"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." (Psalm 119:103, 105)
Below we've put together some resources, guides, and Bible reading plans to help you with reading the Bible on your own or with someone else.
The Bible is not like any other book. It is a collection of 66 books that have been written by 40 authors over thousands of years. Despite the human authors who wrote the Bible, Christians believe that the Bible is the revelation of God and that He is the ultimate author. Whilst the process of reading the Bible is the same as reading any other text, the truth that it is God's Word to us means we approach it differently. We approach it:
Because this is God's word, we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us as we read. To open our eyes to the things he wants us to see, to convict us of the things he wants to change, and to open our eyes so that we can better love, worship and serve God.
Because the Bible is a revelation of God we seek to obey what we find in the words of the Bible. It isn't merely of historical, academic, or entertainment interest... It is something we respond to in faith and obedience.
The Bible is a big book, written in and speaking into many different situations. It has different genres that work in different ways. We don't cherry pick the bits we like and jettison the bits we don't. Neither do we get fixated on one bit at the exclusion of the rest. We seek to be obedient to what we understand, and prayerful and thoughtful about the things we don't, recongising that we will continue to grow as we keep engaging prayerfully and thoughtfullly.
The Christian belief is that the revelation in the Bible has Christ as its centre. The Scriptures prepare us for Christ, and point us to him. We read the Bible seeking understanding, worship, devotion, and obedience to Christ. In John 5, Jesus criticized some of the religious leaders of his day because they knew the Bible, but didn't recognise Him:
"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life." - John 5:39-40
As you read, pray that God would give you a deeper understanding and faith in Jesus so you might have life in Him.
The Navigators Ministry suggest five ways that we can engage with the Bible so that we can grow in our faith:
Hearing - We listen to the BIble read and preached.
Reading - We read the Bible for ourselves.
Studying - We study the Bible with other resources to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Bible.
Memorising - We memories verses, or portions of the Bible, so they live in our memory and shape us in every moment.
Meditating - We take the time to meditate (chew over and consider) a passage to better understand what it is saying, and how it should change and transform us.
Below we have a number of Bible reading plans which we encourage you to print off and keep in your Bible (or save somewhere on your phone). Once you've decided which plan is right for you, click on the relevant link to open a downloadable PDF of the plan:
One year plan for those just getting started. Read through the New Testament in a year. One chapter of the New Testament per day, five days a week.
Two year plan covering the whole Bible. Read through the New Testament over each year, and though the Old Testament over two years. Two chapters a day, seven days a week.
Two year plan covering the whole Bible. Read though Psalms twice each year, the New Testament over a year, and the Old Testament over two years. Two to three chapters a day, seven days a week.
Entire Bible in one year. Old Testament is arranged chronologically, New Testament has gospel readings spread throughout the year. Readings are spread over 5 days a week.
Because God's Word is essential, we can't be ore make disciples of Jesus without it. There is something powerful about opening up the Bible with another person and reading it together.
This is a wonderful way to grow in our faith, disciple another person in faith, or even introduce someone to Jesus for the first time.
Click on the link below to download a PDF guide to help you read the Bible with someone else: