The Bible Study
A One-Year Study of the Bible and How It Relates to You (2-Volume Set Including the Old & New Testaments with Discussion Questions and a Daily & Weekly Study Guide)
What's it about
Struggling to connect with the Bible or find time for daily study? What if you could journey through the entire scripture in just one year, finally understanding how its ancient wisdom applies directly to your modern life? This guide makes it not only possible, but deeply personal and achievable. Discover a structured, one-year plan that breaks down the Old and New Testaments into manageable daily readings. You'll get more than just verses; you’ll explore historical context, key themes, and probing discussion questions that bridge the gap between the text and your personal experience. Uncover the Bible's unified story and find your place within it, one day at a time.
Meet the author
Zach Windahl is the founder of The Brand Sunday, a global community that has equipped hundreds of thousands of Christians with resources to deepen their faith. After struggling to find a Bible study that was both accessible and engaging, he dedicated himself to creating one. His unique approach combines theological depth with practical, relatable insights, empowering a new generation to connect with the Bible in a personal and meaningful way.
The Script
In a vast, old library, two apprentices are tasked with restoring a single, monumental book. The first apprentice, meticulous and reverent, treats the text as a sacred artifact. He focuses on preserving every word exactly as it is written, believing the book's power lies in its perfect, unchanging form. His goal is to create a flawless replica, a testament to the original. The second apprentice approaches the same book with a different kind of respect. He sees it as a living conversation. He spends his time studying the faded ink, the worn pages, and the notes scribbled in the margins by generations of readers. He seeks to understand not only what the book says, but how it has spoken to people throughout time, how it has been questioned, wrestled with, and woven into their lives. For him, the book’s power is in its ability to connect, to challenge, and to transform.
Many of us have been taught to approach the Bible like that first apprentice, viewing it as a pristine but intimidating artifact to be handled with extreme care, if at all. This feeling of distance—the sense that the Bible was for scholars or saints, but not for us—is what drove Zach Windahl to create this study. After years of his own searching, feeling disconnected from the very text that was supposed to offer connection, he decided to become the second apprentice. He began a journey to understand the Bible as an accessible story filled with human struggles, divine encounters, and profound truths relevant to modern life. Windahl, the creator of The Brand Sunday, poured his own questions and discoveries into this guide, designing it for anyone who has ever felt that the book was too big, too confusing, or simply not for them.
Module 1: A Structured Approach to an Ancient Library
Many people avoid the Bible because it feels intimidating. It's a massive collection of 66 books written over thousands of years. Where do you even begin? Windahl's core argument is that the Bible is a unified story with a clear structure. His approach is designed to make this library accessible. The first step is to recognize the Bible is a unified narrative, not a collection of disconnected rules. It tells one overarching story: Creation, the Fall, Redemption, and Final Restoration. Understanding this big picture provides the context for everything else.
To make this manageable, Windahl provides two structured reading plans. One is a 52-week plan for flexible study. The other is a 365-day plan with daily chapter assignments. The goal is simple. Follow a structured plan to make the text approachable and ensure comprehensive coverage. This prevents you from getting lost in Leviticus or giving up in Numbers. It creates momentum. It turns a monumental task into a series of achievable daily or weekly wins.
So, how do you engage with the text once you start reading? Windahl proposes a specific method. He stresses that understanding the original context of each book is crucial for accurate interpretation. For every book, he provides a high-level briefing. Who wrote it? When? To whom? What was the central theme? For example, before reading Genesis, you learn it was written by Moses for the Israelites recently freed from 400 years of Egyptian slavery. They had lost their identity. Genesis was written to give them their history back. It explained their origin, their purpose, and God's covenant promise to them. This context changes everything. It transforms the text from an abstract myth into a targeted, purposeful message.
Finally, the study method is about personal transformation. After providing a story overview for each book, Windahl includes a series of reflective questions. These are designed to connect the ancient text to your modern life. Use reflective questions to bridge the gap between ancient text and modern application. For instance, after reading about Jacob and Esau, a question asks: "Can you think of a time when you settled for immediate enjoyment over future blessings?" This is a prompt for deep, personal reflection. It forces you to see your own patterns in the stories of flawed, complex people from thousands of years ago.