Learn how to Read the Bible

WHAT IF I DON’T KNOW MUCH OF THE BIBLE?

Most people have an idea about the Bible but many have had little interaction with it. Maybe you’ve recently had an interest in spiritual things, maybe you’ve been to church and something caught your attention. No matter the reason, you may find yourself interested but you don’t know what to do next.

We hope this mini introduction to the Bible will help you read the Bible and see what it is like to follow Jesus in your everyday life. For the sake of learning how to read the Bible, we’ve included a helpful tool we call our Core Questions. You will also find a sample to show you how and a guide to help you get started.

A SIMPLE OVERVIEW 
OF THE BIBLE
The first part of the Bible is referred to as the Old Testament. These writings tell us …
  • about the Biblical account of creation. 
  • how evil (sin) entered the world.
  • how God actively draws mankind back to Himself. 
  • God’s plan to bring humanity back to Himself by coming into our world as a human (Jesus) in order to save mankind from their mistakes.
The second part of the Bible is referred to as the New Testament. These writings describe …
  • God coming to Earth in the form of the man known as Jesus.
  • the life of Jesus life and how He ultimately died on the cross to pay for our mistakes before coming back to life.
  • how the first Christ Followers interacted with each other, going through trouble and staying true to Him as they helped others to trust in Jesus as well.
 Picture
At the heart of following Jesus is learning from Him and giving Him an honest chance to reveal Himself. We encourage people to ask two Core Questions when they read the Bible and with every situation in life. These two questions will create an awareness of Jesus and His ways while you discover what it is like to follow Jesus.
  1. What is Jesus saying to me?
  2. What am I going to do about it?
Let's try using the two Core Questions. If you need to review how to look up a Bible verse go ahead. Otherwise skip down to the SAMPLE. And at the bottom of this page we've provided a reading guide you can follow to get you started.
HOW TO LOOK UP A BIBLE VERSE
* You will find all the books listed in the table of contents of the Bible.

SAMPLE:
... Derek wants to try using the two Core Questions, so he reads through the Bible passage above, Romans 12:1-3. As he reads he looks for something that sticks out to him. He finds something in verse two. The phrase "let God transform you" gets his attention. Now he can apply the two Core Questions. This is what Derek writes down.
WANT TO TRY IT?
Let’s start with the life of Jesus in the book of Mark. Start by reading the day’s passage listed below. With each reading identify one thing that sticks out or interests you, then ask yourself our two Core Questions:

   1) What is Jesus saying to me?    

   2) What am I going to do about it? 

READING GUIDE
___ # 1  Mark 1:16-31
___ # 2  Mark 2:1-12
___ # 3  Mark 2:13-17
___ # 4  Mark 3:1-12
___ # 5  Mark 3:13-19
___ # 6  Mark 4:3-20
___ # 7  Mark 4:35-41
___ # 8  Mark 6:1-13
___ # 9  Mark 7:14-23
___ # 10  Mark 8:27-38
___ # 11  Mark 10:1-27
___ # 12  Mark 10:28-45
___ # 13  Mark 10:46-52
___ # 14  Mark 11:1-11
___ # 15  Mark 11:15-26
___ # 16  Mark 12:1-17
___ # 17  Mark 12:28-34
___ # 18  Mark 12:41-44
___ # 19  Mark 13:1-37
___ # 20  Mark 14:10-26
___ # 21  Mark 14:27-42
___ # 22  Mark 14:43-72
___ # 23  Mark 15:1-32
___ # 24  Mark 15:33-47
___ # 25  Mark 16:1-20
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