
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Bible Reading Challenge
Challenge yourself to achieve 1000 points by completing your choice of the following activities. Each activity has a certain number of points depending on how challenging it is. Some activites may be particularly suited for children and families, while others may be more suited for adults and teens. One of the best parts of a challenge is doing it together. Find another family to do it with, or involve your Sunday School or CYC.
Read - 400 Points
Read through all of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon for 400 points! Below you can find a printable tracker for each chapter so you can check them off as you go!
Bible Journal - 500 Points
Use a notebook or a Bible Reading Journal to take notes while you read. You can order a prepared reading journal on Amazon (link below) or use just a regular notebook. A page of suggested questions to ask is also available below. Share your thoughts or favourite verses with your friends and family or on Social Media.
Bible Marking - 100 Points
As you read through Proverbs, use coloured pencils to mark all the occurrences of wisdom (wise) or foolish (fool). These words are from the King James Version and may not be the same in other translations.
Bible Art - 500 Points
Choose a verse that exhorts or encourages you during your Bible readings and illustrate it. Share your creations here: Facebook Bible Journaling Group
Literature - 200 Points
Read through any of the following books and share a quote or two with family and friends or on Social Media. Links to Booksellers below.
Ecclesiastes and Other Studies by L.G. Sargent
The Song of Solomon Study Guide
Media - 300 Points
Search for this talk on Christadelphian Bible Talks and Exhortations:
- Proverbs for Kings by Roger Lewis.
Or listen to the Kids’ Daily Readings podcast:
Write a short review to share what you learn.
Memory Verse - 250 Points
Learn at least one of these selections by heart:
- Proverbs 4:18
- Ecclesiastes 11:7
- Song of Solomon 6:3
Print out and colour the bookmarks (below) if you wish or use them to trace into your bible margin.
Language - 150 Points
Do a word study on the word “vanity”. You can find a worksheet below that explains how to do a word study. Share what you learn with your friends and family or on Social Media.
Hymn Study - 100 Points
Hymn 351: O happy is the man who hears.
Sing this hymn. You can find a link below for the music. Write out the hymn (worksheet below), and see if you can find Bible passages that relate to this particular hymn.
Dig Deeper - 400 Points
The value of gold and jewels is contrasted in the book of Proverbs with the value of wisdom. It is easy for us to appreciate the value of gold and jewels, but do we see wisdom as more valuable? Investigate why gold and jewels are precious. Where do they come from? How common are they? How much effort is expended in order to find them? What kind of a process do they need to go through to become pure? Why makes them valuable? Make a list of what the book of Proverbs has to say about them. How is the process of finding and achieving wisdom similar?
Bible Study - 500 Points
Study Proverbs or Ecclesiastes using any of these resources:
Food - 150 Points
The writer of Ecclesiastes speaks of how everything is vanity. What he seems to mean is that it doesn’t last, it lacks substance, it is not something you can depend on. Meringue is a bit like this. It looks much more substantial than it is. Try making something with meringue-like pavlova and you will probably see the connection in more ways than one 🙂 https://www.recipetineats.com/pavlova-recipe/.
Quiz - 150 Points
Sometimes a question to find the answer to can be helpful to keep little ones engaged. Aquila N. Priscilla has done an excellent job preparing lots of questions to ask before or after reading – you can find their book for purchase here: Know Questions: Psalms to Song of Solomon. Alternatively, you can find crosswords for Proverbs here: Know Questions: Proverbs Crosswords. There is also a free app for iPhones here: Bible Quiz – Know Questions on the App Store.
Our World - 200 Points
What do you know about ants? Proverbs 6 tells us that we can learn wisdom from an ant. When you can, watch ants outside and see how busy always seem to be. If you ever disturb a large ant nest you will see how quickly they can move what may be hundreds or thousands of ant eggs to a different location! They all cooperate together to do what they are meant to do. If you want to know more about ants, do your own research, or you could read Abi the Ant (Audiobook here – www.magnifyhimtogether.com/2020/05/13/abi-the-ant-audio-book-silent-witness-series/).
Art - 200 Points
Ecclesiastes speaks of how although everything on the earth may come and go, the earth abides forever. Make a paper mache light-up globe to remind you of this: http://www.housingaforest.com/paper-mache-globes/. Share a photo of your creation on social media.
The Heart - 150 Points
T H I N K ON T H I S :
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
“In a normal human being the will plays the part of a schoolmaster using reason and judgment to instruct the feelings. As a man thinketh in his heart so will he be. Thoughts of some kind are busy in every conscious moment. We are not always acting or speaking, but while we are awake we are always thinking. It is possible indeed that thought is active even in sleep. It is easy then to see what a large part thought must play in the formation of character and, looking a step further, we may realize what a wonderful opportunity for development is offered, using the thought of today to give strength for tomorrow.”
Islip Collyer, Principles and Proverbs
Downloads & Links:
More Resources
For more Bible Reading ideas check out the following links:
- Dynamic Bible Readings for the whole family
- Bible Reading Templates for adults and children
- Family Bible Readings – Book Review
- Bible Reading Discussion Cards
- Link for North American Booksellers: Detroit Book Supply & California Christadelphian Library
- Link for UK Booksellers: The Christadelphian Office
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This website provides piano music for each of the hymns that you can sing along with.
Thank you to Julie S, Karen P, Bailey M, Sarah W for the contributions to this Challenge!