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 2025. 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
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January 23, 2025 Exodus 5-7 (NRSV) Éxodo 5-7 (RVR1960) Bricks without Straw 5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the ...
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January 22, 2025 Exodus 3-4, Psalm 28 (NRSV) Éxodo 3-4, Salmos 28 (RVR1960) Moses at the Burning Bush 3 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb, ...
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January 21, 2025 Exodus 1-2, Psalms 26-27 (NRSV) Éxodo 1-2, Salmos 26-27 (RVR1960) 1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and ...
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January 20, 2024 Genesis 49-50, Psalm 25 (NRSV) Génesis 49-50, Salmos 25 (RVR1960) Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons 49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come. 2 Assemble and ...
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January 19, 2025 Genesis 46-48 (NRSV) Génesis 46-48 (RVR1960) Jacob Brings His Whole Family to Egypt 46 When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God spoke...
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January 18, 2025 Genesis 43-45 (NRSV) Génesis 43-45 (RVR1960) The Brothers Come Again, Bringing Benjamin 43 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 And when they had eaten up the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “...
January 17, 2024 Genesis 41-42, Psalms 23-24 (NRSV) Génesis 41-42, Salmos 23-24 (RVR1960) Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dream 41 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, 2 and there came up out of the Nile seven sleek...
January 16, 2025 Genesis 39-40, Psalm 22 (NRSV) Génesis 39-40, Salmos 22 (RVR1960) Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife 39 Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the ...
January 15, 2025 Genesis 37-38, Psalm 21 (NRSV) Génesis 37-38, Salmos 21 (RVR1960) Joseph Dreams of Greatness 37 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 These are the descendants of Jacob. Joseph, ...
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January 14, 2025 Genesis 34-36, Psalm 20 (NRSV) Génesis 34-36, Salmos 20 (RVR1960) The Rape of Dinah 34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the region. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the ...
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January 13, 2025 Genesis 31-33 (NRSV) Génesis 31-33 (RVR1960) Jacob Flees with Family and Flocks 31 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s; he has gained all this wealth from what belonged to ...
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January 12, 2025 Genesis 28-30 (NRSV) Génesis 28-30 (RVR1960) 28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women. 2 Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and...
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January 11, 2025 Genesis 26,27, Psalm 19 (NRSV) Génesis 26-27, Salmos 19 (RVR1960) Isaac and Abimelech 26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King ...
January 10, 2025 Genesis 24-25, Psalms 17-18 (NRSV) Génesis 24-25, Salmos 17-18 (RVR1960) The Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah 24 Now Abraham was old, advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the...
January 9, 2025 Genesis 22-23, Psalm 16 (NRSV) Génesis 22-23, Salmos 16 (RVR1960) The Command to Sacrifice Isaac 22 After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only ...
January 8, 2025 Genesis 20-21, Psalm 15 (NRSV) Génesis 20-21, Salmos 15 (RVR1960) Abraham and Sarah at Gerar 20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the region of the Negeb and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien, 2...
January 7, 2025 Genesis 18-19, Psalm 13-14 (NRSV) Génesis 18-19, Salmos 13-14 (RVR1960) A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah 18 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He ...
January 6, 2025 Genesis 16-17, Psalm 12 (NRSV) Génesis 16-17, Salmos 12 (RVR1960) The Birth of Ishmael 16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave whose name was Hagar, 2 and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the ...
January 5, 2025 Genesis 14-15, Psalm 11 (NRSV) Génesis 14-15, Salmos 11 (RVR1960) Lot’s Captivity and Rescue 14 In the days of King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim, 2 these kings made ...
January 4, 2025 Genesis 12-13, Psalms 9-10 (NRSV) Génesis 12-13, Salmos 9-10 (RVR1960) The Call of Abram 12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of...
January 3, 2024 Genesis 9-11, Psalms 7-8 (NRSV) Génesis 9-11, Salmos 7-8 (RVR1960) The Covenant with Noah 9 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you shall rest on every...
January 2, 2024 Genesis 5-8, Psalm 5-6 (NRSV) Génesis 5-8, Salmos 5-6 (RVR1960) Adam’s Descendants to Noah and His Sons 5 This is the list of the descendants of Adam. When God created humans, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 Male and female he...
January 1, 2025 Genesis 2-4, Psalm 1-4 (NRSV) Génesis 2-4, Salmos 1-4 (RVR1960) 2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their multitude. 2 On the sixth day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day ...
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December 29, 2024 Revelation 21-22 (NRSV) Apocalipsis 21-22 (RVR1960) The New Heaven and the New Earth 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the ...
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December 28, 2024 Revelation 18-20, Proverbs 31 (NRSV) Apocalipsis 18-20, Proverbios 31 (RVR1960) The Fall of Babylon 18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined by his splendor. 2...