The 2023 Five Day Bible Reading Program
Read the entire Bible or just the Old or New Testament in 2023!
Chronological reading plan helps the Bible make sense!
This special Bible reading system allows you to read the entire Bible (or just the New Testament) in one year while only reading five times a week. Five readings a week gives room to catch up or take a day off to focus on other Bible reading or spiritual disciplines, and makes daily Bible reading practical and do-able. Many people have successfully reached their goal of regular Bible reading using the Schedule and you can too!
The Old Testament readings are placed as chronologically as possible (even the Psalms are read where they belong in Israel’s history when feasible, and this is why some prophets appear to be “out of order”). The only exception is Job, probably the oldest book in the Bible, but placed at the Schedule’s end because it is hard to fit elsewhere. The New Testament readings space the Gospels out throughout the year to keep the reader constantly coming back to the life and teachings of Jesus.
Always do the reading in the order it appears on the Schedule. For example, if a reading from Chronicles appears before Kings, read from Chronicles first. Check off each day’s reading, and then check off each week in the Weekly Progress Register. You will be amazed at how soon you are deep into the year and still reading your Bible regularly! God’s blessings rest with those who will read, understand, and live by His Word. May this guide help you to that noble end. “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105).
Six great questions to consider as you read the Bible:
Crux
What is the crux (main point) of the passage? Can you sum it up in a word, phrase or verse from the text in front of you? How would you express it in a single sentence?
Context
How is your understanding of this passage shaped by what comes before and after it? In what way(s) does this text support the theme of the book? How is the passage informed by the Old Testament or fulfilled in the New Testament (check the cross-references)?
Characters
Identify the characters in this text. How do they act and react to each other? How do these interactions affect the dynamics of the passage?
Christ
How does this passage directly or indirectly point to Christ (promise, analogy or type)? In what way(s) does the text highlight the gospel and/or kingdom of God?
Curiosities
What is curious (surprising) about this passage? What would you not have known unless God had revealed it here?
Conclusion
What is the conclusion (application) of this text? Express it in terms drawn from or shaped by the passage. Remember, whatever this passage meant to the original audience, it means to us.
Helpful Tips
- Remind yourself weekly (even daily!) that the end goal is not to check off boxes or successfully execute a reading plan, but to hear God’s voice and know Him more.
- Keep a pen and paper at hand to write down questions, observations, thoughts for further meditation and prayer, etc.
- Do this in community. Invite your spouse, your kids, a friend, or a younger believer to commit to reading at the same time. Make plans to talk and pray together with some regularity about what you are reading.
- Bookend your reading time with prayer. Begin by asking God to give you “ears to hear” and a heart to trust and obey. Finish by turning some of what you have read into prayer.