Bible Reading Plan

Dear Kaleo Family,

The New Year is upon us and we are reminded of God's grace and blessings to our congregation. We have witnessed brothers and sisters in Christ move from a nominal commitment to Christ to a deeper understanding of the Gospel which has brought them closer to Christ. We have also been blessed to see God's Spirit working in the hearts of those who did not previously know Him but now have come to faith in Him and have received God's gift of salvation. The stories are incredible, and I'm looking forward to more and more of them this next year.

As I have thought about the Gospel and how we preach it to ourselves and others, it has become one of my deep desires that our church would be more saturated in God's Holy Word, wherein the Gospel is most thoroughly and clearly revealed. I long to see each person who calls Kaleo home so soaked in Scripture that, as it has been said of the Puritans, when our fingers are pricked we bleed God's Word. Without personally being steeped in God's Word, the Gospel can become to us yet another catch-phrase among many that are used within Christianity, with only few who truly understand the meaning of the word and the power that it is described to have.

With this is mind, I ask that we become far more intentional as a church in reading through God's Word together as a family. I have surveyed many reading plans that would be beneficial to our church, but have chosen the Mc'Cheyne Daily Bible Reading Schedule for our church to follow through this next year because I think it will give us the fullest panorama of historical redemption. I pray that we would put aside our reasons for not being able to follow this plan and focus on our great God's glory as we seek to know Him and His Gospel more and more. I truly believe that our souls will be nourished and we will be blessed as we travel together through the Bible in one year.

ADVANTAGES

  1. We will read through the whole Bible in the course of one year. By the end of 2008 we will have read the entire Old Testament once and the New Testament and the Psalms twice. I have a great concern that many in our church family have never read the whole Bible, yet we are told in God's Word that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect." If we ignore large sections of Scripture, perhaps even entire books of the Bible, we will be malnourished and in many ways immature Christians.

  2. We will not waste time trying to decide what to read each day. Often we get stuck trying to figure out what to read, only to get frustrated and end up reading the same familiar passages again and again. This is like a weight-lifter who only works out one arm until it becomes disproportional to the rest of his body. With this plan, we will not only save time, we will systematically work through all of God's Word without exception.

  3. We will have a regular plan for parents to read through the Bible with their children. This will give us time to prepare in advance what we will discuss with our families, and husbands will have the opportunity to pick out two or three points of application from the text being read. This will teach the men to study and to be equipped to explain God's Word to their wives and families. This will also allow singles in our church to get together and discuss the text for that day instead of focusing solely on superficial conversations. The Word of God should prompt us to discuss it with one another and meditate upon it ourselves. At times you may be the mature Christian helping the newer Christians to understand the things of God and, at other times, you will need to ask a more mature Christian to help you better understand the chapter, passage, or verse.

  4. The elders of Kaleo will know what part of the Bible the congregation is reading so that they can better lead God's flock. They will be able to speak more pointedly and with greater depth if they know what passage of Scripture you are reading. This will make counseling more effective and help the elders provide words of encouragement or reproof as we all look at the same chapters together each day.

  5. Our unity in the Gospel will become sweeter and deeper. We will be led by God's Word to think of each other and pray for each other as the Holy Spirit not only convicts our own hearts, but leads us to prayer and acts of love and mercy towards one another. The Word of God is the handle by which the Spirit guides us. If the handle is large, there is much to work with-if the handle is small, we are left with our opinions and emotions to guide us and not God's Word. The Spirit of God loves to work into our hearts the very Word He inspired. Our prayers will become more effective as we are thinking about the same passage together each day. This will cause us to join together as Christ's body as we give our common petitions to Christ.

Though the advantages far outweigh the dangers, I feel it is necessary to mention some potential pitfalls we may experience.

DANGERS

  1. Formality: Any time we begin to do something regularly, it can quickly deteriorate into a monotonous duty which becomes lifeless and ineffective. We will need to guard against the rotting decay of duty religion as we commit to this plan.

  2. Self-righteousness: Some may commit so deeply and read so consistently that they become puffed up about their accomplishment and look down at others who seem to struggle more than they. This attitude is so contrary to the Gospel that those who engage in such self-righteousness may find that they do not really understand the Gospel even though they are reading it again and again. We will need to help each other by encouraging one another with the motivation of grace rather than competition.

  3. Disrespecting God's Word: Very few in our day tremble at God's Holy Word. Since our attitude to God's Word and our reading habits are often quite poor, it is no surprise that we may read the Bible carelessly or may forsake it altogether so that we can get other things accomplished which at the moment seem more important to us. Let me assure all of you, there is no greater knowledge than the knowledge of God, and there is no greater goal than for each of us to draw nearer to Him daily. Whatever may press in and compete for our attention, there is only One truly deserving of our undivided attention and allegiance-God Himself as revealed in His Word. Let us not become weary in well doing. If you blow it one day, just pick up the following day and do not become crippled by guilt and shame. If you miss a week, confess this to your Father in Heaven and pick up on that day. This is like a diet: if you break your diet for a day, the best thing to do is simply to start afresh the next day. If you find that you've only read three quarters of the Bible in a year, this may be three quarters more than you would have read had you not committed to this plan.

Yes, there are dangers to committing to this plan, but the dangers of never committing are far more destructive. Let us not take our commitments lightly, but let us also not be so afraid to commit that we develop "analysis paralysis."

DIRECTIONS

  1. We will begin this plan on January 2, 2007 and will hand out bookmarks every month. Please follow the text for that day and if you miss a day, pick up on the day that we are on. The goal is to read the same chapters together each day as a church family.

  2. The columns of the plan (as shown on the back of bookmark) contains the days of the month. The first section contains the chapters to be read with the family. The next section contains the portions to be read in private. In total you will read approximately four chapters each day-two with your family and two in private. If you are single, feel free to read the first two chapters with your friends or simply read all four chapters by yourself.

  3. The head of the family should get ready for family worship time by reading over the chapters in the family column ahead of time, marking two or three of the most prominent verses upon which to focus, and preparing a few simple questions for discussion.

  4. Let the conversation at dinner turn to the chapters read. Every meal will be an opportunity to grow in our understanding of God's Word.

  5. Let God's voice be the first we hear in the morning. Mark two or three of the richest verses and pray over every line and word of them. Mark up you Bible with notes or underlines to reflect upon later.

  6. Above all, use the Word as a lamp to your feet and a light to your path, your guide in perplexity, your armor in temptation, and your food in times of faintness. Hear the constant cry of the great Intercessor: "SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH: THY WORD IS TRUTH."

This plan and many of the suggestions are taken from Robert Murray Mc'Cheyne's Daily Bible Reading Plan. I thank men like Pastor Mc'Cheyne who devoted themselves so fully to God's glory and His people. He is an inspiration to me, and I pray that we join with those he shepherded in the 1800s who also committed to being steadily fed by God's Holy Word.

In Christ,

Pastor David Fairchild
Kaleo Fellowship of Christ

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