At Rock Valley Bible Church, we have provided the church body with a Bible reading schedule that will take you through the entire Bible in a year. This past year and a half, my family has greatly benefited by reading through the Bible together according to this schedule. My heart as a pastor is to see others in the church receive a similar blessing. Rather than attempting to convince you of this benefit myself, I leave you to the words and examples of others. ...

George Müller
When George Müller was seventy-one years old, he gave some advice to younger believers. He said, “Now in brotherly love and affection I would give a few hints to my younger fellow-believers as to the way in which to keep up spiritual enjoyment. It is absolutely needful in order that happiness in the Lord may continue, that the Scriptures be regularly read. These are God's appointed means for the nourishment of the inner man. . . .Consider it, and ponder over it. . . . Especially we should read regularly through the Scriptures, consecutively, and not pick out here and there a chapter. If we do, we remain spiritual dwarfs. I tell you so affectionately. For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more.” (Quoted by John Piper on February 3, 2004 at The Bethlehem Conference for Pastors).

J. C. Ryle
J. C. Ryle gave the following admonition, “Read all the Bible, and read it in an orderly way. I fear there are many parts of the Word which some people never read at all. This is to say the least, a very presumptuous habit. ‘All Scripture is profitable.’ (2 Tim. iii. 16.) To this habit may be traced that want of broad, well-proportioned views of truth, which is so common in this day. Some people’s Bible-reading is a system of perpetual dipping and picking. They do not seem to have an idea of regularly going through the whole book. This also is a great mistake. No doubt in times of sickness and affliction it is allowable to search out seasonable portions. But with this exception, I believe it is by far the best plan to begin the Old and New Testaments at the same time,--to read each straight through to the end, and then begin again. This is a matter in which every one must be persuaded in his own mind. I can only say that it has been my own plan for nearly forty years, and I have never seen cause to alter it. ... Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are by no means those which make the most noise, and are most easily observed. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced. Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remember how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly the grass grows. There may be far more doing than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading” (Practical Religion, pp. 133, 136).

Robert Murray M‘Cheyne (and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
In 1842, Robert Murray M‘Cheyne, wrote up a reading schedule for his congregation to follow. His purpose was clear, “Those believers will stand firmest who have no dependence upon self or upon creatures, but upon Jehovah our Righteousness. We must be driven more to our Bibles, and to the mercy-seat, if we are to stand in the evil day. ... It has long been in my mind to prepare a scheme of Scripture reading, in which as many as were made willing by God might agree, so that the whole Bible might be read once by you in the year, and all might be feeding in the same portion of the green pasture at the same time.” He gave four dangers to such reading: (1) formality; (2) self-righteousness; (3) careless reading; and (4) a yoke too heavy to bear. He gave five advantages to such a church-wide schedule: (1) The whole Bible will be read through in an orderly manner in the course of a year; (2) Time will not be wasted in choosing what portions to read; (3) Parents will have a regular subject upon which to examine their children and servants; (4) The pastor will know in what part of the pasture the flock are feeding; and (5) The sweet bond of Christian love and unity will be strengthened.” (Memoir & Remains of Robert Murray M‘Cheyne, pp. 618-622). Early in his ministry, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones discovered M‘Cheyne’s schedule for daily Bible readings. For more than fifty years, he made it his practice to read through the Bible each year according to M‘Cheyne’s schedule (The Fight of Faith, by Iain Murray, p. 748).

Brad Koloch
Our family has benefited tremendously from the reading through of the Bible cover to cover in one year. Before embarking on the journey, I had some doubts. There were some books of the Bible I had never even read. Besides, there were parts that I thought would be boring and/or irrelevant to my faith, mostly the Old Testament. Besides, time was at a premium and I didn’t think we could fit it in to our schedule. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit convicted me of the weakness of these “excuses”. First and foremost, “ALL scripture is God-breathed” meaning that every book, every page, every word came from God and therefore must be vital to read. Second, Jesus didn’t find the Old Testament to be boring or irrelevant to His life. Neither did Peter, or Paul. The author of Matthew quoted Old Testament Scriptures with regularity. Finally, if I can “religiously” set aside an hour to watch the evening news every night, why could I not set aside time for the Good News? Our family devotions were focused around the reading of devotional books, which were topical and Scriptural. Yet they were not strung together nor organized in such a way as to really help my family to grow. Using the Bible itself, reading it from start to finish, has spurred us on to grow. We read, discuss, question, research and pray through the verses. We are on our second time through and there are plenty of things we have learned and will continue to learn as we read through every year. If you are wondering whether or not to participate in the reading, whether on our schedule or in your own schedule, let me urge you to prayerfully consider it. The Scripture has the words of Life. The revelation of God through the Scripture is just as important as the revelation of God through His Son, Jesus. If you have time to play that video game, talk to that friend on the phone, watch that movie, shoot those baskets, read that secular novel, surf the Web and yet not find the time to read God’s Word, you need to re-prioritize your life (I am talking from my own experience here). I pray that God would lead you to delve into His Word eagerly, humbly, and consistently. You will not be disappointed.

Gordy Bell
In 1984 my nephew was going to California to graduate school and asked me a question. I was rather shocked by his question because it had to do with reading through the Bible. The question was, “Uncle Gordy, have you ever read through the entire Bible?” It caught me off guard because I knew I hadn’t. I had studied through various books and taught Sunday School but I could not actually say I had. I said, “no, I actually haven’t.” His response to me was the most positive thing that happened in our conversation. He said, “I haven’t either, would you be willing in the next year to read through with me?” We used the “Through The Bible In A Year” Bible which was put out at that time by Tyndale House. That was the beginning of our reading through the Bible each year since 1984. Ruthie and I feel that reading through the Bible on the same schedule has been key to our daily living and conversations about what we have been reading. We sometimes comment on how we ever got along without doing this because it has had such a positive impact. It’s amazing how the Lord reveals new things each year that seem so pointed for us at the time we read them. We have appreciated RVBC having a reading program for all to be involved who have committed before the Lord to know more about His Word. We highly recommend, no matter when you pick up a schedule, to begin reading with those in the body who have committed to do this. We feel that as a church this brings unity, holy living and daily application of the Word that transforms our lives for the glory of God.