Getting Started

We’re almost through the first week of 2023, and that means through “Week One” of our new Bible Reading Guide. We’ll have more copies available this next Sunday if you still don’t have one — it’s not too late to start. To encourage you in this, here are a couple of FAQs (with multipoint answers) —

“But what if I’m behind already?”

If you missed the entirety of “Week One” you might wonder if the ship has sailed to be part of this plan. It hasn’t. Seriously. You have a couple of options for jumping in:

Option #1 — Start in “Week Two”

Grab your copy of the Bible Reading Guide this Sunday, skip to page 19, and start on Week Two. That would you mean you break into Genesis 9, Joshua 11–12, Psalm 9, and Matthew 7. If it bothers you that you’ve missed the chapters preceding those, then just cover those chapters by listening to them. The easiest place to hear the Bible audibly is through our app. Simply open the app and tap “Bible.” Find the desired passage and touch the play icon. You can even speed up the reading if it’s too slow (1.2x is my go-to audiobook speed). Through his approach, you could catch up on all the readings in less than an hour.

Option #2 — Off a Week Start

Grab your copy of the Bible Reading Guide this Sunday and start on page 3, completing the readings as their ordered. That would mean you’re going to be one week delayed from when others started, and that’s completely fine. You’ll have a chance to sync up weeks again in March when we roll out Part Two.

Remember the whole point is to get in the word. Open the Bible and submit your heart to the voice of God. That might mean you’re a week off, or that you’re only doing one of the four readings.

“What’s the best way to keep up?”

So you’re onboard. You want to use this guide and complete the readings, and you’re open to any tips for the journey. What is the best way to keep up with the guide and readings?

#1 — Find a consistent time and place.

Make this a habit. Mark out a set time and place every day where you’re going to use this guide and open the word. I’m partial to first thing in the morning (for too many reasons to mention here), but whenever your time might be, make it that time every day, in the same place. This will serve to crystallize the moment and make it part of just how you live, as regular as brushing your teeth and brewing coffee.

#2 — Read with others.

In this case, I don’t mean to read with others as in the company of others, like getting together and reading the Bible aloud together. (I do think that would be a powerful thing to do because that is of course how all of the New Testament epistles were first heard! — I’ve had an idea about doing an event like that one day: we get together and just read Paul’s letters, one after the other, different readers in succession, interspersed with corporate prayer and singing.) But what I’m talking about here is connecting with others who are following the same reading schedule as you. Many this is your Life Group. Maybe your spouse. Your roommates. Check-in on the plan throughout the week. Keep each other accountable and share your observations and questions.

#3 — Listen to the Bible.

As mentioned above, this is easy to do through the Cities app. I think it’s best to slow down, sit down, and read the Bible. It’s important to see the words and make visual connections. But also, there are times when hearing the Bible read aloud can be really good (and mobility can be especially helpful). 

For example, I got swept up in Hebrews a couple of days this week and I got behind in reading Matthew. I read a chapter at night to cover some ground but decided I listen to the entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) during my 10-minute drive to the building. Listening to it as one seamless sermon made new parts stand out to me, such as the verbs “ask ... seek … knock” in Matthew 7:7. In English those words are punchy, single-syllable words with endings that go /k/! They are short words that make their presence known (and, as it turns out, they’re a great translation of the original both in meaning and form — the Greek words end the same way too).

We are blessed beyond the wildest dreams of Christians in ages past, and in other parts of the world today. We can listen to the word of God with such ease. Take up and press play.

One More Thing

As you come up to page 17 and the first “Review” layout, check out this article to get the scoop on how it works.