One of the greatest blessings God has given us is His Word, and through reading, we can see Him work in our hearts and in our community. And we certainly have needed truth this year!

With that in mind, we thought it would be good to extend our Old Testament Reading Plan. Originally scheduled to coincide with the conclusion of our Sunday Class curriculum in June, we adjusted it to fit the new Sunday Class schedule as classes resume July 5.

Starting Sunday, June 14, after finishing Chronicles (in the original plan), our adjusted reading plan will go back to new chapters from 1 Kings, Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah to prepare us for restarting the curriculum in July and then continuing in the Prophets.

Like the one from January, this plan contains:

• 1-2 chapters of reading per day.
• Passages closely tied to the curriculum lessons each week.
• Excerpts from some books and the entirety of others.

Even if you weren’t able to join the reading earlier this year, fell behind, or have continued with it, this is a great time to jump in as we seek to soak our minds in truth.

You can download the new plan below:

Why?

But why should we read the Old Testament? Does it even apply to us? Isn’t it just full of boring genealogies and laws and obscure poetry? Here’s a few reasons why every Christian needs to read, study, and know the Old Testament:

1. It helps us know God better. While the New Testament shows us much about our Father, our knowledge would be incomplete without reading the Old Testament, where He is shown to be loving and patient with His people over long periods of time.
2. It helps us know our Savior better. Yes, Jesus Christ our Lord is in the Old Testament! And we can know Him better by studying it – many, many prophecies of His coming, in addition to hundreds of years of preparation for His coming. Jesus Himself said the Old Testament teaches about Him (Luke 24:44) and that He came to fulfill the Law and Prophets (Matt. 5:17).

Are you convinced yet? Many Christians today have little to no knowledge of the Old Testament or perhaps are even embarrassed by it. Some influential teachers are even calling for some level of rejection of the Old Testament.

But at Calvary, we want to be a people who love the Bible, both Old and New Testaments – people who study it all, strive to know it deeply, and love to share its hope with our community.