A Bible Reading Plan for Newbies
Photograph: Christoph Römhild and Chris Harrison)
The fascinating photograph above visualizes the way the Bible refers to itself. Each of the cross references found in the Bible is depicted by a single arc; the color of each arc varies according to the distance between the books. But as fascinating as that visualization is, it also shows why reading the Bible can be so intimidating, especially for a new reader.
A plan can help us stay on track, so that we don’t wander around, aimlessly cherry-picking verses. God didn’t give us His Word in a series of comforting sayings. Scripture is a Grand Narrative, and we need to understand the parts in terms of their place in the whole.
But I haven’t always had success with Bible reading plans.
Much as I like having a plan, I have long had a love-hate relationship with most Bible-reading plans. When I was a boy, I tried unsuccessfully to read through the Bible in a year, starting dutifully in Genesis 1 on January 1 and working my way through the chapters assigned for each day. I crashed and burned in the same section of Exodus, the instructions for constructing the Tabernacle (ch 25-31) and the account of how they followed those instructions to the letter (ch 33-39). All those meticulous instructions and all that account of how meticulously they followed those instructions… ten-year-old me just couldn’t handle it! So I gave up. I came back the next year with the same resolve and floundered in the same section of Exodus. (And I didn’t even make it to offerings and feasts in Leviticus!)
But my real beef with reading plans isn’t about the difficult sections; my real problem is what inevitably happens when the reader “falls behind.” To read the Bible through in a year, you need to read 3-4 chapters each day. But we all have that stretch of days when things get crazy, and you don’t get to read for a day or two, and suddenly you’re ten chapters behind! What do you do now? Do you double down and speed-read to catch up? Or do you just give up?
Those are the reasons I knew I didn’t want to recommend a through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan for people just starting to read the Bible.
When I began to look for other approaches, I knew that I wanted a reading plan that isn’t tied to dates so there’s no “falling behind.” And I wanted a plan that helps the reader trace the narrative arc of Scripture, how from the beginning of the Bible until the end, the Story is about Jesus – why we need Him, how God prepared His people for Him, how He came among us as a man, what it means to walk as His follower, how He will Come Again.
That’s why I am happy to announce that we have found such a plan and are recommending the “Redemptive-Historical Bible Reading Plan.” This plan is perfect for anyone who has wanted to read through the Bible but is intimidated by the prospect of such an undertaking. This plan has no dates attached, so you can take it at your own pace. Each reading is a chapter (a few are two or three chapters). This means you can read as much or as little as you want to read in each sitting.
Another thing I like about the plan is that it is divided into sixteen sections that trace the Storyline of the Bible, beginning with the first section, “Creation” (eight chapters from Genesis, Job, and the New Testament) to the sixteenth section, “Anticipating the Day of the Lord” (eighteen chapters from the OT prophets and NT epistles). As you read, you will see God’s unfolding Plan for redeeming His people, and you’ll see how OT themes are picked up and echoed in the NT.
The “Redemptive-Historical Bible Reading Plan” would be a great resource for family devotions or for personal devotions. We’ll have copies of the plan available for a few weeks in the Central Park Lobby and throughout the year on the Discipleship Resource Shelf, across from the Family Ministries check-in desk.
You can use this plan as a guide to your Bible reading and/or with the audio Bible. (I listen to the psalms as I fall asleep each night.)
Each packet includes helpful instructions on how to use the plan. Pick yours up and start your journey through the Story of Scripture this week!
Persevere,
Paul Pyle
Pastor of Discipleship
A plan can help us stay on track, so that we don’t wander around, aimlessly cherry-picking verses. God didn’t give us His Word in a series of comforting sayings. Scripture is a Grand Narrative, and we need to understand the parts in terms of their place in the whole.
But I haven’t always had success with Bible reading plans.
Much as I like having a plan, I have long had a love-hate relationship with most Bible-reading plans. When I was a boy, I tried unsuccessfully to read through the Bible in a year, starting dutifully in Genesis 1 on January 1 and working my way through the chapters assigned for each day. I crashed and burned in the same section of Exodus, the instructions for constructing the Tabernacle (ch 25-31) and the account of how they followed those instructions to the letter (ch 33-39). All those meticulous instructions and all that account of how meticulously they followed those instructions… ten-year-old me just couldn’t handle it! So I gave up. I came back the next year with the same resolve and floundered in the same section of Exodus. (And I didn’t even make it to offerings and feasts in Leviticus!)
But my real beef with reading plans isn’t about the difficult sections; my real problem is what inevitably happens when the reader “falls behind.” To read the Bible through in a year, you need to read 3-4 chapters each day. But we all have that stretch of days when things get crazy, and you don’t get to read for a day or two, and suddenly you’re ten chapters behind! What do you do now? Do you double down and speed-read to catch up? Or do you just give up?
Those are the reasons I knew I didn’t want to recommend a through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan for people just starting to read the Bible.
When I began to look for other approaches, I knew that I wanted a reading plan that isn’t tied to dates so there’s no “falling behind.” And I wanted a plan that helps the reader trace the narrative arc of Scripture, how from the beginning of the Bible until the end, the Story is about Jesus – why we need Him, how God prepared His people for Him, how He came among us as a man, what it means to walk as His follower, how He will Come Again.
That’s why I am happy to announce that we have found such a plan and are recommending the “Redemptive-Historical Bible Reading Plan.” This plan is perfect for anyone who has wanted to read through the Bible but is intimidated by the prospect of such an undertaking. This plan has no dates attached, so you can take it at your own pace. Each reading is a chapter (a few are two or three chapters). This means you can read as much or as little as you want to read in each sitting.
Another thing I like about the plan is that it is divided into sixteen sections that trace the Storyline of the Bible, beginning with the first section, “Creation” (eight chapters from Genesis, Job, and the New Testament) to the sixteenth section, “Anticipating the Day of the Lord” (eighteen chapters from the OT prophets and NT epistles). As you read, you will see God’s unfolding Plan for redeeming His people, and you’ll see how OT themes are picked up and echoed in the NT.
The “Redemptive-Historical Bible Reading Plan” would be a great resource for family devotions or for personal devotions. We’ll have copies of the plan available for a few weeks in the Central Park Lobby and throughout the year on the Discipleship Resource Shelf, across from the Family Ministries check-in desk.
You can use this plan as a guide to your Bible reading and/or with the audio Bible. (I listen to the psalms as I fall asleep each night.)
Each packet includes helpful instructions on how to use the plan. Pick yours up and start your journey through the Story of Scripture this week!
Persevere,
Paul Pyle
Pastor of Discipleship
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