28 December 2011

Bible Reading Companion



What It Is

A full set of one-page fill-in-the-blank worksheets that correspond with each day’s reading assignment that will get you through the entire Bible in just under a year (see notes under “What You Need to Know”). 
  
How It Came About

A couple years ago, I was looking for a way to encourage the members of our teen Sunday school class to get involved in a Bible reading program.  We offered this program (among other things) as a way for our young people to earn credit toward the cost of that summer’s youth trip.  Instead of asking the students to report on what they had read for the week, at the end of every Sunday school class I passed out a week’s worth of one-page assignments to correspond to the reading for that week. 

The program started with the New Testament then went to Psalms and Proverbs before going through the rest of the Old Testament.  In order to get the companion ready for distribution, I reworked the program so that it moves sequentially through the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, with each assignment corresponding to a calendar date.

What You Need to Know

1.   The original program allotted five months for the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs, and seven months for the rest of the Old Testament.  For that reason the Old Testament assignments tend to be longer than those in the New Testament. 

2.   You will also notice a difference in style once you get to the first of the New Testament assignments because that is where the program started.  It took some time before I developed a somewhat consistent approach to writing the assignments. 

3.   I did not use any certain method for the selection of phrases to include in the assignments, or words to leave blank.  In many cases, the selection is largely random and is designed simply to make sure you are paying attending to what you are reading and to keep you focused on the text.  However, in some cases, the words and phrases are indeed chosen to emphasize important truths; and in others the intention is to pique the reader’s interest by focusing his attention on something I found curious. 

4.   The program was designed to end on a Sunday, not the last day of the year.  For that reason, this companion ends three days early on December 28.  I hope you will forgive my not taking the great deal of extra time and effort to make the assignments of consistent length and style, as well as stretch the program to a full 365 days. 

5.   For that same reason (time), these assignments have not been proofread.  Throughout the course of the year that these were distributed in our teen Sunday school class, I corrected whatever mistakes were brought to my attention.  I am certain there are many more.  If you decide to complete these assignments and would like to notify me of the errors you come across, I would greatly appreciate it.  There is also no answer key.  If anyone would be interested in making such a thing (electronically) as they go through the assignments, please contact me, and I will be more than happy to have you do so. 

How It Can Be Used

Basically, any way you like.  If you are serious about completing the entire program, I would suggest printing the entire file (double-sided) and placing the worksheets in a large, three-ring binder.  I have wondered if this would make a suitable curriculum for a homeschool Bible class (except for the lack of an answer key)? 

Please feel free to contact me with your questions, suggestions, criticisms, ideas, etc.  May the Lord richly bless as you read, study, and practice His perfect, powerful, eternal word. 


1 Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Isaiah 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read…


Deuteronomy 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


6 comments:

  1. I am two for two on the fill-in pages and I can start an answer key if no one else is doing one for you. I will just keep adding to it. Thank you again for providing this tool and for exhorting us to be in the word. I do appreciate it!

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    1. I taught in a Christian school for twelve years. I think this would work great as Bible curriculum in a home school setting or Christian school setting. You've done a great job with this study. I've printed it off and can't wait to start studying it. I've reviewed it but have not started studying yet. Thank you for making this available!

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  2. Pastor David is everything he encourages others to be as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our church in Deland is blessed to have him in leadership with Brother James Knox. David and Lauren are blessings in so many ways including their talents as pianist.

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  3. Would make it my goal to live up to that word of encouragement.

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  4. Just saw this now. Wish I had seen it at the start of the year, but I plan to catch up and use it. Thanks for taking the time to do this Brother David!

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