Scripture Reading Plans

Description

I know there are many Scripture reading plans available. In fact, you can see a list of them here. This particular set of Scripture reading plans exists to help students bridge into reading Scripture on their own, outside of additional classwork. You can either use these A) to track reading as you expand the number of Bible books read, or B) gradually increase from reading one chapter per school day to two and three.

This 16-page document includes an introduction similar to this one, a page of suggestions for possible sequences over multiple years, four pages of option overviews, and then a tracking page for each of ten Scripture reading plans.

Each option aims for 180 days of reading. Seven offer one chapter per school day with various ways to combine those for a two-chapter a school day schedule. Then there is one for reading three chapters a school day.

If you school fewer days than 180 days, you have several options. Plan ahead by crossing out the appropriate number of books. You can also simply encourage your student to double-up on shorter chapters. If your school year does not extend as long as you initially expected, finish reading whatever book has been started.

If you only want a Scripture reading plan for a single year, you may want to choose between Option 1, A Grounding in Beginnings (origins of Creation [Genesis], Israel [Exodus], the Gospel of Luke and several books formative for the Early Church [Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Galatians]), Option 2, The Four Gospels & The Pauline Epistles, or Option 5, Psalms & Proverbs.

If you want to plan for several years, you can use these Scripture reading plans in two ways. First, you can use them to select collections of books, growing in what Scripture has been read. Second, if you would like, you can grow from reading one chapter a school day into two, then three, building devotional reading endurance.

Please note that Job is the only book of the Bible not included in any of these reading plans. It is most easily understood speech by speech rather than chapter by chapter, and the length of those is not consistent. It would certainly make for interesting summer reading or a unit or Bible study!

Care was given to keep certain books together. For example, 1 & 2 Samuel leads into 1 & 2 Kings; Luke leads into Acts; and Ezra and Nehemiah are likewise paired. Sometimes the options are organized around a theme, such as the Major Prophets, which combine into 183 chapters or the Four Gospels and the Pauline Epistles add up to 176 chapters. Other options seek to explore additional books with limited overlap.

If you are curious, there are 1,189 chapters in Scripture: 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament. One can read the entire Bible by reading about three chapters every day for 365 days. One can read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms in eight or nine months by reading four or five chapters a day, following things like this Bible reading plan available through School of Discipleship or this Bible reading plan available through Kirk Church, a Reformed church.

There is no law that we must read Scripture every day, but reading Scripture is absolutely helpful and healthy, whether it is every day, every school day, etc. Related goals can include spiritual growth, biblical exposure, renewed understanding, and nurturing a particularly healthy habit. Please also note that, yes, high schoolers can and do read through the entire Bible, sometimes even multiple times prior to graduation.

The next page offer suggested sequence ideas, followed by option overviews, and a tracking page for each of the ten Scripture reading options.

Blessings!

Deaconess Mary J Moerbe