We are a Community of Growing Disciples, Growing Disciples. Community Presbyterian Church 1555 Poli Street Ventura, CA 93001 (805) 648-2737 www.cpcventura.org www.facebook.com/cpcventura A Day in Thy Courts: A Bible Reading Plan Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalms 119:105
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Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. · a course that most fits their schedule, aims, personality, and level of faith. Plan 1—This course is designed to bring
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We are a Community of Growing Disciples, Growing Disciples.
Community Presbyterian Church1555 Poli StreetVentura, CA 93001(805) 648-2737
www.cpcventura.org www.facebook.com/cpcventura
A Day in Thy Courts: A Bible Reading Plan
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,and a light unto my path.
Psalms 119:105
Almighty God,Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
grant, we pray,that we might be grounded and settled
in your truthby the coming of your Holy Spirit
into our hearts.
What we do not know,reveal to us;
What is lacking within us,make complete;
That which we do know,confirm in us;
And keep us blameless in your service,through Jesus Christ our Lord.
the prayer of an early Christian
IntroductionNothing is more important or more vital to the Christian life than the regular practices of reading the Bible and coming to God in prayer. The Christian life is, at its heart and essence, a relationship with God. This relationship, like all our relationships, depends and grows from time together, conversation, honest sharing, love, respect, and trust. Time in Scripture and prayer are how all these happen. Setting aside time wholly for the purpose of being with God, to listen to him through his written Word and Spirit, to confess sin and failures and receive his forgiveness, and to share our joys, needs, and concerns, is how our relationship with him grows and deepens. Time given to God through daily reading of Scripture and prayer keeps this relationship from deteriorating into religion and ritual. It keeps the living faith from becoming Christianity. It brings understanding and provides guidance. It strengthens trust and deepens love. It builds courage as it dissolves fear. For these reasons and many others time in Scripture and prayer is vital to knowing God and growing in faith.
The Plan(s)This plan has a unique and intentional shape designed to aid success. Rather than simply starting in Genesis and moving page by page until the last pages of Revelation this plan has three or four different readings each day. There are several reasons for this: first, it is helpful to be reading both the New and the Old Testament simultaneously. This provides unique insights into both and prevents the New Testament from being untouched until the last months of the year. Second, the fact is that some passages of the Bible are “less edifying than others.” Reading the Bible cover to cover requires long stretches in portions of Scripture that are less relevant to the Christian life (Leviticus comes to mind). By splitting the readings this plan ensures that each day contains portions of Scriptures that are relevant, interesting, and helpful. Third, the Gospels—the most important portions of the Bible—are spread across the whole year allowing the reader to return again and again to the life of Jesus.
The plan laid out in these pages may be followed in two different ways. Both are good. Both will lead you through the whole Bible and help your prayer life deepen and become easier. Both provide a daily practice and plan. But each provides different benefits. This allows each person to take a course that most fits their schedule, aims, personality, and level of faith.
Plan 1—This course is designed to bring you through the whole Bible in one year and simply entails reading all four readings for a given day. This has the advantage of bringing you through the whole Bible in one year but requires more time each day and may make it harder to dive deeper into the chapters you are reading.
Reflections
Plan 2—This course is shaped around a two-year plan during which you will read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice. In this plan you will read three columns instead of four. In the first year you read Old Testament One, New Testament, and Psalms and in the second year you read Old Testament Two, New Testament, and Psalms. Less reading each day allows for a slower, more more careful approach but spreads the Old Testament over two years making it harder to remember details and see the big picture.
That being said, there is no right or wrong approach, no better or worse plan. The goal is to be in Scripture each day and to read the entire Bible. Whether this takes one year or two does not matter. So pick the plan that will work best for you.
Psalms and PrayerThe Psalms play a special role in this plan. While they will be read alongside all other parts of the Bible their primary use is to give shape, direction, and vocabulary to prayer. In other words, they are not only to be read, they are to be prayed! Thus each day’s reading will provide a short psalm or portion of a larger psalm that you are to turn into prayer. For example, the text of Psalm 23:
“The Lord is my Shepherd,I shall not want...”
...becomes a prayer:“Lord, thank you that you guide me
like a shepherd. Lead me today and be my guide. Help me to see and believe that in you I have all I need...”
Personal WorshipThe goal in all this is to create a daily time of personal worship. Like corporate worship on Sunday, this works best if it has a plan and shape. This need not (and should not) be complex but very personal and helpful. Begin with a brief prayer expressing your desire to meet with God and welcoming his presence. This may be followed by a brief time of confession, laying your sins before his mercy and asking his forgiveness. Music can help guide and focus our worship and you might listen to some favourite worship music or hymns. Read that day’s reading and then finish with prayer, using that day’s psalm as a start. Finish with thanking God for all he is and does and asking him to guide and lead you through the day.
Reflections
Hints for Success• Set a regular time that works well for you, fits your schedule, and will be free of interruptions. Write this time in your calendar and lock it in as an appointment with the Lord.
• Find a comfortable (but not too comfortable!) place for your meeting with the Lord. It should be private and free of distractions (driving through freeway traffic will not work!).
• Daily worship and time with God in the Scriptures and in prayer is the goal. If you fall behind, keep at it. If you can catch up go for it. And if you finish behind schedule you won!
• Keep a list of prayer requests. This prevents you from forgetting and allows a place to write down the answers you see. Some things on your list might be prayed every day and others given to a specific day of the week.
• Be disciplined but not legalistic.
• Ask God to help you succeed in this. At the end of each time of worship ask the Lord to help you and lead you for the next day’s worship. Ask him to speak to you through the Scriptures.
• If you have questions or need some direction or help please do not hesitate to talk with pastors Mark, Kent, and Wayne. We are glad to help you grow in this area and enjoy the wonders it brings!