How To Read The Bible

Almost all Christians began learning the Bible simply by reading Bible stories. If you've never read the Bible before, we would recommend that you begin by reading the Bible stories in a book such as 120 Bible Stories by Concordia Publishing House. This book gives you the words of the Bible organized according to the most important Bible stories that every Christian should know. Although geared for children, it is still very appropriate for adults who are not familiar with the Bible. You can buy this book from Concordia Publishing House or from other websites. We can also get one for you if you need one.

"Catechism" just means "instruction." Martin Luther's Small Catechism is a little handbook of Christian teaching. We use this book to instruct our youth and adults in the basic teachings of the Christian faith. The Catechism takes the Bible stories and boils them down to the important truths of the Christian faith. The Catechism provides you with a reliable "map" to guide you through the Bible and to give you a good, overall summary of its teachings. We can get you one of these, just ask! 

Now you're ready to begin reading the individual books of the Bible. It's important to remember that the Bible is a small library of sixty six individual books. We don't recommend that you simply start reading the Bible by trying to go from cover to cover. God didn't give us a certain order to the books of the Bible. 

Here is a recommended list of the Books of the Bible organized to help you grow in your faith and in your overall understanding of the Bible. If you want to read through the Bible in one year, you need to read about three chapters a day. But there is nothing wrong with reading at a slower pace. The important thing is to keep reading. The Bible is both simple, providing faith strengthening words for all ages, as well as complex, teaching us some of the deepest mysteries of God and universe. You don't need to understand everything at once. As you keep reading and rereading the Bible, you will begin to understand the deeper and more difficult parts.  

The following pages provide a brief overview of the book and chapter summaries. As you read the book a few chapters at a time, glance back at the chapter summaries so that you can keep the overall message of the book in mind. You might also want to copy and paste the chapter summaries into a document for your own notes. Then you can add anything that you found important to each chapter summary.  

The Book of Acts – The Birth and Growth of the Church 

The Gospel of Matthew – The Life, the Words & the Work of the Messiah (The Tax Collector Matthew's Point of View) 

Genesis – The Creation of the World and of Israel 

1 & 2 Peter – Living by Faith, Facing Persecution 

Exodus – Israel’s Sojourn in the Wilderness 

The Gospel of Mark – The Life, the Words & the Work of the Messiah (The Fisherman Peter's Point of View) 

Proverbs – Living by Faith, Learning the Wisdom of God's Word 

Leviticus – How Israel Sojourned in the Wilderness with the God of Holiness 

Hebrews – The Sacrifice of the Messiah 

Numbers – Israel's Sojourn in the Wilderness and the Troubles Encountered There 

The Gospel of Luke – The Life, the Words & the Work of the Messiah (The Physician Luke's Point of View)

Deuteronomy – The Last Words of Moses as Israel Enters the Promised Land 

Romans – How Jews and Gentiles Are Saved and Live by Faith 

Joshua – The Conquest of Canaan 

Judges – The Disobedience and Deliverance of Israel 

Ruth – The Story of a Faithful Woman and Our Faithful God 

Gospel of John – The Life, the Words & the Work of the Messiah (The Oldest Apostle's Point of View) 

Job – The Story of a Faithful Man Who Endures the Testing of His Faith Through Suffering 

1 & 2 Samuel – King David, The Great Grandfather of the Messiah 

Psalms – The Hymnbook of God 

1 & 2 Kings – Idolatry in Israel, Civil War, and God's Discipline 

1 & 2 Chronicles - The Preservation of the Line of David and the Priesthood 

Ecclesiastes – The Journal of Solomon 

1 & 2 Corinthians – Healing the Divisions in the Church 

Song of Solomon – The Love of Husband and Wife and of God and His Church 

Isaiah – Prophetic Warnings and Promises 

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians – Encouraging Words to Christian Churches 

Jeremiah – Prophetic Warnings and Promises 

Lamentations - The Destruction of Jerusalem and Prayer of Repentance 

1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon – Encouraging Words to Christians 

Ezekiel – Prophetic Warnings and Promises 

James – Wise Advice to Christians 

Daniel and the Twelve Prophets – Prophetic Warnings and Promises 

1, 2, & 3 John, Jude & Revelation – Perseverance Through Persecution
 

Why did our Lord give us His Holy Word? What was His purpose in having it written down and preserved for you for thousands of years? The Lord God gave the Bible to make you “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus,” and to train you in holy living.   

If you know the answer to this key question, does it change how much time you spend in your Bible?  

Luther said, “Letters of lords and princes should be read twice and thrice, for they are carefully worded. But, verily, the letters of our Lord God - for thus St. Gregory calls the Holy Scriptures - one should read three times, seven times, yea, seventy times seven, or to make it still stronger, without end. But we do not do it. I myself do not do it; therefore, I hate myself. But when I get at it and read it, I derive strength from it; I feel that it is a power and not a mere story.”  

I think most of us feel like Luther: “I do not do it; therefore, I hate myself.” Why is that? Why is it such a struggle to read God’s Holy Word? We know that the world, the devil, and even our sinful flesh rage against us and do not want us to spend time in the Scriptures. But, if we are honest, I think we know the answer is even more straightforward – we don’t value it for the treasure that it is and so we do not make it a priority.   

Consider this, if you asked one hundred Christians why they don’t read the Bible, the number one answer would be – “I don’t have enough time.” Is that true though? Take your phone out…look at your daily/weekly summary. How much time do you spend on your phone each day? Your computer? Your television? On average, Americans spend over 2 hours a day on social media and about 4 hours a day watching videos. Americans average about 5 hours a day on their phones. There is obviously some overlap in those statistics, but the numbers are striking.    

What this means is that most Christians know more of what is happening in the news, social media, YouTube, and Tik Tok, than they do the content of the Bible. This should never be! This is especially true for pastors but is true for all of those who bear the name of Christ.   

Reading through the entire Bible in one year only takes 12 minutes a day. Reading through the entire Bible twice in one year only takes 25 minutes a day. If you are telling yourself that you don’t have enough time to read your Bible when you are spending so much time on these other things, what you are actually confessing is that you do not find it as important as social media and watching videos.   

One of the reasons your Creator and Redeemer has given you His Holy Word is so that you might read it. The goal for the Christian is that the Bible would shape his heart and mind, his thinking and speaking – indeed his entire being. As a Christian, to paraphrase Paul, you are to live and move, and have your being in God’s Holy Word. A Christian should seek to know God’s Word as well as is possible for them – both its content and its meaning.  

In the quote from Luther above, he said that when he does read the Word that he gains strength from it and realizes its power. What are some of the benefits of regularly reading the Scriptures?    

Psalm 1 teaches that the Word is to be meditated on day and night because it blesses and sustains you. Psalm 19 teaches that the Word of the Lord is perfect; that it converts, makes wise, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, and because of this it is to be desired more than the finest gold. Hebrews 4 makes it clear that God’s Word is living and powerful – it can accomplish in you what it says and promises to do.    

That barely scratches the surface of all the promise of what the Word of the Lord does for you and in you. Luther summarizes these blessings in the preface to the Large Catechism. He says that God’s Word drives away the devil and evil thoughts, strengthens, comforts, and helps you beyond measure. It gives power, profit, strength, and fruit.  

God’s Word does so much that Luther finally has to say: “And what need is there for more words? If I were to list all the profit and fruit God’s Word produces, where would I get enough paper and time? The devil is called the master of a thousand arts. But what shall we call God’s Word, which drives away and brings to nothing this master of a thousand arts with all his arts and power? The Word must indeed be the master of more than a hundred thousand arts.”  

If this is all true, and Christians believe that it is, why would you reject this treasure and all its benefits for the devilish distractions of this world? Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to quit your job or neglect all your duties so that all you do all day is read God’s Word, but is less than thirty minutes a day really too much for you to do?   

The most straightforward method for reading through your Bible in a year is to read three chapters of the Old Testament and one chapter of the New Testament every day. If you want to read through the Bible twice a year, you just double that (six chapters for the Old Testament and two chapters for the New Testament). There are a variety of ways to do this. You can read everything in one sitting. You could read the Old Testament chapters in the morning and the New Testament chapters in the evening. You could split up the reading throughout the day – morning, midday, and nights. There are no rules, just read!   

If you did this, would you have to stop reading a faithful devotional book? Absolutely not – you can always do both. The more Christians read the Bible it develops within them a thirst so that they usually desire to read even more.    

If you want to read even more of your Bible, there are helpful schedules for that as well. My favorite reading schedule is Dr. Grant Horner’s Bible-reading system (you can search this online and find it). This method has you reading from 10 different books of the Bible each day. It takes about forty-five minutes a day, and you end up reading most of the New Testament at least five times a year and most of the Old Testament at least two times a year. It immerses you in God’s Word each and every day. It sounds difficult but it is far easier to do than it sounds. If you try this one, try it for at least three months before you give up on it.   

There are a variety of plans out there. The best one is the one you will follow and use daily. Some of you reading this are already thinking, “This is overwhelming. I am not there yet.” If you have not been reading your Bible regularly, than fifteen minutes can sound like an eternity. Even if you just begin by reading one chapter a day (I would start with one of the Gospels), it is better than doing nothing. If one chapter seems like too much (for whatever reasons), then try to read a few verses a day. Reading something from God’s Word is always better than reading nothing, even if it is not as much as you want to do.    

If you start reading one chapter a day in the Gospels, and want to add more, I would add a chapter from the Psalms and then build up and expand from there as the habit becomes more regular and as you desire to read more of the Bible.  

Keep track of what you read no matter which system or method you use. It will be a great blessing to you to be able to look back and consider all that you were able to read in His Word over the course of a year.   

If you start doing this today, imagine how much the Lord will be doing in you and for you as you read His Word in faith. You will be truly blessed!  

You will see in the chapter on prayer that Bible reading and prayer always go hand-in-hand. So let us end this chapter with a prayer.  

May this prayer be your fervent desire as you read God’s Holy Word: Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.