A Unique Bible Reading Plan

Scripture | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

There is nothing that will stoke, shape, and transform your relationship with Jesus than consistent, focused, and intentional time in the Scriptures, the Bible. Though many of us know this theoretically, we struggle to implement it in the every day. Often, at least in my life, this is due to the fact that we don’t have a plan. I need some structure to my reading, otherwise it can devolve into a mere emotional exercise of “What do I feel like reading today?” So, if we’re discouraged, we go to Ecclesiastes. If we’re angry we go to Judges. If we’re happy we go to Philippians. If all else fails, we go to the Psalms. Having some sort of Bible reading plan can help keep our reading fresh, structured and moving forward. It’s helpful to sit down, open your Bible and know where you’re going.

Other Bible Reading Plans

There are many Bible reading plans available, such as these. Honestly, you can’t go wrong so just pick one that interests you. If you’ve never read through the entire Bible, I recommend that as a place to start and using a chronological reading plan to get a sense of the overall flow of God’s story in the Scriptures. Personally, I try to read through the entire Bible devotionally at least once a year, if not more, in addition to the reading required for my other studies, sermons, groups, classes, etc.

A Unique Bible Reading Plan

Over the years, I’ve used a number of plans but inevitably there were aspects to each I found cumbersome or less than ideal. So, two years ago I combined my two favorite readings plans to leverage the benefits of each – M’Cheyne Bible Reading plan and the Navigator Bible Reading plan. Yes, I am a Bible nerd. You can find the most recent version of this combined plan here.

Here are the benefits of this plan: 

• Read through the New Testament and Psalms twice and the Old Testament once each year. Many plans get your through the New Testament once and the Old Testament once over the year. The result, however, is that you end up reading much more Old Testament than New Testament which causes some imbalance.
• Read four different parts of the Bible every day. Reading various parts of the Bible every day helps you see the themes that span the ark of the storyline, keeps your reading fresh and prevents you from getting discouraged if you’re slogging your way through a single book (think: Leviticus).
• Reading is planned for only 25 days of each month. This is huge. I borrowed this from the Navigator plan. We all know how easy it is to get behind and how difficult it is to catch up. With only 25 days of planned reading each month, you have five catch-up days or five days for more specific study.
• Months are numbered. Understandably, most reading plans begin in January. However, that creates the feeling that the best/only time to start a year-long reading plan is at the start of the year. What if I want to start in September? The months on this plan are numbered so you can start at the front of any month.

Hope this is helpful as you grow to trust and treasure Jesus.

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam