“Canon” was a project that began in early 2023. After struggling to stay up to date on the Scripture Reading Plan the first few months of 2023, I searched for renewed motivation to abide in God’s Word. I chose to challenge myself to write a short single stanza for each book of the Bible by the end of the year. My hope was that by December 31st it would provide grounds for me to read through the entirety of the Bible and have thought deeply enough about it to enable a primary theme or summary of each book to come to the front.

Some of the concepts arose after hearing the messages on the New Testament books covered in “The Bookshelf” sermon series, others came during morning devotions, still others appeared as I listened to the Word read in the Scripture Reading Dinners, but all ultimately were collected into this long form poem titled “Canon.” Canon is the word used in Greek to refer to the rule or reed by which we measure something. In this case, the rule is the Bible itself, being our sufficient and complete revelation to know God, be united to Him in Christ, and to live a life accordingly.

This year, each month, in collaboration with the provided Bible Reading Plan and Scripture Reading Dinners, a selection of the stanzas will be provided in The Porch to aid in your own personal study and contemplation of the planned passages. While not intended to be complete summaries, nor in- depth theological exegesis, they strive to be faithful to the book itself in communicating its purpose, message, theme, or content.

As we read through the Word together this year, maybe ask yourself a few questions, like: In what ways could I challenge myself to better engage with God’s Word? What creative methods might I incorporate to grapple with the Scriptures? Perhaps journal your thoughts, or draw, or write down questions you still have. Or maybe, try your hand at poetry.