A Note from Pastor Andrew
December 2023
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24
Around this time each year, we look back and reflect on the past year and look forward to the next, anticipating what might come. We hope for growth, for success, for happiness, for stability, for peace, and for joy. In the verse above, our Lord Jesus tells us that stability in life comes from hearing and doing His words, but this stability doesn’t come from within us, it comes from being formed by God; through hearing and doing his living and active Word. In Scripture, we encounter the living God, we hear of his glad tidings of salvation, and we learn how to know and enjoy Him more through walking in His ways by his grace.
These convictions lie behind our pastoral encouragement each New Year to be in the Word, and to be in the Word by using a Bible reading plan. It is only by God’s grace that anyone responds in faith and obedience to God’s Word, but when we consider reading Scripture, we must think about what we bring to this activity ourselves. Consider Matthew 7:24 once more. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them…” In order to do the Word, we need to be familiar with it, and to be familiar with it, we need to spend time in it each day. We need to spend time, not just in parts of the Word, but in the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). This is why we promote Bible reading plans. But even if we spend time in the Word each day, we could still miss something important: our heart disposition in coming to the Word. The way in which we read and study the Bible is essential. If we do not approach it with soft, humble hearts, then we will not do what it says. If we sit above the Word, then we will only do what we judge to be good in it. If we do not view the Word as authoritative, then we will not submit to it when it says something we don’t like. So, this year, I want to encourage you in these four dispositions:
Go to the Word prayerfully. Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end (Ps. 119:33). Each time you go to the Word, ask God to speak to you, instruct you, and lead you.
Go to the Word humbly. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. (Ps. 119:131-132). Humble yourself from being wise in your own eyes and admit your need for God’s truth and grace.
Go to the Word desperately. Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life! (Ps. 119:40). Read also Peter’s words to Jesus in John 6: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God. (Jn. 6:68-69). We need life, and by His Spirit, God communicates and imparts this life through His living Word.
Go to the Word expectantly. Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law (Ps. 119:18). When you read God’s Word, expect God to work by His Spirit to reveal Himself to you, work on you, and use you.
In addition to offering 4 different Reading Plans (listed and described below; printed versions of some of these also available in the narthex), we will also be purchasing a short book that expounds the topic of our heart posture toward the Word for you to pick up and read. If you finish reading it and would like to return it to the bookshelf for someone else to read, feel free to do so.
Last year, Spencer wrote a wonderful note on Scripture reading which you can re-read here. He offers more extensive guidance than I have provided in this note.
I’ll finish by encouraging you to imagine for a moment. Imagine what God might do if we were people who went to the Word this way in 2024. Imagine if we didn’t just do this individually, but we if did this in our homes with our spouses, families, small groups, friends, and neighbors. Imagine what God might do if we sought to not just read and hear the Word but to do it by His grace. When I imagine these things, I get excited, because I imagine many things that please God and bless people. But don’t spend too much time imagining: pray, take up a reading plan, take up your Bible, and read!
May God’s Holy Spirit allow you to experience the wonderful things that God imparts to us in His Word this year!
With love in Christ,
Pastor Andrew
2024 Suggested Bible Reading Plans
Daily Bible Reading Guide (American Bible Society) [VIEW PDF]
10 minutes / 1 chapter per day
Every month’s readings are based on a theme.
Special readings for Lent, Advent, and other significant days.
Thematic Bible Reading Plan (DesJardins) [VIEW PDF]
30 minutes / 2-4 chapters per day
Developed by Craig DesJardins of Faith Presbyterian Church in Tacoma.
Read the whole Bible in a year.
Aligned to help you make associations between different parts of Scripture.
M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan [VIEW PDF]
45 minutes / 4-5 chapters per day
By far one of the best and most popular reading plans.
Takes you through OT once; NT and Psalms twice in a year.
If you select first 3 readings only, you can read the whole Bible in a year.
Click here to read Don Carson’s article on The Gospel Coalition website about “The Excellencies of the M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan.”
Navigators Book-at-a-Time Bible Reading Plan [VIEW PDF]
The first reading alternates between Old and New Testament books with the Gospels spread throughout the year.
The second reading takes you through a chapter of the wisdom literature and Isaiah.
You can begin at any point of the year.
Each month consists of 25 readings. You’ll have a few extra days each month to meditate more deeply on something that was significant to you in the past week, to catch up on missed readings, or to revisit favorite passages.
Pastors’ Bible Reading Exhortations Archive
Pastor Spencer – December 2022
Pastor Shiv – December 2020
Pastor Shiv – December 2019