On January 1st, 2010 I plan to begin a corporate bible-reading plan which covers the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice over two years. I’m a member of St Silas Church in Glasgow, and I’ve set up this blog as a central resource for those church members who want to join me.
This is a serious commitment with serious benefits. It is for people who struggle to read their bible daily, or who do not have a structured plan to get them through all of scripture. The corporate nature of it means that we will be able to discuss, encourage and support one another as we try to do this. It is not mandatory, and it is important that we are not motivated either by guilt or by self-righteousness. Our heart-motive should be love of God, and gratitude for the gospel. By doing it at the same time as others, we can hopefully help one another to keep this motivation, and steer clear of turning it into a godless religious observance (which is much harder work!)
The plan involves:
- daily reading of 2 chapters a day (1 OT, 1 NT/PSALMS)
- reading of D.A. Carson’s supporting notes (For the Love of God vol 1 and vol 2)
- Using the passages to guide your prayers
- Roughly between 20-40 minutes each day for two years
The commitment would require:
- A thorough review of your daily habits BEFORE Jan 1st
- Purchase (or free download & printing) of D.A. Carson’s book
- Registering your intent with specific people who will keep you accountable
If you are considering joining us on this plan, please do buy the first DA Carson book “For The Love of God”. It is available on Amazon or other online retailers, and can also be downloaded for free from http://snipurl.com/carson1 or volume 2 from http://snipurl.com/carson2 . I strongly recommend buying a hard copy for simplicity’s sake.
Though the plan will not mirror the church preaching topics, there will be resources put in place to help us to get the most out of it, and to help us persevere. A general meeting will be held in the church to outline the plan and ask questions on TUESDAY 28th DEC 09 (***provisional – check this blog for updates***).
This is a very exciting endeavour. I’m just reaching the end of doing it for the last two years, and it’s a hugely satisfying achievement, and I’m so excited about doing it all over again. God has blessed me in so many incredible ways as he has graciously revealed his glorious nature through his word, and by his grace I have learned to love God all the more because of this. While I recognise I am a slow learner and still a sinner in need of a saviour, I’ve learned that God can do amazing things with ordinary Christians who humble themselves and dedicate themselves to the study of his word.
If you would like to be involved, or to know more, please contact me NOW at bible@beatcave.co.uk . Please provide your details (not just email address: we need to know who you are and where you’re from!) and I will keep you in the loop.
I should add that the blog will be used as a useful online location to discuss our thoughts and responses with others in the group. I’m going to try and update it with regular brief posts and useful encouragements relating to the passages we are studying, and also DA Carson’s notes. Guest posts from a variety of people in the church will be solicited, usually as some kind of introduction to the book we’re about to begin reading.
I should clarify: the blog is not a daily update. It’s not supposed to replace the daily bible readings, and you’re not expected to regularly check up on it, like another chore! New posts will be emailed to you as and when they arrive (I hope!) and the purpose is just to help keep your interest piqued, and make this as much of a community effort as possible.
Hi Greg, Ruth Downes told me about this and I’ve just ordered the first volume. I need this. Thank you for encouraging me (and others) to do this.
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