Making and sticking with a 2021 Bible Reading plan.
Reading Through the Bible in a Year
At the beginning of 2020, long before so many events changed the way we all work, worship, and worry :-), I decided to read through the Bible in a year. I had been focusing on some other studies and by December 2019 I was getting less consistent with my daily time in God’s Word. I wanted to make sure I set aside time to read the Bible daily during 2020.
I chose the Five Day Reading Plan, available at www.FiveDayBibleReading.com. I liked the plan for two reasons: it provides scriptures from the Old Testament, Psalms and New Testament each day, it progresses through each book (mostly), and it leaves two days (I used the weekends) for other study or catching up.
I finished up the plan just before Christmas by doing some extra reading while on vacation. Not only was it satisfying to accomplish the plan and my resolution, but I also realized the great benefit of having a consistent daily habit of being in God’s Word.
Choosing a Good Plan
Having an OT, Psalm and NT each day helps to find convictions and thoughts each day since there is variety in the readings. If the OT reading is mostly a genealogy, the Psalm for that day may focus more on a prayer need, or the NT scripture may cover a topic where I need to develop more conviction. (Note that the five day reading plan doesn’t always have a psalm for the daily reading, but often the psalm relates to the other scripture readings.)
Progressing through each book with consecutive chapters on consecutive days helps keep the continuity of the story of that book and the Bible as a whole. The five day plan does break some books up to better match the chronology. For example, it changes the order for readings in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles and includes readings from other books as they relate to the history of the kings of Israel. The ordering carefully helps reinforce the continuity and consistency of the Scriptures.
Finally, having a plan that allows room for other study or catching up is important. Life happens, as we found out all too much in 2020, and there are times I just didn’t keep up with the readings that week. Sometimes I had other priorities like preparing a lesson for our midweek service instead of reading from the plan. Having the weekends helped to catch up, but it also helped to have time set aside where I could review worship lessons or work on other topics during the year.
Many Bible reading plans are available: see here for some examples, and the Five Day Reading plan updated for 2021 is here.
HRC New Testament Reading Plan for 2021
As we move forward to 2021, the Hampton Roads Church leadership has set the goal of all the congregation reading through the New Testament this year. The plan, a calendar, and other helpful information are available on the Hampton Roads Church website. While we won’t have OT or Psalm readings, we’ll have time on weekends for catchup and other reading, and we’ll be having lessons on the New Testament as we read through. We’re also encouraging members to form haverim groups to discuss the readings.
Please join us as we read and discuss the scriptures this year. If you need help, see my posts for each day’s readings – I’ll do my best to keep up and provide daily thoughts and questions. If one of your resolutions for 2021 is to read your Bible every day, then may God bless you as you learn more about Him in His Word.