The Legacy Reading Plan

I ran across this Bible reading plan constructed by Hank Hanegraaff (The Bible Answer Man), called The Legacy Reading plan. Of all the plans I've run across over the years, this seems like one of the best-constructed plans for reading the Bible on a yearly basis, where each season has its own strategic focus of the Bible.

Here's the plan's explanation, as explained on the CRI (Christian Research Institute) website:


The Legacy Reading Plan explained:

The Legacy Reading Plan is an innovative approach to reading through sixty-six love letters --one book at a time -- for the rest of your life. If I live to be the age my father was when he died, I will have the privilege of reading through the Bible 18 more times. If I live longer, so much the better! Reading through the Bible at any age is a daunting proposition. Thus the Legacy Reading Plan is strategically designed to empower you to "eat the elephant 'one Book' at a time." The Format is specifically formulated to make your time in God's Word the best it can be.

Location: Do you have a secret place -- a location where you can drown out the static of the world and hear the voice of your heavenly Father as He speaks to you through the majesty of His Word? For some it may be the sauna, for others a study. We are all unique creations of God. Thus, your secret place may be a sedan. The point is we all desperately need a place away from the invasive sounds of the world so we can hear the sounds of another place -- another voice. So, begin your Legacy Reading Plan by locating your secret place.

Essence: The Legacy Reading Plan is unique in that it requires you to process Books of the Bible rather than piecing together bits of Books. The goal is to comprehend the essence of God as communicated by reading each Book as a whole. The exception is Psalms and Proverbs. Psalms constituted a hymnbook or devotional guide for ancient Israel. Likewise, our goal will be to meditate on three individual Psalms each week. Thus progressing through the Psalmistry once each year. Because the Book of Proverbs is replete with principles for successful daily living, the Legacy Reading Plan is to read one chapter of Proverbs each day, thus progressing through Provers once a month.

Genre : To understand Scripture in the sense in which it is intended, it is important to pay special attention to the genre we are reading. In other words, to interpret the Bible as literature, it is crucial to consider the kind of literature we are interpreting. As a legal brief differs from a prophetic oracle, there is a difference in genre between Leviticus and Revelation. Genre is particularly significant when considering writings that are difficult to categorize, such as Genesis which is largely a historical narrative interlaced with symbolism and repetitive poetic structure. During the spring the plan is to read through historical narratives, while the focus for summer is prophecy.

Author: As it is essential to read through Books rather than bits, so it is helpful to read biblical authors sequentially. As such, the Legacy Reading Plan is grouped by author. This is particularly helpful because even though biblical authors wrote "as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21), their personalities and proclivities are clearly evident in their writings. For example, John and John alone, identifies Jesus as the Word, or Logos (John 1; Revelation 19). Likewise, John alone identifies Jesus as the true witness (John 5; Revelation 2), and it is John who most exploits the Mosaic requirement of two witnesses (John 8; Revelation 2).

Context: Context has an impact on how you contextualize one set of biblical Books in relation to another. For this reason, the Epistles are read prior to the Synoptic Gospels in the Legacy Reading Plan. As such, the didactic (teaching) principles of the Epistles will provide a theological context by which you can better understand the Gospel narratives. Moreover, because the Book of Revelation draws heavily upon the imagery of the Hebrew prophets, the reading of Revelation is placed in a close proximity to the Old Testament prophets. And because the Gospels recount the birth and ministry of Christ, the Synoptics and the Book of Acts are assigned to the month of December.

Years: The overarching objective of the Legacy Reading Plan is to read through the Bible once a year, every year for the rest of your life. The reading calendar is naturally segmented into seasons and the seasons into months. At the beginning of each year you know that during the winter your focus will be on the Pentateuch and Poetry (249 chapters); in spring, the Historical books (249 chapters); in summer the Prophets (250 chapters); and during the fall, the New Testament (260 chapter). Each season is further broken down into months. Thus every January your goal is to read through Genesis and Exodus and every December the Synoptic Gospels and Acts. There are times when you will naturally read ten chapters at a time and others when you will read one or two. More importantly you will read the Bible just as you read other literature.