Reading through the entire Bible takes discipline and dedication, but individual Christians and Baptist churches as a whole are finding that the practice is an important one for growth and learning.
At Westwood Baptist Church, Alabaster, in Shelby Baptist Association, Pastor of Small Groups Jay Gordon said reading through the Bible is a practice too few Christians participate in. It is one, however, that can contribute strongly to Christian growth.
“I highly recommend reading through the Bible in its entirety,” he said. “It is very valuable because it exposes the reader to God’s word in large context, which we often don’t get in sermons or Sunday School. It is then easier to spot recurring themes and to relate one happening to another.”
Judy Bates, a member of Gardendale’s First Baptist Church, in North Jefferson Baptist Association, said this sense of the “whole” picture made reading through the entire Bible valuable to her. Although she reads the Bible in other ways, reading it through chronologically gave her a better sense of its organization and historical timeline.
“Because I’m such an organizer by nature, reading it chronologically gave me the clearest picture of the historical timeline and, like reading any good book, gave me more of a sense of building to a conclusion,” Bates said. “Jesus also becomes more clearly the conclusion that all of the Old Testament had led up to.”
Bates said the experience was one she and her husband, Larry, decided to do together as part of their daily quiet time but that they didn’t set out to intentionally read the Bible cover-to-cover. They chose a one-year NIV Bible that put the Scriptures into chronological order and gave background information for each book.
As they progressed, they realized that reading the Bible in its entirety was a life-changing experience.
“Reading it through in order was a wonderful experience because it gave us both a better sense of timelines and correlations between books and passages and made it much easier to know who was contemporary with whom,” she said.
Used as group activity
While Bates has read through the Bible independently, Gordon said more churches are providing members with plans to aid them in doing so. There are plenty of programs available, and Gordon said it’s just a matter of choosing one then organizing it for a congregation.
“I had seen a number of read-through-the-Bible ideas before, so we just adapted one and printed it on bookmarks for our congregation,” Gordon said.
The church also offers activities that supplement the members’ daily readings.
Gordon encourages discussion about the program through the church’s home groups and individual Bible studies.
“Some of our home groups have read five chapters a week and gather each week to share how God has used the Scripture in their lives,” he said. “My own home group spent all last year doing that and it was a very rewarding experience.”
LifeWay Christian Stores currently sell a variety of Bibles that offer organized ways to read through the Bible in a year on a daily basis. Tyndale House Publishers’ Daily Walk Bible and One Year Bible, as well as Harvest House Publishers’ Daily Bible and Thomas Nelson Publishers’ Daily Bible are some of those offered in the stores.
Some online resources also provide read-through-the-Bible programs and offer everything from daily readings (which can be read online or sent to an e-mail address) to devotions that supplement the readings.
Resources for reading
The Southern Baptist Convention has its own resource for reading the Bible through in a year. Located at www.sbcpray.net/biblepathway, the online program allows those who register to receive a daily Bible reading by e-mail.
“Nothing can bring you closer to God than living daily in the Word,” the program’s Web description says. “If you have always wanted to read through the Bible, cover to cover, SBC Bible Pathway will help you keep organized and on track.”
However individuals choose to read through the Bible, the benefits are great.
According to Gordon, reading the Bible in its entirety gives readers a greater sense of the scope of the gospel story and also introduces them to stories, characters and passages they may have been unaware of before.
“It can expose people to verses they may have never read or even thought about,” Gordon said. “It can be a very enlightening experience.”
Bates has since passed her Bible onto others interested in reading the Bible through and now gives one-year Bibles as gifts for different occasions. It’s an experience, she said, that all Christians should at least try.
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