Have you ever tried to read the Bible in a year? How’d that work out for you? I tried it once. I got behind after a few weeks, got discouraged, and stopped. Then I found a two-year plan. I stuck with that one a little longer, but still found that it left little time to wander into other passages that were not in the plan. Finally, I decided to look for a three-year plan and I’ve been doing it for almost ten years! I don’t mean that it’s taken me ten years to get through a three year plan. I mean that I’ve gone through the Bible three times in 10 years, and I’m on my fourth now.
I really think it’s important to expose ourselves to the whole bible with some degree of regularity. For me, I’ve found that every three years is enough and gives me the freedom to jump around to other passages of scripture when I want to, or linger in one passage for a long time, or read one verse and then stare at the sky for the next twenty minutes without worrying that now I’ll be hopelessly behind in my reading schedule.
So, about 15 years ago I found a three year plan on the website of some little Anglican church in England somewhere. I’ve lost track of that original post now and for all I know he stole it from someone else. But I’ve had enough people ask me for this, that I figured I’d share it here on the blog. I mentioned this in a sermon earlier this year and a number of people in the church really resonated with a manageable goal like three years. People are busy, but they do want to read the Bible. If you can give them a tool that won’t end up being another reason to get discouraged, they are exited to use it. So I share it with you here in hopes that it may benefit you or the people you lead.
A couple notes about format:
1. You’ll notice that it has a weekly assignment instead of daily. This is my adjustment to the original plan (which I no longer have). I just took the daily assignment and collapsed into a weekly assignment. I don’t manage my life by the day, but by the week. I get up early every day. On three mornings, I run 5-10 miles. On three mornings, I read the Bible and other things. On one morning, I go straight to church after getting up. But sometimes I have an early morning meeting I can’t get out of. Occasionally, I sleep in. For me, having a weekly reading assignment gives me the freedom to work through it at my own pace each week. I know that there will be people who will cry “What?? You don’t do devotions every single day?? Oh the horror!!” Being a student of history, I know that most humans throughout Christian history were too poor to own a Bible. Even if they did own one, they likely did not know how to read. And if they did know how to read, many of them worked 12 hours a day in fields or factories and had little time to wake up early and “do devotions”. Leisure is a relatively new phenomenon. Either God totally dropped the ball on this, or He gets that “meditating on God’s Word day and night” does not require an easy chair, a cup of coffee and a leather bound ESV, every . . . single . . . day. I’m comfortable knowing that on days that I don’t actually sit down and read, that I am in fact in prayer and meditation over God’s word just in the normal course of life.
2. It jumps around without any apparent order? Have you ever tried to read through the bible in the order we find it? It can get a little boring in parts of the Old Testament, let’s be honest. What I like about this plan is that it moves you around between Old and New and breaks up the Psalms in several places. To me, this keeps in interesting. Just when I think I can’t take anymore about skin diseases in Leviticus, I jump over to different book. The point is, by the end of three years, you’ve read the whole Bible, and it didn’t hurt one bit.
3. How should I use this? I’d suggest putting in your calendar in ICAL or whatever you use. I put it on Saturday, because that’s the day that is typically open on my calendar. After I complete an assignment, I put a mark in front of it. Like a % sign or & sign. Anything will work.
So here you go! Enjoy. Share with whomever you’d like to share it with. It’s not really mine anyway.
YEAR ONE
Week 1- Luke1.1-38
Week 2- Luke1.39-4:13
Week 3- Luke4.14-6.49
Week 4- Luke7.1-9.17
Week 5- Luke9.18-56/Gen1-8
Week 6- Gen9-18
Week 7- Gen19-26
Week 8- Luke9.57-12.12
Week 9- Luke12.13-15.32
Week 10- Luke16.1-19.10
Week 11- Luke19.11-21.28/Gen27-32
Week 12- Gen33-40
Week 13- Gen41-47
Week 14- Gen48-50/Luke19.28-21.28
Week 15- Luke21.29-23.25
Week 16- Luke23.26-24.53/Psalms1-4
Week 17- Psalm5-12/Acts1.1-26
Week 18- Acts2.1-5.16
Week 19- Acts5.10-9.19a
Week 20- Acts9.19b-11.30/Ex1-4.17
Week 21- Ex4.18-13.22
Week 22- Ex14-20/Acts12.1-18
Week 23- Acts12.19-16.5
Week 24- Acts16.6-19.22
Week 25- Acts19.23-22.29
Week 26- Acts22.30-26.32
Week 27- Acts27-28/Amos1-6
Week 28- Amos7-8/Hosea1-7
Week 29- Hosea8-14/Psalm13-17
Week 30- Psalm18-24
Week 31- Psalm25-29/1Thess1-3
Week 32- 1Thess4-5/2Thess1-3.18/Josh1-2
Week 33- Josh3-12
Week 34- Josh13-23
Week 35- Josh24/Gal1-5
Week 36- Gal6/Prov1-11
Week 37- Prov12-25
Week 38- Prov26-31/Rom1.1-2.29
Week 39- Rom3.1-6.14
Week 40- Rom6.15-Rom10
Week 41- Rom11-15.13
Week 42- Rom15.14-16.27/Ex21-24
Week 43- Ex25-31
Week 44- Ex32-38
Week 45- Ex39-40/1Cor1-6
Week 46- 1Cor7-14
Week 47- 1Cor15-16/Psalm30-33
Week 48- Lev1-8
Week 49- Lev9-16
Week 50- Lev17-25
Week 51- Lev26-27/Heb1-5.10
Week 52- Heb5.11-10.39
YEAR TWO
Week 1- Heb11-13/Num1-3
Week 2- Num4-10
Week 3- Num11-17
Week 4- Num18-25
Week 5- Num26-32
Week 6- Num33-36/Mark1-3
Week 7- Mark4-7.23
Week 8- Mark7.24-9.50/Deut1-2
Week 9- Deut3-9
Week 10- Duet10-22
Week 11- Deut23-31/Mark10.1-29
Week 12- Mark10.30-13.37
Week 13- Mark14-16/Judges1
Week 14- Judges2-8
Week 15- Judges9-18
Week 16- Judges19-21/1Peter1-2
Week 17- 1Peter3-5/Ruth/1Sam1
Week 18- 1Sam2-10
Week 19- 1Sam11-17
Week 20- 1Sam18-26
Week 21- 1Sam27-31/Eph1-4
Week 22- Eph5-6/Job1-11
Week 23- Job12-27
Week 24- Job28-42
Week 25- Psalm34-39
Week 26- Psalm40-41/2Cor1-4
Week 27- 2Cor5-11.15
Week 28- 2Cor11.16-13/Micah1-7.7
Week 29- Micah7.8-20/1Tim1-6
Week 30- Titus1-3/2Tim1-4
Week 31- 2Sam1-9
Week 32- 2Sam10-19
Week 33- 2Sam20-24/Psalm52-55
Week 34- Psalm56-68.18
Week 35- Psalm68.19-72/1Kings1-4
Week 36- 1Kings5-12
Week 37- 1Kings13-20
Week 38- 1Kings21-22/John1-3
Week 39- John4-6
Week 40- John7-10
Week 41- John11-12/2Kings1-4.7
Week 42- 2kings4.8-16
Week 43- 2kings17-25/John13.1-17
Week 44- John13:18-17
Week 45- John18-21.14
Week 46- John21.15-25/Isaiah1-9
Week 47- Isaiah10-22
Week 48- Isaiah23-35
Week 49- Isaiah36-39/1John1-5
Week 50- 2John/3John/Isaiah40-45
Week 51- Isaiah46-53
Week 52- Isaiah54-62
YEAR THREE
Week 1- Isaiah63-66/Matt1-5.16
Week 2- Matt5.17-7.29/Jonah
Week 3- Habak/Obad/Matt8-9.34
Week 4- Matt9.35-13
Week 5- Matt14-17
Week 6- Matt18/Jer1-11
Week 7- Jer12-25/Matt19
Week 8- Matt20-Matt23.22
Week 9- Matt23.23-26.45
Week 10- Matt26.46-28/Jer26-31.14
Week 11- Jer31.15-43
Week 12- Jer44-52
Week 13- Joel/Zeph/Nahum
Week 14- Lam/Phil1-2
Week 15- Phil3-4/Ezek1-10
Week 16- Ezek11-24
Week 17- Ezek25-32/Psalm73-76
Week 18- Psalm77-85
Week 19- Psalm86-89/Ezek33-36.15
Week 20- Ezek36.16-43.12
Week 21- Ezek43.13-48/Col1-3
Week 22- Col4/Phil/Ezra1-7
Week 23- Ezra8-10/Neh1-5
Week 24- Neh6-11
Week 25- Neh12-13/Psalm90-96
Week 26- Psalm97-105
Week 27- Psalm106/Haggai/Zech1-7
Week 28- Zech8-14/Mal1-3.5
Week 29- Mal3.6-4.6/James/1Chron1-2
Week 30- 1Chron3-14
Week 31- 1Chron15-24
Week 32- 1Chron25-29/Psalm107-110
Week 33- Psalm111-119.48
Week 34- Psalm119.49-123
Week 35- Psalm124-136
Week 36- Psalm137-138/2Chron1-12
Week 37- 2Chron13-25
Week 38- 2Chron26-33
Week 39- 2Chron34-36/Esther1-6
Week 40- Esther7-10/Eccles1-9
Week 41- Eccles10-12/songofsongs/2peter1
Week 42- 2Peter2-3/Jude1-25/Daniel1-2
Week 43- Dan3-9
Week 44- Dan10-12/Psalm139-144
Week 45- Psalm145-150/Deut32-34
Week 46- Rev1-7
Week 47- Rev8-14
Week 48- Rev15-22
Week 49- Re-do bible reading plan
