Bible Reading Plan for 2010
Pretty much any Christian who has lived for a little while as a Christian can look back at their lives and recognize that the seasons of life when they’ve known the most blessing are those seasons when they’ve been most faithful to read through the Bible. That’s certainly been the case for me! You look at life through an altogether different set of eyes when your mind is being renewed and transformed by the word of God.
What better New Years resolution could there be than to spend more time hearing from God in his word?
As you may or may not remember, last year I posted a Bible reading plan that I had put together. I was thrilled to have a few brothers and sisters eager to use it.
This year I made a few revisions to that plan and we’ve offered it to the whole church to see if anyone would like to read along with us. I thought I’d post the new plan here for this year for any more people who are still looking for a Bible reading plan for 2010.
As with last year, there are two versions, one for reading through the Bible on your own and one for reading through the Bible with your spouse.
While there are certainly myriads of Bible reading plans out there, I’ve found this one pretty helpful. Here are some of the features of it.
- You will find that you are reading through the OT on your own, and the NT together (if you do the couples plan)
- OT prophets are placed in (roughly) where they would have ministered chronologically. This helps break up the monotony of reading through huge chunks of narrative and prophets, by intermixing the two. It also helps you understand the historical and redemptive context for the prophets.
- The NT is organized into bodies of literature. You begin with the the Johannine body of literature (all the books written by John). Then you read Matthew and the other books written particularly for Jews. Next you read through Luke-Acts, you read through material written for Gentile audiences. Finally, there is Mark and Peter.
Overall, the variety and structure helps to ‘change things up’ enough that it doesn’t feel like every other time you’ve tried to read through the Bible. The main changes from this year over last year are the ordering of the NT books and some of the prophets have been placed differently.
Let me know if you’ve got any questions / comments / suggestions for improving the plan for next year!
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January 8th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Hi Julian,
I read about your Bible reading plan from Challies’ website.
The plan sounds awesome!
Unfortunately, the links you put above are being blocked by China’s government.
Could you please e-mail me a soft copy instead?
Thanks so much for your time.
in Christ,
Cahyadi
Shanghai
January 9th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Julian,
Greetings in Christ dear brother. After looking around on your blog here, I realize we have much in common. I am excited that I found your blog. I rejoice to see this bible reading plan and people who are excited about using it. I have one that I use which is a little different. I found out about it while I was at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis MN. Here is a link to my post and from there you can “hitch a ride” over to Bethlehem’s Site if you want. http://jasonmshort.blogspot.com/2010/01/bible-reading-and-new-year.html
I will be comming back. God Bless,
Brother Jason
January 14th, 2010 at 9:32 am
[...] the Horn – 1.14.10 Posted by Steve Published in Culture Bible Reading Plan for 2010 If you don’t have a Bible reading plan, it’s still early enough to start. [...]
January 19th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Found your reading plan through the Blazing Center. Excited to start! This may be a dumb question, but why do bible reading plans have you read from the OT and NT on the same day instead of reading through OT and then NT? Just curious. Thanks again for this valuable tool. Listened to Piper’s message about enjoying the bible and was definitely a kick in the pants to get going!
~Stephanie Woods
January 22nd, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Cahyadi – I’ve e-mailed that file. I hope it is a blessing to you, brother!
Jason – Thanks for the links!
Stephanie – I can’t answer for all Bible reading plans, but I can attempt to offer an explanation for mine. In my case it’s because I find that since the OT is so much larger, I would spend most of the year there. I love the OT, but I can sometimes find it laborious (and even discouraging) to read month after month in the OT. Plus, I think that it is wise for Christians to be regularly in the NT, since that’s where Jesus and the gospel are most clearly displayed. So my reasons are both pragmatic and theological, I think. But it’s not an issue I’d be willing to die over, that’s for sure!
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Hi Julian,
Yes, I have received it.
Thank you for sharing the plan with us.
God bless!
February 20th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Psalms 1: 1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.