Into the Book
Bible Reading Plan
Grow your faith through consistent contact with the word
Start any time!
Begin any Monday of the year at week one
- Choose to read just one Testament this year or read the whole Bible
- New Testament schedule designed to progressively unfold the story and teachings of Christ
- Read one of the four gospels every three months, to keep Christ central in your reading time
- Old Testament schedule based on the order of the Old Testament in Jesus' time
- Read one chapter of the New and three chapters of the Old Testament every weekday
- Read a psalm every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Print a reading schedule to track your progress.
Read
Read our weekly previews of the New Testament readings.
Listen
Listen to our discussions of the New Testament readings.
1st Quarter
Torah | Luke-Acts & Romans
Goal: Lay the Foundation
It's hard to grasp a book as hefty as the Bible, without first getting the "lay of the land," so this quarter we'll step back and try to see the big picture — Scripture's central ideas and main events.
New Testament: Luke-Acts & Romans
We’ll begin our New Testament journey with Dr. Luke's two-volume work, Luke-Acts, which takes us through Jesus’ life and the first few decades of the church. We’ll end with Romans, Paul's sweeping explanation of the gospel that details many of the fundamental doctrines, laying groundwork for ideas we'll read later.
Psalms: Book One
Like the Torah, the Psalms divides into five books, each ending with an "amen." Book One (Ps. 1-41) consists mostly of David's psalms. The first two psalms introduce the book, identifying its purpose (Ps. 1) and theme (Ps. 2).
Old Testament: Torah
We'll start the year setting up the story of humanity's rocky relationship with God, and God's plan to bless all people through one man's descendants. Jews call the first five books of the Bible the "Torah," a Hebrew word meaning "instruction" (often translated "law"). These books are the heart and soul of the Old Testament. They introduce the problems of sin, death, and broken fellowship. But they also begin to reveal a solution in God's covenant with Israel, with its sacrifices and emphasis on faithfulness to God.
Podcast Episodes
Short summaries from each week in our reading plan
2nd Quarter
Israel's History | Mark & Early Letters
Goal: Understand the Story
Let's fill in the gaps in Israel's story and begin noticing how the New Testament works.
New Testament: Mark & Early Letters
Now back to "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ" (Mark 1:1). We'll read Mark — the earliest of the four gospels — and then dive into the earliest letters in roughly the order we think they came. Relish the fast-paced, action-packed gospel of Mark, who loves the word "immediately" (Mark 1:10, 12, 18, 20, etc.) almost as much as he loves relaying Jesus' amazing acts of power. And as we start reading some of the letters, try to put them in the context of the basic timeline we established in quarter one.
Psalms: Book Two
The second book (Ps. 42-72) continues to focus on David, including David's famous psalm of penitence (Ps. 51) and ending with the joyful realization that David's covenant blessings have passed onto his son (Ps. 72).
Old Testament: Israel's History
This quarter, we'll see Israel go from a homeless people to an established kingdom to a people in exiled captivity all over again. Don't miss plot points like entering the promised land (Josh. 4), David's anointing (1 Sam. 16), the temple dedication (1 Kings 8), the kingdom split (1 Kings 12), and the fall of both kingdoms (2 Kings 17 & 25). But the Bible really hinges on the promises to David in 2 Sam. 7 after the Ark enters Jerusalem in 2 Sam. 6. We'll also enjoy some of Scripture's most breathtaking prophecies in the book of Isaiah.
Podcast Episodes
Short summaries from each week in our reading plan
3rd Quarter
Prophets | Matthew, Prison Letters, Peter
Goal: Connect the Testaments
Start drawing lines from the prophets forward, from Matthew and the letters backward, and from every passage toward Christ — so that the separate readings for each day begin to gel as one story.
New Testament: Matthew, Prison Letters, Peter
These books should help us understand the Old Testament, but they should also help us understand ourselves. Look for your place in the grand epic as you read about the kingdom in Matthew, God's eternal purposes in Ephesians, and the royal priesthood and temple of living stones in 1 Peter.
Psalms: Books Three & Four
The third book ends on a dark turn (has God renounced the Davidic covenant? 89:39). But notice how Book Four (90-106) shifts our attention from David's line of kings (cf. Ps. 2, 72, 89, etc.) to celebrating God as King (cf. Ps. 93, 95-99). This collection, placed at the climactic heart of the book, reframes Israel's hopes after the exile and prepares us for the coming Messianic twist — the son of David who is God in the flesh!
Old Testament: Prophets
Sharp language and striking imagery can pierce your heart as the prophets — spokesmen for God like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and "the Twelve" (minor prophets) — blend a message of judgment and repentance with hopeful predictions of a glorious future kingdom.
Podcast Episodes
Short summaries from each week in our reading plan
4th Quarter
Writings | John, Hebrews, Revelation
Goal: Put It All Together
Keep at it down the home stretch, aiming to end with a better sense of God's will for you!
New Testament: John, Hebrews, Revelation
As we close out the year, notice how the first little book we’ll read, Jude, echoes many of the same points that we just read in 2 Peter 2. John's reflections on love, truth, and the Word made flesh are worthy of some extra quiet time to meditate and appreciate. Like a good sermon, Hebrews can light a fire of revival and faith in us. It also helps us see Old Testament ideas as shadows pointing to Christ. Finally, Revelation ends our journey where we began, with God's people eating the tree of life in his presence in paradise.
Psalms: Book Five
Psalms concludes in jubilant praise with five psalms (146-150) that start and end with Hallelujah!
Old Testament: Writings
The Hebrew Bible was divided into three parts: the Law (Torah), the Prophets, and the Writings — the largest portion of which was Psalms (cf. Luke 24:44). We'll read these "Writings" this quarter, starting with the wisdom books of Proverbs and Job. In Proverbs, listen for the voice of the wise guiding you like a father. Job captures a dialogue among friends (set as poetry) so pay attention to which friend is speaking, and try to find the point that its author ultimately wants us to get. Then comes a beautiful and diverse collection of books called the "Five Scrolls" — each of which Israel read aloud on one of its festivals. Finally, 1&2 Chronicles, the last book in the Hebrew Bible of Jesus' time (cf. Luke 11:51), begins with Adam and ends with Cyrus sending the Jews home from exile, giving us a refresher on covenant history and preparing us for Christ.
Podcast Episodes
Short summaries from each week in our reading plan
Why a 5-Day-A-Week Plan?
Reading through the Bible in a year is a marathon, not a sprint, so we designed this plan to give you the flexibility to make it to the finish line!
1. Room: Many people who read through the Bible in a year have other commitments, like Bible classes, or other topics they want to study throughout the year. For instance, you might notice a Bible word in your reading that you want to study further. The five day schedule gives you time on the weekends to dive into something else without competing with your daily reading time.
2. Routine: Most of us have a different flow to our weekdays than to our weekends. This plan can help you remain consistent by placing reading time in your daily routine. Choose a time — morning, noon, or night — that makes sense for you and try to build your reading habit into your regular weekday.
3. Resilience: If you get behind and miss a couple days, having the two day break lets you catch up before those days add up and it becomes overwhelming. Admittedly some of this is in our heads, but little things can be the difference between giving up and pushing through to keep reading.
4. Reworkability: Some people prefer to read only the Old Testament during the week and catch up on the New Testament or the Psalms on the weekend. The open days in the plan give the flexibility for you to find what works for you.
5. Rest & Reflection: As you go about your weekend, even if you don’t set aside time for reflecting upon the readings of the past week, you might find yourself meditating on what God revealed in those readings and how that applies to you. As my mind wanders in periods of rest, new insights often bubble up to the surface from what my heart and mind has given attention to during the week.
5 Tips for Reading
1. Keep Your Eyes on Jesus. The life of Christ forms the hub of each quarter's readings, as the New Testament plan begins a new gospel every three months. Hopefully, this helps us always keep his example and lordship front of mind and reminds us to look for him in any passage we read (Luke 24:27).
2. Notice when you start a new book. Each book of the Bible was first written as an individual document with its own themes and structure. To understand what God reveals through that book, it’s best to read that book as a whole in its original order. While we understand why some plans might break up books and sections of Scripture to fit themes and historical timeframes, we have aimed to keep books whole, so that you can read each in its inspired form. Look for turning points in narrative works. As we read Psalms in order, notice its thematic arrangement (no, the psalms are not randomly assembled!). And as we read multiple volume works together (like Luke-Acts, Ezra-Nehemiah, and the Torah), notice how the books build on one another.
3. Consider this a weekly reading plan. When you think of it as a weekly schedule, it’s less stressful to fall behind by a few days, and there’s more freedom to keep reading past the day’s allotment when you find yourself “on a roll” and engrossed in the book.
4. Try listening to the Bible. This can be a great way to keep up with the readings while driving, cleaning, or mowing. The YouVersion Bible app has free audio versions of most translations, and also allows you to change the speed of playback. Some passages work fine at 1.5 speed while others I might slow down to make sure I’m getting the point.
5. Feel free to try different versions. To add some variety to my reading throughout the year, I like to vary the version I use. Sometimes when my brain isn’t at its best, I’ll switch to an easy reading version, like the International Children’s Bible or the New Living Translation. I prefer to read challenging passages in a translation that leans toward formal equivalence (“word-for-word”), but the simpler language of a dynamic translation can be great for stories and poetry.