The goal of this reading plan is to slow down and study the Bible instead of merely reading the Bible. We would rather study the Bible well for a shorter period of time than read the Bible thoughtlessly for a longer period of time. Hopefully as we gain study skills the time and scope may grow as we develop into more mature Bible readers.

Below is a series of suggested steps for each day, a pdf of the schedule, and a link to the weekly commentary for each text. Feel free to share your thoughts or passages on Twitter of Facebook using: #GCFReadingPlan

View Schedule PDF

Suggested Steps To Slow Down and Read (15 minutes):

  1. Read the Text
  2. Pray that God would use the text to help you know him more.
  3. Write out the text
  4. Define words you don’t know
  5. Define words you do know (what does he mean when he says, “creation”?)
  6. Ask questions of the text (what is Paul saying here, and why is he saying it this way?)
  7. In your own words, summarize the text.
  8. Read the commentary on the verses here:
    1. Week One: December 14th-17th
    2. Week Two: December 18th-24th
    3. Week Three: December 25th-31st
    4. Week Four: January 1st-7th
    5. Week Five: January 8th-14th
    6. Week Six: January 15th-21st
    7. Week Seven: January 22nd-23rd
  9. Answer the question: What is this text trying to teach me?
  10. Answer the question: How does this text change the way I think or act?
  11. Write down a one sentence summary of what you will take away from this text.
  12. Pray that God would help you apply what you just read.

For Review Days (15 minutes):

  1. Read the whole text.
  2. Pray that God would use the text to help you know him more.
  3. Write out the text.
  4. Think on how reading the text as a whole helps you understand it better.
  5. What stood out in the bigger context that was lost in your individual study?
  6. What is the author trying to do in this section?
  7. Write a one sentence summary of the text.
  8. How does it help you see Jesus differently or more beautifully?
  9. Where does it change the you think or act?
  10. Pray that God would help you apply what you just read.