rebekah, had Esau and Jacob;
- chapter 25-30, Jacob stole Esau’s blessing;
- chapter 31-36, Jacob’s return to Canaan with his 12 sons;
- chapter 37-39, God was with Joseph even in slavery;
- chapter 40-45, Joseph’s reunion with his brothers in Egypt due to great famine;
- chapter 46-50, Jacob, his sons, and families settled in the land of Goshen.
She also suggested a 7-week Bible reading schedule covering the 50 chapters in Genesis.
For better enhancing the learning, sister Penny proposed forming small groups and immediately 20 were established. To prepare for the next workshop 7 weeks later, 7 groups were selected to present 2 of the 14 incidents in Genesis within 3 minutes each. Additionally, all remaining groups would prepare Bible quiz questions, and all brothers and sisters would take part in the quiz. The workshop ended with a closing prayer by sister Elaine.
Thank God for His wonderful time ! May our life adventure be directed by His words, Amen !