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
November 20, 2024 2 Corinthians 7-9 (NRSV) 2 Corintios 7-9 (RVR1960) 7 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God. Paul’s Joy at the Church...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 19, 2024 2 Corinthians 4-6, Proverbs 7 (NRSV) 2 Corintios 4-6, Proverbios 7 (RVR1960) Treasure in Clay Jars 4 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 We have renounced the ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 18, 2024 2 Corinthians 1-3 (NRSV) 2 Corintios 1-3 (RVR1960) Salutation 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: ...
November 17, 2024 1 Corinthians 15-16, Proverbs 6 (NRSV) 1 Corintios 15-16, Proverbios 6 (RVR1960) The Resurrection of Christ 15 Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn ...
November 16, 2024 1 Corinthians 11-14 (NRSV) 1 Corintios 11-14 (RVR1960) 11 1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Head Coverings 2 I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you. ...
November 15, 2024 1 Corinthians 8-10 (NRSV) 1 Corintios 8-10 (RVR1960) Food Offered to Idols 8 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 Anyone who claims to know...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 13, 2024 1 Corinthians 1-3 (NRSV) 1 Corintios 1-3 (RVR1960) Salutation 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in ...
November 12, 2024 Romans 15-16, Proverbs 5 (NRSV) Romanos 15-16, Proverbios 5 (RVR1960) Please Others, Not Yourselves 15 We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us must please our ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 11, 2024 Romans 12-14 (NRSV) Romanos 12-14 (RVR1960) The New Life in Christ 12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 10, 2024 Romans 9-11 (NRSV) Romanos 9-11 (RVR1960) God’s Election of Israel 9 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 8, 2024 Romans 4-6 (NRSV) Romanos 4-6 (RVR1960) The Example of Abraham 4 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 9, 2024 Romans 7-8, Proverbs 4 (NRSV) Romanos 7-8, Proverbios 4 (RVR1960) An Analogy from Marriage 7 Or do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only during that...
November 7, 2024 Romans 1-3 (NRSV) Romanos 1-3 (RVR1960) Salutation 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel...
November 6, 2024 Acts 27-28, Proverbs 3 (NRSV) Hechos 27-28, Proverbios 3 (RVR1960) Paul Sails for Rome 27 When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, ...
November 5, 2024 Acts 25-26, Proverbs 2 (NRSV) Hechos 25-26, Proverbios 2 (RVR1960) Paul Appeals to the Emperor 25 Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 4, 2024 Acts 22-24 (NRSV) Hechos 22-24 (RVR1960) 22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you.” 2 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said: 3 “I am a Jew born in ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
November 3, 2024 Acts 19-21 (NRSV) Hechos 19-21 (RVR1960) Paul in Ephesus 19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy ...
November 2, 2024 Acts 16-18 (NRSV) Hechos 16-18 (RVR1960) Timothy Joins Paul and Silas 16 Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2...
November 1, 2024 Acts 13-15, Proverbs 1 (NRSV) Hechos 13-15, Proverbios 1 (RVR1960) Barnabas and Saul Commissioned 13 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a ...
October 31, 2024 Acts 11-12, Psalm 150 (NRSV) Hechos 11-12, Salmos 150 (RVR1960) Peter’s Report to the Church at Jerusalem 11 Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
October 30, 2024 Acts 8-10 (NRSV) Hechos 8-10 (RVR1960) 8 1 And Saul approved of their killing him. Saul Persecutes the Church That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout...
October 29, 2024 Acts 6-7, Psalm 149 (NRSV) Hechos 6-7, Salmos 149 (RVR1960) Seven Chosen to Serve 6 Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being ...
.png?width=120&height=120&mode=crop)
October 28, 2024 Acts 4-5, Psalm 148 (NRSV) Hechos 4-5, Salmos 148 (RVR1960) Peter and John before the Council 4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, 2 much annoyed...
October 27, 2024 Acts 1-3 (NRSV) Hechos 1-3 (RVR1960) The Promise of the Holy Spirit 1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions ...
October 26, 2024 John 20-21, Psalm 147 (NRSV) Juan 20-21, Salmos 147 (RVR1960) The Resurrection of Jesus 20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the...