Book of Faith

Most Americans, religious or not, have heard of and read part or even all of the Bible. It is arguably one of the most often referenced books — or set of books — in our culture.

In its most basic definition, the Bible is a diverse collection of writings, divided into two main sections:

the Old Testament, which tells the story of God’s relationship with and work on behalf of the Hebrew people
the New Testament, which shares the story of Jesus, God’s Son, and his teachings, death and resurrection, as well as the experiences and faith of the first followers of Jesus

But its meaning — and its significance to the Christian faith — is far more complex and profound. As Lutherans, ELCA members believe that the Bible is the written Word of God. It creates and nurtures faith through the work of the Holy Spirit and points us to Jesus Christ, the living Word and center of our faith. And in reading the Bible, we are invited into a relationship with God that both challenges us and promises us new life.

A person can read thru the entire Bible in 72-76 hours. Most audio Bibles are in this range. This means that a person, reading at a moderate rate, can read thru the Bible in a year by reading less than 13 minutes a day!

We've developed this first time thru the Bible reading plan to avoid the common pitfall of getting bogged down in the details before obtaining a good basic overall understanding of the whole of scripture. With that in mind, we'll read the books in a certain order. To begin, we suggest getting four bookmarks and placing them at the beginning of Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, and at Luke. We'll then divide each day's reading into two parts, consisting of a reading from the OT and the NT. Every other day, we'll begin with a selection from either the Psalms or Proverbs (kind of like an appetizer), then continue to our Old and New Testament reading.

This reading plan also has space on the far right for family members to "check off" each reading as you finish it. Reading the Bible and discussing it as family is a wonderful and powerful way to better remember what you have read and explore together what how it speaks to you and may change your life.

You can download the reading plan here

We thank and give credit to Dei Gloriam ministries for the original materials from which this reading plan was created.

Websites on Lutherans, Lutheran traditions and thoughts, Lutheran silliness, etc.

A person can read thru the entire Bible in 72-76 hours. Most audio Bibles are in this range. This means that a person, reading at a moderate rate, can read thru the Bible in a year by reading less than 13 minutes a day!