We believe the primary goal of the Christian life is personal transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29). One of the primary means of transformation is being sanctified by the Truth – the Word of God (John 17:17).
Our Christian faith is founded on the truth contained in God’s Word. Those foundational truths and beliefs form the doctrines of our faith. Building your faith upon sound doctrine is an essential ingredient for every fully functioning follower of Jesus.
Therefore, we’re excited to offer the 2023 Bible Reading Plan: Bible Doctrine.
While you won’t read the entire Bible in one year, this 5-day plan will guide you through the Scriptures as they point to 8 essential doctrines of the Christian faith: theology (study of God), anthropology (study of man), Christology (study of Jesus Christ), Pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit), soteriology (study of salvation), ecclesiology (study of the Church), and eschatology (study of the End Times).
Lastly, we will be incorporating this Bible reading plan into our weekly worship services as well. Each month of the year will have a different theme and the schedule will be as follows:
- January – God is Omnipotent
- February – God is Omniscient
- March – God is Omnipresent
- April – Anthropology
- May – the Word of God
- June – Christology
- July – Christology
- August – Pneumatology
- September – Soteriology
- October – Soteriology
- November – Ecclesiology
- December – Eschatology
Questions? Contact Pastor Brett
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WANT TO DIG DEEPER?
There’s a good rule of thumb when it comes to the Bible:
read for breadth and study for depth.
Reading the suggested Bible reading plan (above) helps you read for breadth by understanding the “big picture” of what God’s redemptive story is all about. The goal is to read through the entire Bible (breadth). With the Bible reading plan we’re suggesting, you’ll read through the entire Bible in a year. In this process, don’t worry about studying every passage in super deep detail. Instead, focus on consistency. However, you also want to be sensitive to what the Spirit wants to teach you each time you open the Word. So, when using the Bible reading plan, we suggest asking yourself three simple questions:
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- How is God calling me to think differently? (HEAD)
- How is God reordering my hearts affections – what I love? (HEART)
- What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today? (HANDS)
Studying for depth happens in addition to your normal Bible reading plan. Studying involves picking one book of the Bible and studying it verse by verse, slowly, prayerfully, and purposefully. If you’re looking for resources related to Bible study, we hope the following tools will equip you to be a faithful student of God’s Word and someone who can handle it rightly (2 Timothy 2:15).
THe C.O.M.A. Method
One of the most helpful Bible study methods is the C.O.M.A. method which stands for Context, Observation, Meaning, Application. This inductive study approach has proven to help any student of God’s Word dig deeper into the text by using a linear and holistic method to read, interpret, and apply the Scriptures.
This specific framework is not new yet David Helm has written a very helpful book called One to One Bible Reading that incorporates this method within the context of one to one meetings. We highly recommend studying the Bible in community with someone else of the same gender. If you’d like to get paired up, email Pastor Brett and he will help you get connected with someone.
The One to One book is helpful to studying one to one, specifically because it provides C.O.M.A. worksheets for every type of literary genre found in the Bible. Therefore, you can use the free PDF worksheets to study any book of the Bible on your own or with someone else. These worksheets are copyright-free and the author has given permission to use them however you see fit!
Bible study essentials
If you’d like to take your Bible study to “the next level” after using the C.O.M.A. method, the Bible Study Essentials (BSE) worksheets are for you!
The BSE worksheets are tools that Pastor Brett Ricley developed by synthesizing other study resources that he learned in seminary as well as from other ministry leaders and authors. The process is more in-depth than C.O.M.A. yet follows the same framework (Context, Observation, Meaning, Application).
If you’d like further explanation or training using this Bible study method, please don’t hesitate to email Pastor Brett.
If you’d like a more in-depth explanation of the Bible Study Essentials process, check out this 50 minute presentation from Pastor Brett. Follow along by downloading the PowerPoint slides as well.
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