Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading Plan

This is such an awesome plan for reading the Bible that I had to post it:

Professor Grant Horner's
Bible-Reading SYSTEM

"I have more wisdom than all my teachers, for thy testimonies
are my meditation." Psalm 119:99, right-hand page, le-hand
column, dead center of page.
Many people ask me how it is that I know precisely where
virtually everything is in my Bible. -e answer: this system.
I began in 1983 (adapting and tweaking the basic design of
another system) as a brand-new convert; within 3 years I
knew the text of my Bible very well. Twenty-　ve years later it
is essentially imprinted on my mind and heart. I have been all
over the country and have taught this system in many
churches. I have done open-microphone Q&As on Bible and
theology -- with 1200 people in the audience -- as well as
cultural-analysis live radio shows where you have to think fast
-- and it has been the "imprinting" value of this system that
has helped me provide quick, clear, heavily contextualized
scriptural answers.
I have no Seminary degrees, no Bible-college or Christian
school education -- hey, I never even went to Sunday school.
All I did have was a chair, a lamp ... and my Bible.
-is is not merely a speed-reading program, nor is it a 'study'
system. Read the description provided here to see how it
works. DO NOT be intimidated! I was a college dropout,
ex-heavy-druggie when I started it. If I can do it -- so can you!
TRY IT FOR A MONTH. -en tell me what is
happening! (Contact information provided on the last page.)
You can also join the Facebook group I created for this
system at
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46416541831. -ere
you can make posts about your struggles, the eects it is
having on your biblical understanding and discernment, and
to encourage others.
But one more note before we start. I remember very clearly
in 1983, when my soon-to-be father-in-law handed me his
old but unused 1967 Sco　eld Study Bible as an o-the-cu
gi. I had never seen a good study Bible before, and was just
starting to listen to MacArthur and Swindoll and Stanley on
the radio. I was determined as a new believer to get to know
the Bible. So I adapted the present system and have tweaked
it many times since.
Its present form dates from the mid-1990s when I was in
doctoral work at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke and wanted to
keep my head screwed on somewhat straight. -at old
Sco　eld was literally read to taers by then -- covers
absolutely gone, spine vanished away, glue-backing visible
and all curled up, stitching coming apart, the prefatory
material destroyed all the way up to Genesis 1 and the
concordance vanished past the entry for "sin." But as a poor
grad student, I had no money for a quality re-bind.
Sometime later, I was own out by Masters College for a
3-day interview/grilling process. -e culmination was, of
course, being ushered in to Dr. MacArthur's private study,
which is where he asked me his one question: "Can I see your
Bible?"
I thought he would be horri　ed, because it looked like it had
been through a typhoon -- it looked unloved and neglected.
Professor Grant Horner's
Bible-Reading SYSTEM
Professor Grant Horner's unusual, challenging, and life-changing
Bible-Reading System is unlike any other you have ever seen. Try it for
ONE MONTH and nd out for yourself! You will never be the same.
Something from a dumpster. It was unbound, with stringy
mess and paper debris hanging out. I was so embarrassed. I
thought he would chastise me and recommend I get a new
study Bible if I was serious about the Word.
However he ipped through it and handed it to his wife and
said, "If your Bible is falling apart, you probably aren't." And I
was basically hired on the spot.
I have done the system sometimes doubling up (2 sets per
day, or 20 chapters), and other times by alternating days (5
chapters per day). -e key is to get into a habit for a month.
-en you'll see you've probably been starving yourself.
-e very best e　ect it has is rapid, broad-scale contextualizing
across both testaments and all the di　erent biblical genres.
Did you know about all the similarities between Ecclesiastes
and 2 Corinthians? How about the relationship between
Deuteronomy and Mahew? It is like no other system that
way, and it provides constant variety (which humans love) as
well as consistent conviction (which humans hate).
I'd love to hear any thoughts you may have on facing up to the
challenge, how you are doing in your rst days, rst week, rst
month....
Each day you will read one chapter from each of ten lists.
-at’s right -- ten chapters per day!!! Use ten bookmarks
or sticky notes with the individual lists on them to keep track
of your locations. Or use the set of bookmarks provided on
the last page of this document.
On day one, you read Mahew 1, Genesis 1, Romans 1, and
so forth. On day 2, read Mahew 2, Genesis 2, etc. On day 29,
you will have just nished Mahew, so go to Mark 1 on the
Gospel list; you’ll also be almost to the end of 2nd Corinthians
and Proverbs, you’ll be reading Psalm 29 and Genesis 29,
and so forth. When you reach the last chapter of the last book
in a list – start over again. Rotate all the way through all the
Scriptures constantly.
Since the lists vary in length, the readings begin interweaving
in constantly changing ways. You will NEVER read the same
set of ten chapters together again! Every year you’ll read
through all the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice,
Paul’s leers 4-5 times each, the OT wisdom literature six
times, all the Psalms at least twice, all the Proverbs as well as
Acts a dozen times, and all the way through the OT History
and Prophetic books about 1 ½ times. Since the interweaving
is constantly changing, you will experience the Bible
commenting on itself in constantly changing ways -- the
Reformer's principle of 'scriptura interpretans scripturam' --
'scripture interpreting scripture' IN ACTION!
Aer you’ve read any particular book once or twice, your
speed in that book usually doubles or triples because you’re
familiar with it and can move quickly and condently --
because you are no longer merely decoding the text but
thinking it through in the context of all of the scripture!
Even an ‘average’ reader, if focusing on moving through the
text, rather than trying to gure everything out, can usually
do this in about an hour a day – 5-6 minutes per chapter.
Many people report moving condently through the ten
chapters in 35-40 minutes. If it is taking you longer, then you
are ‘reading wrong’ – stay relaxed, focus, and just keep it
moving. Moderate but consistent speed is the key. -is is
"gross anatomy" -- looking at the whole body; you're not
closely studying organs or systems or tissues or cells -- it is
not microbiology. BUT -- microbiology and the study or
organs makes more sense when you know what the whole
structure of the human body is like, and how all the parts,
large and small, relate in perfect interdependence.
Aer just a few days the reading gets much easier; in a month
it will be a habit, and in six months you’ll wonder how you
ever survived before on such a slim diet of the WORD. And
then -- you'll tell others to start the system!
I began in 1983 as a new Christian and have now read (most
of) the Bible hundreds and hundreds of times. You also need
to get ONE Bible, keep it, and do all your reading in it, so you
learn where everything is. I’ve had the same Bible since 1983
and I know it intimately. If you keep switching Bibles, you
‘lose’ this intimacy with the text. Find a translation and
format you like and stick with it. THIS IS CRUCIAL.
Your Bible is the only thing on Earth that, as you wear it out,
will actually work beer and beer.
Please share this Bible-reading system with all the Christians
you know, as well as anyone who is thinking about reading a
Bible, even for the rst time.
Put these instructions in your Bible
and review them om time to time.
The System
List 1 (89 days)
Mahew, Mark, Luke, John
List 2 (187 days)
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
List 3 (78 days)
Romans, I&II Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, Hebrews
List 4 (65 days)
I&II -ess, I&II Tim, Titus, Philemon, James, I&II Peter,
I,II&III John, Jude, Revelation
List 5 (62 days)
Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
List 6 (150 days)
Psalms
List 7 (31 days)
Proverbs
List 8 (249 days)
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings, I&II
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
List 9 (250 days)
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
List 10 (28 days)
Acts
• Read one chapter from each list each day; in one sitting or two. At the
end of a book; go to the next book. At the end of the list; start it again. Do
it in the order given above.
• Read quickly (without “speed-reading”) in order to get the overall sense.
Read as fast as you comfortably can with moderate retention. You’re not
studying deeply or memorizing; shoot for 5-6 minutes per chapter. At the
end of a chapter, move immediately to the next list.
• GET THROUGH THE TEXT – no dawdling, back reading, looking
up cross-references!
• There are different ‘kinds’ of reading: super-quick skimming, careful
moderate-paced, studying the text, deep meditation. You should be
between the first and second kind.
• Most people decrease their time spent and increase their retention after
just two-three weeks! I now read and retain the entire text of Mahew in
35 minutes, Romans in 20, Genesis in one hour!
• Don’t look up anything you ‘don’t get’ – real understanding will come
through contextualizing by reading a LOT of scripture over time. Get
through the text!
• If you miss a day or two – ok, get over it, then keep going. Don’t cover
yourself in sackcloth and ashes and quit! Move the bookmarks along, to
find your place(s) quickly next day.
Heb 4:12&5:11-14; Eph 5:26&6:17; Col 3:16; 2 Tim 3:16; Ps 119; Ezra
8; Prov 3: 1-2, 10:14; Dan 1
• If you are wondering why you should read Acts (or Proverbs) all the way
through every single month, then -- you've just shown that you NEED to
read them that often!
• The goal of this system is simple, and twofold: To know scripture, and to
love and obey God more!
SOLI DEO GLORIA