The Year I Read the Bible with Laurie Larsen

Send us Fan Mail We all go through bad times.  It’s part of the human condition. Life is not easy or perfect for anyone. But sometimes life becomes so hopeless and out of control that you can’t imagine ever turning the tide. Jesus wants to help you get your life back.  In Mark 5, Jesus got in a boat, dragging his hesitant disciples specifically visit a demon-possessed, dirty, smelly, ostracized ma...

Send us Fan Mail What worked?  And who did it work for? This episode is all about when Jesus, after being baptized by John the Baptist, went into the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, and in his hungry and thirsty state, was tempted by the Devil himself.  But Jesus stood strong by fighting Satan with God's word, the same words we read in our Bible. Satan tempts Jesus's follower...

Send us Fan Mail Well, the super stores have Christmas merchandise out so ... yeah ... it's not too early to talk about Christmas! When you pull out your Nativity sets to decorate your home every December have you ever given thought to whether or not they're historically accurate?  Turns out ... most of what we think we know about the setting of Jesus's birth is NOT how we celebrate...

Send us Fan Mail Our God is a god of the big and massive.  But he's also a god in the small details.  This concept is so evident in the story of Zechariah in the New Testament.  When you learn exactly how miraculous the circumstances were around the angel Gabriel's visit to Zechariah in the Temple to give him the news that his aged wife Elizabeth would give birth to the Messiah's pr...

Send us Fan Mail God leaves nothing to chance!  When he sends angels to go talk to the future earthly mother and father of his beloved son, he tells them exactly what to name the child.  Did you know the name Jesus means "The Lord Saves" and "Yahweh Saves." And Emmanuel means "God Is With Us."  It's all right there in the name! Laurie has a heartwarming conversat...

Send us Fan Mail Why listen to The Year I Read the Bible podcast?  A quick half-hour burst of Christian Bible learning and discussion every week.  Research that maybe will teach you something you didn’t know or present a new way to think about a concept you’re already familiar with.  Then, a discussion between friends, sharing experiences and insight.   Let's face it, the way the world is goi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to the second of Laurie's 2-part series on Who Were the Authors of the Gospels?  Today she covers Luke and John.  From debating who Luke was referring to when he addressed "The Most Excellent Theophilus" to why John repeatedly referred to himself as "the one Jesus most loved," you will learn all you ever wanted to know about these two far-reac...

Send us Fan Mail Laurie starts a two-part series on the authors of the four gospels.  Today is a deep dive into what we know about Matthew and Mark.  Matthew was a despised tax collector who cheated his countrymen when Jesus asked him to follow him.  Matthew dropped everything to do just that.  Mark is only mentioned obscurely once in the story of Jesus.  He didn't know him personally.  How i...

Send us Fan Mail This is Laurie's final essay covering the Old Testament, before venturing into the New Testament next week.  She explores the prophet Malachi's final warnings from God. It only takes a second to turn the page from the end of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New, but for the people of Malachi's time, it seemed like endless silence.  Was God there?  Was he li...

Send us Fan Mail Hi friends!  Have you made The Year I Read the Bible podcast a part of your weekly listening?  Laurie has 40 episodes planned, so she's more than a quarter of the way through!  Get your 30-minute burst of godly Bible knowledge every Tuesday morning, complete with an insightful chat with a guest, a prayer, and sometimes a bit of music too!   Discover this podcast and you won&a...

Send us Fan Mail "God hates divorce."  Pretty hard to misinterpret the meaning of that Bible verse: Malachi 2:16.  But in modern times, 50% of marriages end in divorce!  What does that mean for faithful Christians and Jews who have been divorced, or are considering one in their future?  Listen to Laurie's take on that topic. Then, Laurie welcomes her charming guest Robin Stearns Lee...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever noticed as you're reading along through the Bible, there will occasionally be a bullet-pointed summary list to rehash a bunch of events that have already occurred?  This reminded Laurie of the old Cliffs Notes she used in school (in the olden days ...)  Laurie's guest today is the very insightful Jody Stallings .  Jody is a very busy teacher, columnist, aut...

Send us Fan Mail Did you know that there is a book in the Bible that never mentions God, never includes a prophesy or a prayer?  It's the book of Esther, one of only two books in the Bible named after a woman.  But despite not mentioning God at all, Esther's story illustrates that even when you don't know it, even when you can't see it, God the Father is working on our behalf a...

Send us Fan Mail Stay tuned for a powerful episode of The Year I Read the Bible !  What does the Bible tell us happens when we pray?  Does God hear it?  Does He respond to it?  What if we're asking for something different that His will? Laurie welcomes back return guest Elizabeth Ann Wallace, author, talk show host and above all else, a Christian receptive to God's direction in her life....

Send us Fan Mail Laurie shares the essay she wrote the morning after her grandson was born! With joy and love she creates the message, We Learn How to Parent From Him . We don't have to learn how to love our children -- it's in our DNA because it's how God our Father loves us. Laurie welcomes as her guest Elizabeth Ann Wallace - - her dear friend Ann.  Together, they discuss the joy...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the second of a two-part series about the differences between Christian and Jewish beliefs.  Last episode, Laurie left you with a cliffhanger: Why don't the Jews believe that Jesus is their messiah? This episode, she spends the entire time with detailed answers to that single question. If you couldn't understand it before now, you will understand it now!...

Send us Fan Mail What are the differences in beliefs between Jews and Christians?  We all worship the same God, but there are many differences in our traditions and beliefs. In order to learn more, Laurie has a conversation with Rabbi Weissman and presents many of her questions to him. Laurie's guest today is the lovely and entertaining Janice DeAngelis.  Janice is a friend of Laurie's a...

Send us Fan Mail Laurie shares her journey through the Bible, with the aid of ten different translations in her Bible collection. She urges the listener, if one Bible translation isn't really setting with you, to explore others until you find the perfect one. Laurie welcomes back Cindy Jolly , her guest from episode 5 for an enthusiastic conversation about Bible translations.  Enjoy this fun...

Send us Fan Mail Laurie begins with a dramatic scene of a hot, thirsty traveler stumbling through the desert.  That's how she felt during her Bible in a Year project by the time she'd reached Isaiah 35! But this chapter was like a beautiful oasis providing her water and beauty just in time! Isaiah 35 is described by some as being one of the greatest chapters in the Bible.  Is that Paradi...

Send us Fan Mail Laurie discusses God's delivery of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites in Exodus 19, specifically the very first one, Worship No Other Gods Before Me.  She ponders why that particular commandment was placed first.  Is it more important than some of the others like, Don't Murder, and Don't Steal? Historically, there were about 38 other "gods" (small g) w...

Send us Fan Mail Laurie discusses Isaiah chapter 9 that inspired composer Frederick Handel to write Handel's Messiah. A chapter filled with imagery and powerful language, it is the prophet Isaiah's prophecy to the Jewish people of their coming Messiah, who Christians know today as Jesus. Laurie reveals her own method for communicating with God when there is an event in her life that caus...

Send us Fan Mail Laurie discusses the first biblical mystery that she uncovered in her reading journey, and it began in Genesis 1! She always assumed that the Holy Trinity evolved as the trio was introduced in the Bible ... God the Father was there for Creation, God the Son was born in a manger in Bethlehem, and God the Holy Spirit was introduced by Jesus to his disciples around the time of the La...

Send us Fan Mail Laurie kicks off her The Year I Read the Bible podcast with a description of how and why she took on the challenge of reading the Bible for a year and encouraging others to consider doing it as well. Laurie's guest is Linda Rutland , a long-time reader and reviewer of Laurie's fictional works, and an avid Bible reader and teacher. Are you interested in the ebooks, paperb...