As believers in Christ, reading the Bible is of the utmost importance. Why do we read the Bible? There are many, many reasons. Some of the important reasons include:
- The Word of God is our food (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4; Jer. 15:16; 1 Pet. 2:2; John 6:35, 51, 63). Our spiritual life cannot survive without a daily supply of God’s Word.
- The Bible is God’s speaking to us (1 Tim. 3:15-17), and the way that God speaks is through the Bible. God’s speaking to us today is based on what He has spoken in the past in the Bible. So, if we don’t know the Bible, we will not be able to hear God’s speaking.
- To let the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16). The main thing God has charged us to do is to speak for Him (Matt. 28:19; 2 Tim. 4:2, 5; 1 Cor. 14:1; Acts 4:20). In order to speak to others for God, we need a rich constitution of God’s Word.
- To know the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the subject, focus and content of the Bible (John 5:39) from the beginning to the end (Matt. 1:1; Rev. 1:1; 22:13, 20).
We want to help you read and enjoy God’s Word. So it is very helpful for us to read through the Bible together with a common Bible reading schedule. Reading together keeps us motivated, helps us to be accountable to finish the Bible, and helps us understand the Word by discussing and studying it together. It also helps us get more out of God’s word, since we’re all reading and thinking about the same passages of Scripture at the same time.
Many people start reading the Bible but become overwhelmed by the number of books (66) or the number of chapters (1,189) in the Bible. What they don’t realize is that many of the chapters are very short, and that they can read the Bible in a year by reading about 3½ pages (10-15 minutes) per day.
Here, we have two Bible reading schedules, one of which is even easier than this! By reading about 1½ pages per day, this first schedule (3-year Bible reading schedule) will take you through the New Testament once a year, and the Old Testament once every three years.
The 1-year Bible reading schedule takes you through 1 chapter (or less) in the New Testament, and 3 chapters (or less) in the Old Testament each day.
To help our students enter into Bible reading along with us, the Bible reading schedules both start on the first Lord’s Day in September.
3-year Bible reading schedule–Download a PDF
This is our Bible reading schedule for 2021-22.
(And here is our Bible Reading Schedule for 2022-2023 and our Bible Reading Schedule 2023-2024.)
1-year Bible reading schedule–Download a PDF
This is the Bible reading schedule for those who want to read through the Bible once a year.
Both schedules read the same New Testament portion each day, to facilitate our reading together whether we are reading the Bible once a year or once every three years.
Our app is coming soon!
Tips for Bible Reading
1. Before each day’s reading portion, prepare your heart by spending a few minutes in prayer.
2. Although any time of the day is good for reading God’s word, the morning time at first part of your day is the best.
3. If you miss a day, don’t get discouraged. Keep up with the current day’s reading, and go back when you get a chance to read the portions you missed.
4. Find another believer to keep yourself accountable, motivated and successful. The Christian life was not designed to be lived alone. Don’t be surprised when it doesn’t work that way!
5. Share your enjoyment of Christ with others! All of the grace and light God gives us personally is for the Body of Christ and for others’ encouragement, consolation, and building up. Don’t keep it to yourself!
6. Any other struggles you encounter are opportunities to experience the love and supply of the Body of Christ. Open up to those around you for prayer and you will be amazed at what God will do. You may also be surprised that you are not alone in your struggles. We’re in this together!
