Recommendations Reading the Bible
Q: Can you recommended books to read in the Bible. I am leaning away from commentary and study books because I want to Bible alone, but I struggle on where to start. I’ve already read Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, and Mark but not really anything else. I would like to study the Bible but get overwhelmed on where to start.
A: Happy to help.
John is great because it shows Jesus as God. So it is a good solid read.
Here are some suggestions for a reading plan...
(*copy it to an Excel xls file)
Or This one.
With that said...
It’s important to study exegetically so that you can get a better understanding of author’s intent and cultural norms of the time, as well as the all important context of passages. Neglecting trusted sources that amplify the Scriptures would be unwise.
Devotionals are another story, and you can definitely forgo most of those, as they are more “life application” rather than learning God's Word. The ones noted here are ones that teach through Scripture.
Theres a lot of context we miss because of cultural or religious aspects [because we are not in Israel living at the time and do not understand]. And yes it is a lot, and is needed to properly understand what God is revealing. Pastors study all of that and give sermons [which are in depth bible studies] and they create commentaries [or make sermons available] so to piece it together for us. There's loads we would miss without it. Plus the sermons/commentaries (from reputable places) weave all of Scripture together. There's more under the surface than just the story we are reading when we read one. 😉
Reading plans can be themed or unthemed and can help offer some guidance and structure to your study.
StudyBible.org (free) helps greatly with this because as you read you can click a verse and info related to that verse or section shows up (resources button) and you can get faq, articles, commentary, and sermons related to it. (* there are free devotionals there too and Daily Bible is one).
You can also go through a book of the Bible there and pair it with sermon series such as below (the rest are found here. Give it a whirl and you will see the difference.) Also free.
With that said, the first time you read through the Bible there is nothing wrong with reading it and it alone. Just know there is a diff between reading and studying. So read on... 😀. But do use the tools God has blessed/given us to "understand" it clearer. At some point. Example
(* pick one from the list here between ch 4 and 6 for a taste).
> feel free to bookmark this page and save the link in your notes app... to utilize later. 😊
God Bless!
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