For the past six years, Growing4Life has been offering an annual Bible Reading Challenge. My goal for this is simple: Helping us all to faithfully keep studying the Word. For the past two years, we have been studying the Bible by focusing our attention on 4 or 5 chapters each month. Sometimes this means we are studying a whole book (as in the case of Ruth, which is only four chapters) or sometimes it means breaking a bigger book down into doable readings (such as Matthew last year, which took us seven whole months! But what a rewarding study it was!)
It is truly amazing what you come to learn after simply reading the same four or five chapters every day for a month. I have found this to be an easy and doable way to keep myself in God’s Word. According to many of you who participated in the 2020 and 2021 G4L Bible Reading Challenges, you agree!
And so we will continue this same study as we head into 2022. This Bible Study plan is a very flexible plan, making it perfect for anyone with any schedule. The important thing is for every believer to be studying the Bible at some level. This is my [small] attempt at helping anyone who wants to do this but doesn’t quite know how. Whether you have been a believer for years or are new in the faith, this is for you. Whether you are just curious about the Bible or have great knowledge of the Bible, I believe this study will be of benefit to you. It’s a great study for anyone interested in the Bible and knowing more about it! (It’s even designed so that you can take a break during a busy month and come back to the challenge when things slow down. Just be sure to come back!)
Here are a few options to consider as you think through how you want to complete the 2022 Bible Reading Challenge—
- You can read the assigned portion every day for a month. Or you can read it five days a week. Or three.
- You can read just the focus chapter for however many days each week that you decide.
- You can read a portion half the week and listen to an audio version for the other half.
Just remember: The more often we read a passage, the more familiar it will become.
By the end of each month we will be fairly familiar with the content—even if we don’t do anything further. I think you will be amazed at how much you learn if you commit yourself to this challenge.
Here is the 2022 Schedule (Click here to find a printable pdf of this page)–
JANUARY —James
FEBRUARY–Daniel (1-4)
MARCH– Daniel (5-8)
APRIL–Daniel (9-12)
MAY–Titus
JUNE– Life of Joseph (Genesis 37; 39-44)
JULY– Life of Joseph (Genesis 45-50; Acts 7:9-18)
AUGUST– Galatians (1-3)
SEPTEMBER– Galatians (4-6)
OCTOBER– I Peter
NOVEMBER– II Peter
DECEMBER– Philemon
You will notice that we are doing something a little different this year in the months of June and July. I have decided to do a character study from the Old Testament. I have chosen Joseph for this year. Since many of the OT books are too long to study in this particular format, I thought this might be a way to at least give some of our attention to these foundational books. I hope you enjoy it!
Also new: I’d like to send out a monthly newsletter for anyone interested. While I will keep the Facebook group going as long as I am able, I have to admit that it feels tentative, at best, for Bible-believing Christians. I am not sure how long we will be able to use that platform and it is with this in mind that I am creating a 2022 Bible Challenge email list to stay in touch with you. I also know that more and more of you are choosing not to be on Facebook, so this gives us a way to stay connected, as well. I hope that this is an encouragement to you. If you’d like to be included in this list, please email me: leslie {at} growing4life {dot} net (or simply reply to this email if you are receiving this info via email as a subscriber)
Here are a few suggestions that may help deepen your study, if you so choose—
- Use the same Bible to read throughout the year. I recommend the following versions: KJV, NKJV, ESV, or NASB. (Please, please avoid the Message, the Passion Bible, or any other paraphrase version as they tend to have very troublesome inaccuracies in them.)
- Outline the books and chapters.
- Research passages that you don’t understand using biblical commentaries and other resources.
- Join the Growing4Life 2022 Bible Reading Challenge Facebook group dedicated to this challenge, where you will find encouragement and discussion about what we are currently reading. There you will also find biblical resources and articles that pertain to what we are studying.
- As mentioned above, you can sign up for the 2022 Bible Reading Challenge monthly newsletters via email by sending me your email address to leslie {at} growing4life {dot} net.
- Complete the SPECS questions–
S–Does the passage speak of any SIN to be forsaken?
P–Is there any PROMISE to be claimed?
E–Is there an EXAMPLE to be followed?
C–Is there a COMMAND to be obeyed?
S–Is there a STUMBLING BLOCK or hindrance to be avoided?
I hope this challenge provides a wonderful opportunity for you to grow in your knowledge of God and His Word in 2022!