A New Year’s Challenge: Just five minutes a day. That’s all it takes. For what? To connect with God. To find peace, meaning and purpose in life. To acquire wisdom and guidance for daily decisions. To discover strength to face difficulties and hope for eternity. How? By reading through the New Testament in 2017. 

 For years I’ve listened to people describe their experience of reading the Bible for the first time. For some the result has been dramatic; God speaks to them and their whole attitude to life is changed as God speaks to them through the Bible. They find that the Bible has the “ring of truth”; that it is strangely alive and speaks to their condition in uncanny ways.

 Even if you’re skeptical, why don’t you give it a try. To make it simpler we’ve prepared a reading plan that will take you through the New Testament in a year by reading just five minutes a day (Monday to Friday). We’re inserting the plan in our programs on Sunday. (And if you’re not here Sunday, you can pick one up next week or download a pdf of the plan here.)

 God will not love you more because you read the Bible; it’s for your benefit. Perhaps you’ll be reminded of something you’ve read before. Or discover a new insight. But for some of you this could be a life transforming experience as you watch the words jump off the page and come to life. Your life may never be the same.