The Story of this Harmony
How did this Harmony of the Gospels come about?
I was converted to faith in Christ in my early 20's by reading the Bible, apart from any outside influences. The idea for this Harmony started in 1988 after attending college. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, I wanted to compare what I’d been taught in Bible College with the Scriptures. So along with annual Old Testament reading, I began reading the New Testament every month. After just 4 months, my understanding of the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ became more clearly Biblical. Reading the Bible with a chronological approach helped to place the inspired writings in their historical context, so I developed a chart for reading Acts through Revelation chronologically. But charting the Gospels chronologically proved to be more difficult.
The only Harmony of the Gospels I owned at that time was a parallel-column format, which was immensely helpful, but I also started imagining how an optimized, chronological, single-narrative Harmony of the Gospels might be formatted. Since this was a daunting task, and since home computers were not yet a tool in common use, I figured the job was well beyond my inexperienced grasp at the time. I sincerely prayed that the Lord would enable me to attempt it later in life if it was His will.
Years later, then in my forties, the time came for me to propose a course of self-study while in Seminary, and this seemed like the perfect time to work on the Gospel Harmony I had prayed about all those years before. Once the syllabus had been approved, the project of an optimally formatted single-narrative harmony was finally underway. It quickly became evident that this was indeed going to be a labor-intensive effort.
Since this was Scripture, it would have to be handled with the utmost care and precision, and with the reverence and perseverance of an Old Testament Scribe. So day after day I plodded along, making steady progress, consistently spending 8 or more hours a day in deep concentration. The 2011 First Edition of the Harmony required over 1000 hours of meticulous compilation to complete.
The Lord provided motivation, health and stamina as my dear wife April provided meals and healthy shakes to keep the project going. The longest day lasted 13 hours, all at a stand-up desk to maintain necessary blood flow to the brain. That’s far more hours of daily concentration than I could manage now that I’m in my sixties, so I’m truly grateful to the Lord that the opportunity came when it did.
After recently expanding the Harmony by adding Parallel Columns, this story does not have to end here:
Freely Distributing ‘The Life of Christ in Living Color’
This Harmony of the Gospels has been a blessing to family and friends, to pastors, and to Bible-study groups in churches. Yet we’re convinced that it would bring more glory to Christ if it were to receive a wider distribution as a tool for building up believers and for reaching people who have not yet come to truly know the Lord Jesus. That’s why we’re now seeking willing partners to distribute it freely, without cost, to anyone who could benefit from it.
The Gospel itself is free to all, and sharing the Gospel should also be free to all who will send it.
We’re not very engaged with social media, so we’re prayerfully asking the Lord to inspire others to take this to the next level by sharing this “Powerful Pdf” as far and wide as they can. Would you pray with us and ask the Lord to help you share the Gospel by distributing this free ‘Harmony of the Gospels’? It may only take a few mouse clicks to encourage someone to follow Christ!
This Harmony is a perfect introduction to the gospel accounts of the Life of Christ, since it eliminates the redundancies that are a commonly reported point of confusion for new readers. It’s an effective way to show Christ’s compassion to those who don’t yet personally know Him. If ever there was a time when the world needed believers to awaken to the privilege of sharing the gospel, it is now! This could be the most thorough and user-friendly ‘Bible Tract’ you will ever give away…
Along with introducing people to Christ, would you also consider using this Bible-study tool to build up believers in their walk with Christ? Do you know a pastor or teacher who could use a valuable, time-saving preparation tool? Or maybe you know someone who could use some Christian encouragement? This resource is free to any and all.
Please consider distributing this LifeofChristResources.com free downloads link as a serious opportunity to multiply the glory of God in sharing the life-saving power of the gospel to give hope to unbelievers and to strengthen believers everywhere you can!
We’re not in this for money, and can only thank you for your partnership by supplying you with unlimited access to this Harmony of the Gospels link, yet remember this:
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