10/14/08

What's YOUR Top Ten List?



Todd over at Catholic Sensibility draws our attention to the Catholic News Service Blog which is running a series of posts on the Synod of Bishops in Rome whose topic is The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church. Want to know which scripture text was most frequently quoted by participants in the first week of the Synod? The answer is here.

Todd lists what he thinks are the ten most important Bible passages for presenting the Christian faith to the world. It's an interesting list and worth linking to.

Here's a little homework assignment for us all:

Name your Top Ten Passages from the Bible!

Sit down with your bible and a cup of tea or a glass of wine and page through it... Hebrew scriptures and Christian scriptures... prophets, psalms, wisdom literature... gospels and epistles...

Send your Top Ten list to the combox - it will be interesting to see how much overlap there is (or isn't) in choices. It would also be helpful to include a chapter/verse citation so that others might look up your choices if they're not familiar with them.

Not sure where your passage comes from?
Google to the rescue! Remember a key phrase and type that as a Google search, adding the letters NAB (New American Bible).

For an example...
Try: Love is patient, love is kind NAB. The initials NAB will specify a particular translation and NAB is the one used in Catholic liturgy in the US. The Google report will bring you to the text and you'll have the chapter and verse!

-ConcordPastor

15 comments:

  1. This is a great post!

    I teach adult faith formation/Scripture study at our parish and there are so many hungry people out there... they want to know more and read the Bible but don't know where to begin.

    And there are also people who unintentionally misunderstand or misquote, so finding ways to study and research are essential.

    I also love to refer people to Dei Verbum.

    Oh wait, where is my Top 10?

    I will be back!!!

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  2. Ok, here I am and with my homework complete. If I am honest, there are about 30 things on my top 10, but here are 10 of them...

    1. Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

    2. You duped me Lord and I let myself be duped. Jer. 20:7

    3. I do not cease to give thanks for you, as I remember you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:16

    4. In the beginning was the Word, and the Wrod was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

    5, How is it that you, a Jew ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria? John 4:9

    6. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. Matthew 25:35

    7. You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

    8. Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
    he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8

    9. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19

    10. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Matthew 28:6

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  3. (After doing this, I realized that this assignment is not over- these are my 'Top Ten Bible Passages' right now- I hope to always continue learning and I pray to keep my heart and eyes open... )

    So, here goes... (I must admit that I am afraid that I haven't "done this right")- but your "assignment" brought me some excitement and energy and a challenge that I so desperately needed right now.

    1- 'The Beginning' (Genesis 1)
    2- 'Moses and the Burning Bush' (Exodus 3)
    3- 'Do Not Forget the Lord' (Deuteronomy 8)
    4- 'Hannah's Prayer' (Samuel 2)
    5- Psalm 23
    6- 'Moral Benefits of Wisdom' (Proverbs 2)
    7- 'The Beatitudes' (Matthew 5)
    8- 'Prayer' (Matthew 6:5-15)
    9- 'The Parable of the Talents' (Matthew 25:14-30)
    10- 'The Parable of the Lost Sheep' (Luke 15)

    *(these are not in a particular order)

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  4. Nicely done, Fran and Joey - thanks for getting the ball rolling.

    Yes, I'll participate, but I'll hang back a bit until some others contribute.

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  5. ...I just wanted to add one more thing... even though I was tempted, I did not look at Todd's list right away- I wanted to see how I could do this on my own, without "influence" of others. It was a good exercise for me- maybe in finding confidence in myself, and even faith...

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  6. Great self-restraint, Joey - and it sounds like it paid off!

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  7. Can I change my list? Joey has some good ones there... And he is right, the list should always be in motion with us, as we learn and grow.

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  8. ...how do you know joey is a "he"? just saying...

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  9. Fair enough!! You are correct anonymous... I did make an- um, an assumption. And not the kind Our Lady made.

    Re-written sentence..."And Joey is right... !!!

    (Smiling from afar!)

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  10. I can not give a top 10, but I know which quote I think of most...it is oft repeated in scripture, and it is the most comforting for me...and that is.....

    "Be not afraid..."

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  11. I'm with Joey...this may not be what you mean, but I'll give it a shot. Some of these may not even be correct, they were passed down from my mother, and she blessed me with these words:
    1. Trust Him when darkest clouds assail thee
    Trust Him when the faith is small,
    Trust Him when to simply trust Him is the hardest thing of all.

    2. Psalm 27

    3. Matthew 23 in it's entirety

    4. Psalm 23

    5. Matthew 18:1-25

    6. The Book of Job

    7. Psalm 149:1-5

    8. The Beatitudes

    9. John 146:6-21

    10. John 15:1-17

    Hope this is what you are looking for when you asked for our top 10.

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  12. ...just wanted to comment that I don't think ConcordPastor was "looking for anything in particular" in our top 10 lists. I mean, I believe that he was simply interested in "our opinions"... "our personal, top 10 favorite Bible passages"...

    (and I think this post was great)

    (please forgive me if I am wrong)

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  13. I'm a little disappointed... :(
    I was kind of hoping to read more top 10 lists...
    It's just that I found this so helpful, I wanted more...
    (yes, I did put my own list here, but I decided to be anonymous this time)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was disappointed, too, that more responses didn't come in. But that's life in the blogosphere!

    Here are my Top 10 (not in order of preference):

    - Chapters 1 and 2 in Luke
    - Creation and the fall in Genesis, chapters 1, 2, 3
    - Psalm 127:2 (look it up!)
    - Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd)
    - Psalm 51 (Have mercy on me, O God)
    - Psalm 139 (You know when I set and when I stand)
    - The parable of the lost son in Luke 15
    - The covenant and commandments at Mt. Sinai, Exodus 19, 20
    - The passion, death and resurrection accounts in all four gospels
    - The way of love in 1 Corinthians 13

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  15. Thank you, ConcordPastor, for sharing your Top 10. :)

    (I'm in the process of looking them up now!)

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