Bible Reading Plan

Each year, we encourage the church to join together in a fresh commitment to engaging God through His Word. What confidence and joy we have as we approach our Bibles, that ”All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Following a Bible reading plan helps us approach scripture in a regular and consistent way, allows us to avoid reading just favorite passages, and gives us a path to experience the entire story of the Bible. If you are part of a discipleship group, following a plan together in God's word is an essential help in allowing scripture to be the foundation of our discipling and care.  Our d-group gatherings are meant to be an overflow of what God is doing in our lives in Christ by the Word through the week.

We all fight for time management, and one area that can so easily slip from our priorities is our connection with the Living God through his Word. Maybe you have struggled thinking, "I just don't have time!" We all have more time for Bible reading than we think (check out this article and some illuminating info graphs, with revealing facts such as, with just reading 12 minutes you can finish the entire Bible in 1 year.

 Our hope is God will not only fill our minds with His glorious truth but also fill our hearts with increased affection! We want informed minds, but also hearts stirred toward love and trust in God. (Here are a couple of recommended articles - advice on Bible reading and approaching reading slower & fast, or common objections to reading plans).

A RECOMMENDED PLAN
The reading plan we recommend follows half of the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan (only 2 chapters of the 4). It is designed to read through the entire New Testament, Psalms, and 1/2 of the Old Testament each year. (The second year, will complete the OT portion, and again through the NT and Psalms. If the 2 chapters seem too much, simply commit to reading 1 of the readings/chapters.). 

This plan is recommended, but there are many, many Bible reading plans available, we have gathered a few that we have found helpful:

     5 Day Bible Reading Program
     M’Cheyne Daily Bible Reading Plan (full)
     Chronological Bible Reading Plan
     Daily Bible Reading Plan
     52 Week Bible Reading Plan
     Bible Project Reading Plan (includes supporting videos)
     20 Other Plan options

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
As you navigate various passages, reading in an informed way is a goal, such as understanding the author’s purpose, themes, and context. Here are a few companions to your Bible reading that we would recommend for you:

"Read the Bible” Devotional
One way to infuse your d-group's reading with encouragement, application, and learning is to follow the Gospel Coalition's “Read The Bible” devotional. This daily devotional Bible commentary follows the M’Cheyne Yearly Bible Reading Plan. Read or listen to the passages and then explore the devotional commentary by DA Carson and related resources for deeper study. You can find it in many formats like subscribing via podcast or daily emails.

You can also access Carson’s devotional commentary, which is found in the above format, or as a FREE PDF book here. (Carson - Volume 1).

Study Bible
We would recommend a study Bible to help you in your reading. We recommend the ESV Study Bible. A study Bible brings understanding to each book of the Bible, outlines, background, and helpful commentary on difficult passages. We have several ESV Study Bibles at discounted prices available at the resource center.