These short outlines are designed to highlight the connection between passages by referencing the words and concepts that they share in common. In this fashion the reader is invited to discover the linkages in a way that respects the integrity of each reading.
Each weekly set of readings is presented in separate segments for each passage and these are designed to be used as introductions by lectors. (Here is a recommended format for lesson introductions.) They can also be printed in the bulletin and used by congregants as a means of preparation for worship or perused silently before each reading.
At the end of each set of readings, both “as set” and “alternative” (if any), CONNECTION SUGGESTIONS provides a short list of themes shared by two or more of the readings in that set. These may be of especial use to those charged with providing a homily or sermon based on these Scriptures.
These suggestions, along with the outlines themselves, are not meant to be exhaustive by any means. Rather they are intended to stimulate a deeper appreciation for the ways in which the parts of the Bible are woven together into a whole.