Bible Reading Plan

We invite you to join us in reading through the Bible together.  We're not trying to complete it in a limited time frame like a month or a year; but rather, we want to create a habit (or discipline) of getting to know God's heart through what He's told us about Himself. 

For a more mobile friendly view of the daily readings, try our new site at https://app.nvbc.net, still a work in progress.

We start our study in the Gospel according to Mark. The daily readings are short; please read the passages so that you learn how to read God’s Word, how to listen, and then apply it. Your reading will also give you a good head start in understanding Sunday’s sermon.

When reading, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What does it say about God?
  • What does it say to/about me?
  • What can I learn from this reading?

May 4-10

  • Sunday: Psalm 119:49-56  “ … your promise give me life”
  • Monday: Matthew 28:1-10  Don’t miss all the emotions associated with all that is happening! Also note in vs 10 what Jesus refers to the disciples as (cf. Heb 2:11, Rom 8:29, Mark 3:34)
  • Tuesday: Matthew 28:11-20  vs 11-15: the birth of fake news! Vs 18f is known as the “Great Commission” – this is the mission of our lives, the Church. It has a command that is multifaceted, and a promise – identify them.
  • Wednesday: Luke 24:1-12  Once again, consider all the emotions mentioned. We are people with emotions and need to embrace/confront/recognize them in the context of our faith; don’t reduce the faith to dogma, belief and thinking.
  • Thursday: Luke 24:13-27  vs 16 is notable (cf. Matt 25: 34-46) – consider the possibility that God still pulls this off with us today; if so, how will you treat people? Vs 27 – what a wonderful teaching class!
  • Friday: Luke 24:28-35  vs 28 “He acted as if he were going farther …” – does God trick, deflect and pretend something else than what we expect? Their hearts ‘burned’ when Jesus was talking (vs 32) – does your heart react or get excited when you hear or read God’s Word?
  • Saturday: Luke 24:36-49  How wonderful that Jesus asks “Have you anything to eat?” In the earlier section we noted that Jesus has the ability to close/open eyes … here see vs 46, he opens their  “mind”. A great prayer request: “Lord, open my heart and mind to your Word and ways”

May 11-17

  • Sunday: Psalm 119:57-64  “At midnight I rise to praise you b’coz of your righteous rules”
  • Monday: Luke 24:50-53  Interesting that these perplexed, frightened, unbelieving, doubting, etc. group of people now find joy, worship and “continuously … blessing God”!
  • Tuesday: Acts 1:1-5  It’s significant that Jesus was speaking about the “kingdom of God”. Often we reduce Jesus’ mission to  just the Gospel, i.e. salvation and ways to share and receive it. The “Kingdom of God” is what Jesus brought (Mark 1:15, Luke 4:43, 8:1, 17:21)
  • Wednesday: Acts 1:6-11  The promise of the Holy Spirit’s coming is not just for an experience; vs 8 – “you will receive …and  you will be my witnesses …”. You cannot be the witness of Jesus Christ that God desires you to be without the Holy Spirit in your life
  • Thursday: Acts 1:12-26  Peter is a different man – he leads the transition! In the choosing of the next disciple to replace  Judas … notice 3 requirements for the job. This is the requirement for being called an “apostle”.
  • Friday: Acts 2:1-13  With the coming of the Holy Spirit, notice once again that ‘witnessing’ happens (vs 7f) – they were given  the gift of other languages so that people from other countries for the Passover heard the Gospel in their native language!
  • Saturday: Acts 2:42-47  The first description of the early Church! Identify the 4 things they did (vs 42) that identified them as  “church”. Meditate on this passage because in the details there is a great description of the spirit of this first group of Jesus  followers. As a result “the LORD added to their numbers …”.

May 18-25