This summer France will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the first time in a hundred year, and the French Bible Society (ABF) has chosen that to be the main theme of its Month of the Bible.

The ABF, along with the French Union of booksellers of religious literature (SLLR), organises this seventh edition of the Month of the Bible, in partnership with over 200 bookshops.

The national event , which takes place every year in March, “is an opportunity for the Bible to shine amid the hustle and bustle of the Olympic and Paralympic 2024”, says the ABF.

“When Bible and sport team up”

That is why the theme of this year is "When Bible and sport team up”.

“At first sight, the connection between these two subjects may seem surprising. What could the Bible possibly have in common with sport? And yet, if you look closely, the New Testament contains a number of references to physical exercise”, point out the organisers.

An exhibition, a Bible study and a prayer

The event website offers fifteen posters to make up an exhibition, covering topics such as: What sports were practiced in Corinth in biblical times? What does the New Testament say about physical exercise? Do you know that it was an international institution of young Protestants, the YMCA, which created basketball?, among others.

It also provides a Bible study outline on 1 Thimoty 1:4 , a prayer that everyone can use to intercede for the Games.

Putting the Bible in the spotlight

Bookstores and churches participat in the event fitting out the bookstore window, setting up a special table with Bibles, setting up conferences or workshops, etc., “to make the Bible and its different translations known”.

The ABF contributes by making free material available to booksellers (600 posters, 30,000 bookmarks and 19,000 magazines) and content to “put the Bible in the spotlight for a month”.

The magazine is published every year only on this occasion. This yea edition includes an interview with Joël Abati, world, European and Olympic handball champion.

“Despite the difficulties of life, the pressure and the stress to which high-level practice subjects me, I keep the inner peace! When I meditate on the Bible and focus my thoughts on the promises of God, I feel a great breath of peace that floods my body and my mind, and worries dissipate”, he says..

You can find more information about the initiative and resources to promote the Bible here (in French)