The Field Guide to the Bible Reading PlanSample

Where Do I Start Reading?

Remember in Day 1 we talked about the Bible being a library of 66 books.

If you start reading the Bible at the beginning (like you do with any other book) you’ll probably get bogged down somewhere in Exodus. And if you make it to Leviticus or Numbers, confusion will set in. You will wonder what this book is all about.

When you start your Bible reading journey, it’s best to jump to the New Testament, about three-quarters of the way into the Bible. The New Testament starts with four books which are called the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). It’s in the Gospels that we read the story of Jesus. This is important because Jesus is at the centre of Christianity, and he said that he reveals exactly what God is like. John 14:9,10

Because of this, Jesus is a kind of compass. He helps us make sense of the rest of the Bible and points us to God. So it’s good to become familiar with the story of Jesus. In fact, it can be helpful to come back to the Gospels often as you read the Bible.

All the Gospels seem to be the same. But they were written by different people to different audiences, so each one tells the story from a different perspective.

So I’ve read the Gospels, what next?

Once you’ve read the Gospels, go to the next bit of the story – the book of Acts – which tells the story of how the church started.

After you’ve read Acts, go back to the very first book of the Bible – Genesis. This book tells of how God created the world and people, and how we humans messed it all up. You’ll be introduced to Abraham and Sarah and the nation of Israel that God started through them.

Another good idea is to read the Psalms or a few Proverbs alongside your readings. These are the books of Poetry and Wisdom. You will notice there are 31 chapters in Proverbs. That’s one for every day of the month.

Action:

Start reading Proverbs daily alongside your other readings. Match the day with the Proverb, i.e. if you start this on May 22nd, read Proverb 22 and read it daily, when you get to the end of the month, start again, we can never get enough wisdom. Proverbs 1:1-5