Bible Study for Beginners
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In the past two weeks, I’ve received the same question from so many of you. That question has been:
How do I begin to read and study the Bible for myself?
So today on Whimsical Wednesday, we’re doing something a little less whimsical and a little more practical- Bible Study for Beginners. I’m outlining the same information in this post that I send to each email request so that we can all read, share and learn together. Here we go.
The first question often asked, especially through the Bible Reading Challenge, is:
If I’m a beginner reader of the Bible, where do I start?
The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels- they are the story of Christ’s life from his disciples, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The book of John is written very simply and easy to understand. John also wrote three letters called I John, II John and III John.
My recommendation for beginner readers is to begin with the epistles of I, II and III John, then move on to the book of John. It’s always helpful to have a reading plan so that you can be accountable to follow through on your intentions. Here you can find a printable Bible reading plan for the book of John. Now I know it’s called “Children’s Bible Reading Plan,” but this plan is great for anyone who wants to begin to read the Bible. You can also find this plan in the Olive Tree Bible App.
My next recommendations for a beginner to read the Bible, after the book of John, are:
Matthew
Mark
Luke
After completing the above, you could easily begin any formalized reading plan, such M’Cheyne, which is the one I am using for the Bible Reading Challenge. And there are multiple others listed right here.
So after determining where to begin to read the Bible, the next question I receive most is:
How do I study the Bible?
One of the easiest ways to study the Bible is using this simple Bible study guide– 4 questions you can use for any chapter of the Bible. ** ADDENDUM: NEW guide bookmark and journal page HERE.
Precept Ministries offers a simple Bible study guide for the entire Bible, which you can find here.
I have 4 simple Bible study tips you can find here for when you feel that you’d like to dig in more than a simple guide.
So we’ve answered two of the questions I frequently receive via email! Yay! And now I would LOVE it if you’d share your simple Bible study plans, tips, and guides with us, especially anything that might help beginners since this post is geared towards those who are new to studying the Bible.
Happy Wednesday!
Rachel
In my own personal experience, I found it extremely helpful having an older Christian(not necessarily in chronological years) read scripture with me. We would read from Mark, because it is pretty fast moving, and then they would answer any question I had about the passage or they would highlight some things. Although I love the Book of John, it would have been too abstract to start with, whereas Mark plainly describes Jesus and his faith experience. We got together every day or every other day for 20-30 minutes.
Appreciate your insight, John! I still hold by my recommendations, but I can see how if you are a direct thinker, then Mark is a great place to begin as well. I love what you did with your “mentor!” Fabulous!!
Oh my gosh, here it is Wednesday! I am on target with my bible reading for the year…I just forgot to come and post on Monday! I need to move my reminder sticker to a better spot on the computer so that I do not forget
next Monday. I’m saving the bible reading plan (for children) for my grandson to work on this summer! Thanks for sharing the info and the links.
Don’t feel badly- I’m such a goof that I forgot to ask everyone how things were going! Whew! 🙂 Wy to go~!