Study 7: OK, where shall I start reading?

We made it to the final session, well done! So, where do you even start?

First thing to say: you’re in the perfect place on this app to easily start reading the Bible. You can explore the app and find a good daily plan that will give you somewhere to start—probably a mixture of Old Testament and New Testament sections.

However, if you’re up for it, I’d encourage you to go for a gospel—try reading the Gospel of Mark. The reason I picked Mark is because it’s the shortest, and it’s written with ‘action’ in mind. I love action, and the Bible is full of it! I tend to fall asleep with long lists of names and hard-to-pronounce places, so give me that action!

Find a version you like reading too. You might find a version called The Message easier to read. Or try the NIV (New International Version), ESV (English Standard Version), or NLT (New Living Translation). I tend to use the ESV or NLT versions when I’m reading the Bible to get a feel for the bigger story unfolding.

If you can, read a verse or a bit each day, but sometimes take a larger section and spend some time on that too. I’ve found it helps to read slowly—sounds silly, but unlike a novel you can devour quickly, reading the Bible requires tuning in sometimes.

You can use the YouVersion app to hear the Bible read aloud, which is actually how the early church would have received the accounts of Jesus—so I like that. I often listen to a chapter being read, then spend time thinking it over and praying about it too. (We’ll come to the prayer bit in another plan.)

One last thing I want to leave you with is a framework for reading the Bible. I often try to read with these questions in mind:

• Who was this written to? (The Bible often tells us at the start of each book, which is helpful.)
• What was it saying to them?
• What is it saying to me today?

Let’s go for it and read Mark! You ready?

What next?

We have two more reading plans in this 'how stuff works' series, so check out:

• How Stuff Works: Prayer
• How Stuff Works: Church

If you like what you’ve read here in this series, then we have a 4-book set called The Manual Starter Pack that you can get hold of from the CVM shop to drill and mine into this stuff even more. Each book contains a month’s worth of reading notes to explore at your own pace — just go ahead and check out the CVM website.