The system
Professor Horner's Bible Reading System
Designed by Professor Grant Horner of The Master's University.
Each day you read one chapter from each of ten bookmarks - ten chapters in all. Use ten bookmarks (or this app) to keep your place in each track. On day 1 you read Matthew 1, Genesis 1, Romans 1, and so on. On day 2, Matthew 2, Genesis 2, and so on. When you reach the last chapter of the last book on a bookmark, start that bookmark over.
Because the ten bookmarks are different lengths, the daily combination is always different - you will never read the same set of ten chapters together twice. Scripture ends up commenting on itself in fresh ways every single day.
The ten bookmarks
- Bookmark 189 days
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
- Bookmark 2187 days
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
- Bookmark 378 days
Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews
- Bookmark 465 days
1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude, Revelation
- Bookmark 562 days
Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
- Bookmark 6150 days
Psalms
- Bookmark 731 days
Proverbs
- Bookmark 8249 days
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
- Bookmark 9250 days
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
- Bookmark 1028 days
Acts
In a typical year you will read
- All four Gospels about four times
- The Pentateuch twice
- Paul's letters four to five times each
- Old Testament wisdom literature about six times
- All the Psalms at least twice
- Proverbs and Acts about twelve times each
- The OT history and prophetic books roughly one and a half times
Secrets to success
- Move. Aim for about 5-6 minutes per chapter. Don't dawdle, back-read, or chase cross-references - just get through the text.
- Read for breadth, not depth. This is the “gross anatomy” of Scripture, not microbiology. Deep study comes later, and is richer when you know the whole shape of the Bible.
- Don't stop to look things up. Understanding will come from contextualizing across thousands of chapters over time.
- Miss a day? Keep going. Move the bookmarks forward and pick up tomorrow. Don't quit.
- One Bible. Pick a translation and a physical copy you love, and stick with it so you learn where everything is.
- Give it a month. By then it's a habit; after six months you'll wonder how you ever survived on less of the Word.
The goal
Twofold and simple: to know Scripture, and to love and obey God more.
Soli Deo Gloria
From Professor Horner directly
The full essay and the printable bookmarks PDF are published on The Master's University site.