2023 – 2024 Reading Plan

Below you will find our reading plan for October, 2023 through October, 2024 (which is essentially tied to the Hebrew calendar year 5784).  Although we did not originally plan to follow an annual cycle, we chose to do so and tie our shared readings to the millennia old practice (still practiced in nearly all Jewish synagogues to this day) of annually* reading through the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible sometimes referred to as the Pentateuch or, as Jesus’ referred to it in the Gospel accounts, the Law). This was almost certainly the practice of the earliest Jewish Christians – and likely the early Christians regardless of Jewish background — although the actual selections and timing of the reading may have varied.

Our services include a Gospel reading, and we go through the entirety of a particular Gospel account over the course of the year.  In addition to Gospel and Torah readings, we have chosen to include select readings from the other books of the Hebrew Bible that correspond to the Torah readings – something known as the Haftarah.  The Haftarah selections come from the Neviʾim (the Prophets), and Ketuvim (the Writings).  Interestingly, New Testament readers will note that Jesus refers to the Law and the Prophets, but not the Writings.  Although the Writings would have been known to First Century Jews and Jesus, they had not been cannonized by Jews of that time.

Lastly, to round out our reading plan, you will find selections from the New Testament books other than the Gospels.  These readings are on a four-year cycle, and this year we complete that cycle.

There is no magic formula to reading Scripture, of course, but we believe that being diligent readers of the Text will be beneficial and encouraging. Further, by following the general pattern of today’s Jewish people, and following a common pattern ourselves, we might also find ourselves to be more in step and in tune with those who would have been pursuing God in Jesus’ time and the time of the early Church. Whether you are part of our congregation or not, we invite you to read along with us!

* Many synagogues today utilize an alternative three-year Torah reading cycle.

Church MKE 2023 – 2024 Reading Plan