Daily Bible reading - Term 1 Week 1

Week 1: Who Am I, and Why Am I Here?

This week opens two threads that will run side by side for the next 38 weeks: the story of Jesus, told through the eyes of those who knew him, and the foundational questions of the Christian faith.

Week 1 starts at the beginning of both, the identity of the person reading, and the beginning of the story that gives that identity its shape.

This week's readings:

30 Second Theology — "Who am I?" (Genesis 2) and "Why am I here?" (Psalm 23)

The Greatest Story Ever Told — Prologue + "Light," and "My Song"

Day 1 — Who Am I?

Reading: 30 Second Theology, "Who am I?" (Genesis 2)

Genesis 2 doesn't answer identity with a job, a talent, or a reputation. It answers with a relationship, made by God, formed with intention, placed in a garden with purpose.

Journal prompt: Where do I usually look first to answer "who am I" and how does Genesis 2 change that answer?

Prayer: God, thank you for making me on purpose. Help me hold my identity in you today, not in what others think of me.

Day 2 — Why Am I Here?

Reading: 30 Second Theology, "Why am I here?" (Psalm 23)

Psalm 23 answers purpose not with a task list but with a relationship of trust, a shepherd who leads, provides, and stays close.

Journal prompt: What would change about today if I actually believed God was leading me the way Psalm 23 describes?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being my shepherd. I ask you to lead me clearly today, especially in the decisions I'm least sure about.

Day 3 — Prologue + Light

Reading: The Greatest Story Ever Told, Prologue: Yerushalayim, c. AD 33, and "Light"

The story opens at the end before circling back to the beginning, a signal that everything that follows matters because of where it's headed. "Light" takes us back to the start of it all.

Journal prompt: What stands out to me about how this story chooses to begin?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for stepping into a real place, a real time, a real story. Help me pay attention this week to the story you're telling

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Day 4 — My Song

Reading: The Greatest Story Ever Told, "My Song"

Mary's response to what God is doing in her life is worship, not certainty. She doesn't have all the answers; she has trust.

Journal prompt: Where do I need Mary's kind of trust this week, saying yes before I understand everything?

Prayer: God, like Mary, I want to respond to you with trust even when I don't have all the answers. Give me that kind of faith today.

Day 5 — Integration

Reading: No new reading, look back over the week.

This week asked two questions: who am I, and why am I here? Then it showed two people, Mary, and the God who became a person, living out answers to those same questions in real time.

Journal prompt: This week I read about who I am and why I'm here, and I watched Mary live out her own answer to those questions. Where do I see her trust echoed in what I actually need this week?

Prayer: God, thank you for this first week. Thank you for who you made me to be and for the purpose you've given me. Help this story shape how I live the next seven days, and every week after that.