Seminal Stories of the Bible - for Sunday Feb 28 and Wednesday Mar 3

After a grueling round of relentlessly narrowing down profoundly important passages of the Bible, I have settled on seven passages from the Old Testament and seven passages from the New Testament for us to focus on this Week.

Seven Seminal Passages from the Old Testament:

1. Covenant - Genesis 12 - God's Covenant with Abram
   key verses: Genesis 12:1-3
2. Deliverance - Exodus 15 - God's salvation of Israel through the Red Sea
   key verse: Exodus 15:21
3. Worship - Deuteronomy 6 - The Shema
   key verse: Deuteronomy 6:4-5
4. Dynasty - 2 Samuel 7 - God makes covenant with King David's Dyansty
   key verse: 2 Samuel 7:16
5. Oblivion - 1 Kings 19 - Elijah stands (with God) against King Ahab's Omri Dynasty
   key verse: 1 Kings 19:11-12
6. Messiah - Psalm 110 - Messianic Hymn most often quoted in the New Testament
   key verse: Psalm 110:1
7. Redeemed - Isaiah 42:1-9 - First of the four Servant Songs reinterpreting Israel's (and God's) place among the nations in the wake of exile
   key verses: Isaiah 42:6-7

Seven Seminal New Testament Passages

1. Fulfillment - Matthew 5:1-20 - Preamble to the Sermon on the Mount
   key verses: Matthew 5:17-18
2. Abundance - Mark 4:1-20 - Parable of the Sower
   key verse: Mark 4:20
3. Companion - Luke 24: 13-35 - The Resurrection Walk to Emmaus
   key verse: Luke 24:26-27
4. Light - John 1:1-14 - Prologue of John
   key verses: John 1:4-5
5. Power - Acts 15 - The Jerusalem Council integrates the Gentiles
   key verses: Acts 15:28-29
6. Way - Philippians 2:1-18 - the Christ Hymn
   key verses: Philippians 2:8-9
7. Faith - Hebrews 11 - Roll call of Faithfulness
   key verse: Hebrews 11:13

I chose these passages for several reasons:

1. These passages form a framework for the narrative thread in the entire Bible
2. Each passage forms a crucial moment in the life of God's people
3. Taken together, the passages represent a sampling of the various kinds of literature styles in the Bible
4. Many of the passages are either referenced in other parts of the Bible, or themselves reference other parts of the Bible

I'll update this post to include the very important passages that did not make my cut!