Spiritual Practices: Scripture
We want you to know and love God.
What’s the best way to get to know someone? Any dating couple should tell you it’s by spending time together. But doing this with our Heavenly Father might feel a little intimidating, so we want to encourage you to spend time with the best resource we have to know and understand God: the Bible. Learning to read and comprehend the Bible and accurately apply it will take some time and effort on your part, but any good relationship needs time and attention. We want to encourage you to start where ever you are - read or listen to the Bible, spend 5 or 15 minutes, but no matter what you choose, commit to it!
Here are some resources- many are available online, in app form, as a podcast or as a book, and many are free! This is just a small sampling of options available to you, but we invite you to choose a way to read the Bible, learn about God, hear from him and become more like him as his words change your life.
The M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
by Robert Murray M’Cheyne
M’Cheyne was a Scottish minister who so loved God and his words that he created a plan to read the Bible and wanted others to earnestly know God. This daily reading takes readers through the New Testament and Psalms twice each year, and through the rest of the Bible once. This plan can also be expanded to 2 years to give the reader more time to invest in understanding the passages. Usually takes about 12-15 minutes each day.
Format: YouVersion App Plan or PDF
Geared for: Adults and Teens
What you need: free version on YouVersion or PDF
Cost: Free
Resources: 5 Good Reasons to Use the RMM Bible Reading Plan in 2018
by Tara Leigh-Cobble
Have you ever closed your Bible and thought, "What did I just read?" Or tried to get through all of Scripture in a year, only to run out of steam? Bible Recap podcast host Tara-Leigh Cobble is here to help! Walking you through a one-year chronological reading plan, she explains each day's passage—highlighting God's character in every book.
Format: Podcast, Books, or YouTube
Geared for: Adults, versions for Kids and Teens available
What you need: Purchase the book or free version on YouVersion
Cost: Free to $25 for books or companion guides
This devotional guides followers of Jesus in developing the habit of listening to God through daily Bible reading and application, as well as talking with God in prayer. The Quiet Time follows a 3 year reading plan that features every genre of Scripture, all the historical Bible books, and the entire New Testament.
Format: App or Spiral-Bound Journal
Geared for: Options available for age 4yo to Adult
What you need: Yearly or Monthly App Subscription or purchase Journal for each year
Cost: Free online version for 14 days, or $9.99 year or $21.99 for Journals
Links: Word of Life Quiet Time
The BibleProject creates content to help people experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. You can start with their How to Read the Bible Series, or check out One Story that Leads to Jesus- a plan designed by BibleProject to inspire you to read through the entire Bible in one year. This plan incorporates over 150 animated videos to engage you in the Bible’s brilliant literary design and flow of thought. Choose this one-year reading plan for an epic learning journey that helps you experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus.
Format: App or reading plans in YouVersion
Geared for: Teens and Adults (Children will enjoy videos too!)
What you need: App or reading plans in YouVersion
Cost: Free
Links: Bible Project; BibleProject App
Scripture Journals
Scripture Journals pair the entirety of individual books of the Bible with lightly lined blank pages opposite each page of Bible text, allowing readers to take extended notes or record insights and prayers directly beside corresponding passages of Scripture.
These thin, portable notebooks are great for personal Bible reading and reflection, small-group study, or taking notes through a sermon series.
Format: Physical Notebooks/Journals or Bibles with Note-taking Margins
Geared for: Adults and Teens
What you need: Purchase the NIV or ESV Journals on Amazon
Cost: Varies from book to book
The Chronological Bible
This Bible version allow you to read it in the order the events actually happened. You don’t have to be a Bible historian to appreciate the fascinating new perspective waiting for you.
Format: Book or reading plans in YouVersion
Geared for: Teens and Adults
What you need: Purchase the Chronological Bible or YouVersion app
Cost: Free (on YouVersion) or $12.99-$50 depending on version
Links: Amazon, YouVersion
YouVersion
Choose from more than 2400 Bible versions in over 1600 languages on your computer, phone, or tablet -- with many available as audio Bibles. Highlight or Bookmark your favorite verses, make Verse Images that you can share, and attach public or private Notes to Bible passages. Plans by books of the Bible, length of time or topic.
Format: YouVersion App
Geared for: Everyone including Kids App
What you need: YouVersion app
Cost: Free
Links: YouVersion
In-Person:
Scripture- Hearing + Knowing God
Check out the display table on Saturdays with examples of resources to help you read + understand the Bible