Starting A Daily Bible Reading Program

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i would like to start reading the Bible from cover to cover. does anyone have a schedule or Bible reading program that they follow, or have found, has helped them in doing this, any advice appreciated
 
As others have said in that other forum, Jeff Cavin’s Bible Timeline is a FANTASTIC way to start. His program focuses on the books that are narrative in nature, that tell the story in a linear fashion. It also shows where the other books of the Bible fit into the overall story.

As he points out, if you read the Bible as you would a novel, you will lose the story line since the Bible is really a collection of books and not necessarily placed in chronological order, rather they are grouped by type.

This website has a 90 reading program of those narrative books. You can also order a timeline chart, which shows, among other things, where the other books fit.

biblestudyforcatholics.com/download/category/2

If you have the time, I would highly suggest finding a parish that is offering this study. We are on our 3rd year of offering it at my parish, and people have raved about it. It provides such a great foundation to understanding all of scripture as well as our Catholic faith as a whole.
 
I’m doing a similar thing myself, but I’m doing it as a structured program. Have a look at www.cugn.org. The approach is as short, manageable academic courses online. You watch the lecture, do the reading, do some activities and reading about the book and finish with a quiz. Its not a Catholic organisation, so doesn’t include the inter-testamental books, but it is presented from quite a conservative viewpoint.
 
Here is my six step plan for daily Bible reading. 😃


  1. *]Turn on coffee maker.
    *]Boil water, add oatmeal, cook, pour in bowl (blueberries optional)
    *]Pour coffee into mug.
    *]Bring coffee, oatmeal and Bible to table. Sit.
    *]Sip, eat, read, repeat as needed or until bowl is empty.
    *]Put cup and bowl in sink. Soak pot.
    *]Repeat steps 1 through 6 until death.

    For me, that is daily reading.

    If something is interesting, I will note it on a whiteboard on my fridge for later study, but study is something else all together seperate from daily reading.



    That’s what’s on my whiteboard now and I’ll probably look into these verses later on during the weekend, but that’s study. Setting apart a time each day for just absorbing God’s word is one of the most important things in my life.

    For me, just being “In” God’s word, making it a part of my everday life, is different from study.

    -Tim-
 
rstegeman said:
As others have said in that other forum, Jeff Cavin’s Bible Timeline is a FANTASTIC way to start. His program focuses on the books that are narrative in nature, that tell the story in a linear fashion. It also shows where the other books of the Bible fit into the overall story.

As he points out, if you read the Bible as you would a novel, you will lose the story line since the Bible is really a collection of books and not necessarily placed in chronological order, rather they are grouped by type.

This website has a 90 reading program of those narrative books. You can also order a timeline chart, which shows, among other things, where the other books fit.

biblestudyforcatholics.com/download/category/2

If you have the time, I would highly suggest finding a parish that is offering this study. We are on our 3rd year of offering it at my parish, and people have raved about it. It provides such a great foundation to understanding all of scripture as well as our Catholic faith as a whole.
Click to expand...
👍👍👍
 
TimothyH said:
Here is my six step plan for daily Bible reading. 😃


  1. *]Turn on coffee maker.
    *]Boil water, add oatmeal, cook, pour in bowl (blueberries optional)
    *]Pour coffee into mug.
    *]Bring coffee, oatmeal and Bible to table. Sit.
    *]Sip, eat, read, repeat as needed or until bowl is empty.
    *]Put cup and bowl in sink. Soak pot.
    *]Repeat steps 1 through 6 until death.

    For me, that is daily reading.

    If something is interesting, I will note it on a whiteboard on my fridge for later study, but study is something else all together seperate from daily reading.

    http://timhollingworth.webs.com/img/whiteboard.JPG

    That’s what’s on my whiteboard now and I’ll probably look into these verses later on during the weekend, but that’s study. Setting apart a time each day for just absorbing God’s word is one of the most important things in my life.

    For me, just being “In” God’s word, making it a part of my everday life, is different from study.

    -Tim-
Click to expand...

  1. I really liked your approach, Tim! Like yourself, I read at breakfast. Recently, I worked through a bunch of bible commentaries, reading 5-10 pages each morning. I ended up reading about four commentaries a year for several years. These days I’ve been working my way through a series of commentaries on the Vatican II documents.
 
CONFESSION:eek:
I have never read the whole bible! 😊 But Now I am well on my way!:blushing: I try to read 2-3 chapters of the OT followed by some psalms, then 2-3 chapters from the NT. Actually, now I’m reading Romans, and it’s ONE chapter at a time, with a lot of HUH?
 
The Great Adventure/Bible Timeline is really good, but if you just want to read it cover to cover My Daily Catholic Bible might be the perfect choice for you. You can start it any time of year, and the readings only take about 20 minutes a day. There are boxes in the corner of each page for you to mark off after you’ve read it, and after a year’s time – you’ve read the whole thing!

It uses the Revised Standard Version. I don’t know if that makes a difference to you, but it’s one of my preferred translations. 🙂
 
oneyearbible.net/

"Welcome to OneYearBible.net

This website was created for the sole purpose of bringing you closer to God by giving you the tools that you need to keep yourself totally immersed in his word. This site will take you through the bible, in one year, two years, or at whatever pace you choose. One Year Bible will motivate you by keeping graphical statistics of your pace and effort. This site is now and always will be totally free. Sign up and get started today."

Totally free - keeps track of where you are. Many translations.
 
I have “The One Year Bible - Catholic Edition” – The entire New Living Translation with deuterocanonical books arranged in 365 readings – I read the day’s version before I turn out the light to go to sleep. Each day usually has a reading from the Old Testament – then a New Testament reading – then usually a reading from the Psalms and Proverbs. I find it very enlightening.
Also we just started a Bible study class after Mass on Friday’sat our Parish and I find the class very interesting.
 
Google also brought up this:

chnetwork.org/readguide04.pdf

which gives a one-year plan for the Bible and for the Catechism. There’s a box by each day so you can check off what you’ve completed (very handy for those of us who would probably end up missing days here and there; no confusion about where you are).

Either – or both, if you have time – would be very appropriate for our upcoming Year of Faith.
 
rstegeman said:
As others have said in that other forum, Jeff Cavin’s Bible Timeline is a FANTASTIC way to start. His program focuses on the books that are narrative in nature, that tell the story in a linear fashion. It also shows where the other books of the Bible fit into the overall story.

As he points out, if you read the Bible as you would a novel, you will lose the story line since the Bible is really a collection of books and not necessarily placed in chronological order, rather they are grouped by type.

This website has a 90 reading program of those narrative books. You can also order a timeline chart, which shows, among other things, where the other books fit.

biblestudyforcatholics.com/download/category/2

If you have the time, I would highly suggest finding a parish that is offering this study. We are on our 3rd year of offering it at my parish, and people have raved about it. It provides such a great foundation to understanding all of scripture as well as our Catholic faith as a whole.
Click to expand...
I second this suggestion. If you want to read the whole Bible just to “get it under your belt”, aside from being able to say you did it and gaining a glancing familiarity with the text, it’s not going to benefit you that much if you go this route. You want to get familiar with the Big Picture as a whole–after that, with that foundation, any other Bible Study you undertake will make so much more sense. The books of the Bible aren’t laid out that way, but becoming familiar with the thread of salvation history in those books is vital for understanding. I have led similar studies in my parish, and it’s a joy to watch the Bible come alive for your fellow parishioners.
 
Fidelis said:
I second this suggestion. If you want to read the whole Bible just to “get it under your belt”, aside from being able to say you did it and gaining a glancing familiarity with the text, it’s not going to benefit you that much if you go this route. You want to get familiar with the Big Picture as a whole–after that, with that foundation, any other Bible Study you undertake will make so much more sense. The books of the Bible aren’t laid out that way, but becoming familiar with the thread of salvation history in those books is vital for understanding. I have led similar studies in my parish, and it’s a joy to watch the Bible come alive for your fellow parishioners.
Click to expand...
I will “third” this suggestion. As Jeff Cavins pointed out in one of his talks, if you use one of those “One year bibles” you will give up around Feb/March when you hit Leviticus (GUILTY AS CHARGED). Reading the bible according to Cavin’s plan will give you a historical line from Creation to the Church. Then you can go back and read the prophets, law, etc. The parish next to ours is starting the Great Adventure Study in October and I can’t wait.

And I also agree, if you can find a Parish doing this, it will be well worth it even if you can only make half of them.
 
TimothyH said:
Here is my six step plan for daily Bible reading. 😃


  1. *]Turn on coffee maker.
    *]Boil water, add oatmeal, cook, pour in bowl (blueberries optional)
    *]Pour coffee into mug.
    *]Bring coffee, oatmeal and Bible to table. Sit.
    *]Sip, eat, read, repeat as needed or until bowl is empty.
    *]Put cup and bowl in sink. Soak pot.
    *]Repeat steps 1 through 6 until death.
Click to expand...

  1. Tim - I like your style.
    1. Show up at work.
    2. Log onto computer.
    3. Eat oatmeal.
    4. Check e-mail and read the daily Mass readings w/ Navarre Bible Commentary via Google groups.
    5. Get paid while reading God’s word.
    6. Work
    7. Attend Noon Mass.
 
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