By Dale Reeves
How desperate are you to know God’s Word, what he wants to say to you, and what he wants you to do about it?
“I don’t just want to read God’s Word weekly. I am implementing changes in my life—sometimes daily—as a result of reading Core 52.”
“When we’re out of town during the week, we love staying on track by reading the same Scriptures many others at Christ’s Church are reading.”
“Even in the midst of my busy lifestyle, I am staying committed to a daily reading of God’s Word. The practical action steps each week are great!”
“The weekly essays written by Mark Moore are deep and challenging, but I love that he makes these concepts easy to comprehend.”
These are a few of the comments from members of Christ’s Church in Mason, Ohio, where I serve on staff. The first Sunday of January this year we challenged our members to participate in a beta test for Mark Moore’s book, Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Build Your Bible IQ in a Year. Moore’s publisher, WaterBrook, sent us 1,000 prerelease copies of his book so that our people could use it as part of a trial run (the book is scheduled to release July 16). As of this writing, our church members have read one-fourth of the book, and it has been an overwhelming success. Here are some of the positive takeaways:
• Our lead team, of which I am a member, comes prepared every Monday with thoughts that impacted each of us in that week’s essay. It has been awesome to see these six folks begin each week by connecting the dots between the Old and New Testaments. We talk about personal and corporate applications each Monday, and I love how it sets the tone for that week’s ministry and the individual discussions we each are having with others.
• People with different levels of church experience and Bible knowledge are participating, from the godly saints who have known Jesus for 70-plus years to a nonpracticing Catholic who is not yet a member of our church. This man has been struck by “God’s purpose, the meaning behind the words in both the Old and New Testaments.”
• Some of our small groups are using the Core 52 material to dive deeper into God’s Word in the context of authentic community. Our pathways pastor, Adam Brucker, said, “A gal who was new to our church at the beginning of the year started Core 52 along with us, and then reached out to me, saying, ‘I am desperate to discuss this with other people.’ Wow! Isn’t that what we want, people desperate for Jesus?”
Our church is grateful we got to experience Core 52 on the front end. I encourage you and your church members to get on board with this deeply engaging Bible-reading experience. If you choose to participate in the Core 52 plan, I guarantee your life will be enriched and your church members will grow deeper in their journey with Christ.
Dale Reeves serves as pastor of creative content with Christ’s Church, Mason, Ohio.
Author: Christian Standard
Contact us at **@********************ia.com
