The Bible consists of 66 books, written by over 40 human authors, over the span of 1,500 years, yet it has one unified message: God saves sinners! A great way to grasp the big picture of the greatest story ever told is to read all of it in a short amount of time. Therefore, Gospel City we want to challenge you to join our staff as we embark on this journey to read the entire Bible in 100 days.
This is an all-in moment for our church. We are going to read and pray and persevere together. Some of you have never read the whole Bible before, and we think the end of 2020 is a great time to change that. Others of you are comfortable with studying God’s word and meditating on smaller portions of Scripture, but the pace of this reading plan intimidates you.
We want to encourage you with the fact that the best way to dive in and study specific books, chapters, or verses of the Bible is to understand how it all fits into the big picture. Therefore, this is not merely a competition to pass the time. We pray that beholding God’s story of salvation from beginning to end in 100 days will change the way you read the Bible for the rest of your life.
ARE YOU IN?
Remember, we’re in this TOGETHER. We’ll send you weekly encouragement, including overview videos from Pastor Trent & others.
Bookmark + Downloadable PDF
We’ve put together a handy bookmark for you to keep in your Bible. This will allow you to track your progress and keep everyone on the same page . . . literally. 🙂 Unlike most entire-Bible reading plans, ours is organized canonically, instead of topically (which is the order you find in your copy of the Bible).
Copies of the full-color 5×7 postcard bookmark are available in the lobby, and at the church office reception on weekdays. Come pick one up.
OR—you can download and print a black & white 8.5×11 at home if you’d like.
Tips from Pastor Trent
Why the whole Bible in 100 days?
- The Bible is not a string of wise sayings, it is one big story. Therefore, the best way to grasp the whole picture is to read all of it in a short amount of time.
- The goal is to see the meta-narrative and get the “10,000 foot view.” Understanding the big picture is the best way to give yourself a framework to know what you are reading as you zoom in and read the Bible chapter by chapter.
- You will not have time to slow down and meditate. Make notes regarding what you want to go back and dive into in 2021. If you persevere and run this race, it will change the way you read your Bible for the rest of your life.
Why this Order?
- The Old Testament in our English Bibles is ordered topically (Law, History, Wisdom Literature, Prophets). While the Hebrew Bible possesses all the same books that our Old Testament does, the order is different (Law, Prophets, and Writings).
- We are going to follow the order of the Hebrew Bible. This order is more chronological and it will help us make important connections as we read the Bible as one big story.
Practical Tips for How to do This:
- Pray for strength and perseverance. Reading your Bible is spiritual warfare.
- Memorize and pray Psalm 119:18 before each reading. The Bible is not boring, dry, or confusing. It is the Word of the living God, and every word (including Leviticus) is important. Therefore, pray for eyes to see. There are treasures on every page.
- Know that this will cost you something. Consider what you need to give up.*
- Get an accountability partner. Pray for each other and check in with each other daily.
- Consider breaking it up by reading some in the morning and some at night.
- Resist the temptation to listen to it.
- Beware of the distractions that will come up if you read it on your phone.
- Resist the temptation to skip a day. If you do miss a day, make it up on the weekend.
Resources To Help Guide You:
Make sure to sign up to receive access to weekly resources.
- Each week, we’ll send you a weekly video update where we will review what we have read and look ahead to where we are going.
- We’ll provide a weekly overview of what you will read over the next 7 days. This will include links to the corresponding Bible Project videos, which will provide great overviews of each book of the Bible.
- Look out for bonus content, too, like downloadable phone wallpaper to keep track of your reading!
Helpful Links
Speaking of making time and removing distractions, some of you may have to not only clear your schedule, but unsubscribe from some things. If you want to steward your time (and money) well over these next 100 days, here are some links to cancel or unsubscribe from some media services that are dependent upon your attention: