Embark on the Trail: More than a Study, It’s a Legacy for your Family
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The Trail is a beautifully bound, two-volume hardcover set designed to guide you through the entire Bible in one year.
Each day you get:
- A manageable reading portion
- 10*10*10
- 10 minutes each of reading, journaling and podcast
- A matching podcast episode (5–12 minutes) that gives the historical and cultural background for exactly what you just read
- No fluff, no overwhelming commentary—just the context you need to make sense of the text on your own.
Busy parents, professionals, and brand-new readers alike—are already using The Trail and finishing the Bible for the first time because it finally feels doable and interesting instead of confusing or intimidating.
The books are built to last and look great on a shelf (leather-bound, ribbon markers, thick paper), so they’re something you’ll actually keep and pass down.
Ready to read the whole story with the background you’ve always wished you had?
Click here to learn more and order your set today.
Welcome to the Trail Podcast
Twenty years ago, I set out to create resources that would be helpful and meaningful tools for a deeper understanding of the Bible and growing closer to God, as well as help followers of Jesus to engage more deeply with the ancient texts found in the Bible.
The Trail Podcast is a companion to The Trail: A Journey Through the Bible. For each day on The Trail, we have created an episode which will reflect on one or more of the passages that you will be reading. Some of the episodes will comment directly on the day’s passage, adding insights and biblical commentary. Other episodes will have a more devotional character. The Trail is designed to be a journey and not simply a commentary on the Bible. Therefore, we hope that you will find our discoveries along the way meaningful as we travel the path together.
Christians have carefully copied, preserved, and translated the Bible for almost two millennia. These core texts are essential for linking our present relationship with God to those who experienced His mighty deeds in the past. We have also observed that many Christians lack familiarity with the Scriptures and are seeking tools for a deeper understanding of the Bible and growing closer to God, in a way that’s both effective and accurate.
Therefore, we have created The Trail: A Journey Through the Bible.
The Trail provides a welcoming entry to the enduring wisdom and power of the sacred texts contained in the Bible. The Trail combines a centering prayer with a thoughtfully chosen reading plan covering the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Apocrypha. Space for journaling your reflections and recording your insights is also provided. In creating our tools for a deeper understanding of the Bible and growing closer to God, we thoughtfully arranged The Trail for both study and contemplation, and to draw you into God’s story while deepening your own faith journey.
One of the unique features of The Trail is our attempt to balance the time that you spend reading each day while keeping the stories of the Bible together. We do not want to simply go chapter by chapter from beginning to end. Instead, we used the natural breaks found in the original languages of the Bible. In the introduction to The Trail, you will find a road map, or maybe a trail map, to how this resource was put together.
When we began to organize readings, we started off by looking at the New Testament. Therefore, we have ordered the New Testament to begin with Luke and Acts, mostly because these were written to Gentiles in the first century. We then continued by looking at the development of the early church through Paul’s writings in particular, and then moving through the rest of the letters contained in the New Testament. We end with the books that have a more Jewish context, such as Matthew and Hebrews. So when you reach the end of the New Testament, you will have read most of the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, and will have that background to help you identify some key insights.
After we put together the New Testament, we went back and added sections for the Old Testament and the Apocrypha.
Therefore, you will find a second set of readings each day from the Pentateuch or the Torah. These are the first five books of Moses, from Genesis through Deuteronomy. Then we grouped together the prophets and writings, which include books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Psalms and Proverbs.
We also included the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha is not in the Protestant canon, but it will be more familiar to those in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. You can choose to read it, or you can choose not to. In fact, this is one of the beauties of The Trail. It’s your Trail. You can go through just the New Testament, or maybe just the New Testament and the Torah. Or you can choose to read the New Testament, the Torah, and then the Prophets and Writings. Or you can decide to add the Apocrypha. The journey is yours to travel.
Each day on The Trail, you will find there are several elements. The first is a centering prayer. This short prayer is designed to help you focus your mind and thoughts before spending time with God in His Word.
Following the centering prayer, you will find the daily readings. You will have between two and five readings for each day. Again, if you decide to read just the New Testament, on Day Two you would just read Luke 1:26-56. Or if you want to read the New Testament and Torah, you would add Genesis 2 to your daily reading.
You will also notice that we have tried to honor the historical context of each passage.
So, for example, if you are in Second Kings and studying the history of Israel during that period, you will also find readings attached to that day which come from Jeremiah or Isaiah. Therefore, when you are reading about a particular historical period, you have everything in one place.
On the facing page, you will find a couple of sections focused on your insights and reflections. The first section is for recording your distractions. For example, if you are reading the day’s text, and you remember something important you have to do later in the day, simply write a brief note about the distraction in this section. Then, you can set the distraction aside, knowing you can come back to it later.
In the Insights section, you can record thoughts or ideas that connected with you that day. Finally, we have included a section for recording your questions, or concepts that you may want to research later. Instead of getting stuck on a particular thought or verse, you can assign those questions for a time when you can thoughtfully explore them.
As part of our tools for a deeper understanding of the Bible and growing closer to God, The Trail is designed to help you engage with the Bible. If you are interested in a more focused study, we also offer more in-depth studies for individuals and groups. You can learn more about these study resources at purpose-press.store. There you will find additional resources, including prayer journals and books for children.
We hope these tools for a deeper understanding of the Bible and growing closer to God will help you with your walk with God and be a great benefit for your family and friends.
If you like what we are doing, we invite you to join our mission to create tools for a deeper understanding of the Bible and growing closer to God. On our website, you will find an opportunity to become partners in our ministry through one-time or monthly gifts. For more information, just fill out our form on our “Contact Us” page. Thank you for your support as we seek to share the teachings and life of Jesus with the world.