Tips for reading 10 chapters a day

How do you read ten chapters a day? It's not as hard as it sounds.  Here are some helpful tips for reading:

1. Schedule a specific time of the day to do your reading. Just waiting to see when you can fit it in to your day will likely mean that it doesn't fit in at all. 
2. Break it down into smaller readings.  For some, 10 chapters at one time sounds incredibly long.  If your in this group, divide the reading into 2 chapter sections.  Read 2 chapters when you get up.  Read 2 more during your morning break.  Read 2 at lunch, 2 during an afternoon break, and 2 right before bedtime.  Reading 10 chapters in one day will not seem very difficult if you take this route.
3. Don't read when you are tired.  When I'm tired, it feels like reading two or three verses takes two or three hours.  You will read most efficiently when your are well rested and alert. 
4. Don't focus on finishing the passage.  Focus on enjoying and understanding the passage.  When you get into the reading, you will find that ten chapters might not be enough.  When I focus on finishing, even when I enjoy what I am reading, it seems incredibly daunting. 
5. Keep it up.  Reading is like exercise.  If you get out of shape, the exercise becomes more difficult.  If you read more of God's Word, you will also find that you can read more of other things as well, and that it becomes much less challenging. 
   

Celebrating Reformation Day Reading Schedule

During the Month of October, from the 4th to the 31st, we are reading the New Testament as a church.  This translates to about 10 chapters a day, with 2 days off.  Sunday, the 4th, we will hand out a reading guide during the Morning Worship Service.

The guide is a calendar containing the four weeks of the month, with suggested passages and a blank for the the number of passages read.  Each Sunday, from the 11th, to the 1st of Nov, we will tally the number of chapters we read as a church during the previous week.  Our goal is 4000.  We need to average 1000 chapters per week to meet that Goal.  That works out as:

• 15 people reading 10 chapters a day, or
• 18 people reading 8 chapters a day, or
• 27 people reading 5 chapters a day.

If everyone who usually attends the Sunday Morning Worship Service read the ten chapters a day for the month of October, that would total to 9,100 chapters of the New Testament.  My goal of 4000 chapters is not too high.  On the contrary, it is quite meager.

If you would like to print your own reading guide, click here for the PDF file. 

Celebrating Reformation Day

I love October.  This month marks the key event of the Protestant Reformation.  As a church, we are going to celebrate this month by getting our focus back on the Bible.  Several things will be happening:

1. The Church will read the New Testament in 28 days. (From Oct. 4th to Nov. 1st)
2. I will attempt to answer your Bible questions during the worship services.
3. We will watch the movie, Luther, at our family night.
4. We we do "reverse" outreach on the 31st. 
5. I will preach about the Bible during the whole month.  
6. We will put used Bibles on display. (Oct. 4th)
7. Memorizing Scripture

I have already received 4 Bible questions.  I will try to answer every question I recieve so long as answer it is possible in a short period of time.  (A question like, "What does the Bible say about prayer?" will get a simple answer like, "A lot." Ask more specific questions."

Here are the four questions already asked:

1. Where did Cain's wife come from?
2. What was the "mark" put on Cain?
3. Who are the "sons of God" in Gen. 6?
4. If Judas had asked for forgiveness, would he have gone to heaven?

If you have another question, you can added it as a comment to this blog entry or tear off the portion of the church bulletin that has a blank for a question and put it in the offering plate.

Happy Reformation Day (Oct. 31st)

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