checking your heart towards the church

The Bible (which simply means “book”) is really a library of 66 books. Words like, “Genesis, Exodus, Jeremiah, the Gospel of Matthew, etc) are names for the different books of the Bible.

The Old Testament (or Hebrew Scriptures) were written before the coming of Jesus, the New Testament, after. The latest writings of the Bible were written about 2,000 years ago. A little bit older, in other words, than any other book we’ve ever read, which makes it fascinating, interesting, and challenging all at the same time.

Here’s a step by step guide for reading the Bible for the first time, including some “companion reading suggestions” to go along with your reading of the actual Bible.

Strategy: Start with Jesus and let him introduce you to the rest of the Bible

There are four gospels (gospel means “good news”) in the New Testament (the part of the Bible that came after Jesus.) Each of these gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John—represent a treasury of eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life on earth, especially the things he did and taught in the years just preceding his death and resurrection. These accounts began as stories about Jesus that began to circulate, probably as soon as Jesus became a public figure. That sounds like it might be a breeding ground for inaccurate accounts, but keep in mind two things: 1) the culture of the time was quite good at accurately reporting “oral tradition” (told, rather than written stories) because the culture highly prized accurate transmission of these accounts; 2) the gospels included in the Bible were selected by a kind of group consensus that put a high premium on accuracy. (The fact that the gospels include several things that make the earliest leaders look bad, is just one sign that they highly valued accuracy.)

Matthew: written for a Jewish audience, emphasizing how Jesus fulfills the Jewish hope for God’s saving work; also includes the largest portion of Jesus’ teaching.

Mark: this gospel probably has Peter, the follower of Jesus who was very close to him, as its primary source. It is also written like a screenplay—fast paced, action packet, with vivid scenes.

Luke: written by the physician Luke, who was a traveling companion to Paul (who wrote several letters in the New Testament.) Luke writes with an historian’s flair. He also emphasizes Jesus’ concern for the poor, and his interactions with women (something that sets Jesus apart from other teachers of the time.)

Step 2. Once you’ve finished one of those three gospels (Matthew, Mark, or Luke) try reading the gospel of John. This gospel was written either by John himself, a disciple of Jesus who was very close to him, like Peter, or by someone writing under the direction or close influence of John. (My personal opinion: it was written by John himself.) This gospel compliments the others. It seems to have been written after deep reflection on the meaning of Jesus’ life and ministry and includes some material that is not in any of the other gospels.

Step 3. If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to find a small group to attend. What’s this got to do with reading the Bible? Simply put, the Bible was never written to be read in isolation from a community of people trying to understand its message. By attending a small group, you’re making a match between reading the Bible and its intended context. For example, the Bible is loaded with perspective on how to get along with others in the family of faith (the church). A small group is a place to put some of that perspective into practice. As any educator will tell you, we learn best when we’re not just taking in information, but actually testing it out, or putting it into practice. By attending a small group, you are also putting yourself in a position to meet some other people who are also reading the Bible, including some who have been at it for some time. It’s a great place, in other words to get some of your questions about the Bible asked and answered, or at least explored with others. In fact, your questions will become an important part of the group’s learning process.

Step 4. Now that you have some understanding of who Jesus is, read the book of Acts (also called Acts of the Apostles). This is the first New Testament book that comes after the four gospels. It is an account, written by Luke (who wrote the gospel bearing his name), that begins after the death and resurrection of Jesus. It tells the story of the early Jesus movement—how the good news of Jesus spread through the church.

Step 5. Read the First Letter of John, one of a group of books in the New Testament called the “epistles” or letters. That’s just what they are: letters written by a leader of the early church to Christians in various places. They give us an insiders view of what was happening in the early Jesus communities and offer perspective on what it means to follow Jesus in the context of a church today.

Step 6. Read the letter of James, who (most likely) was the brother of Jesus and only came to believe in him after Jesus was raised from the dead. James writes with a fire in his belly and shares the prophetic voice of Jesus—straightforward, blunt and passionate.

Step 7. Read the letter of Paul to the Phillipians, another of the New Testament letters. This will introduce you to one of the most important figures in the first century church, and someone you learned about in the book of Acts: Paul, the man who persecuted the early Christians before he had a change of heart. It’s all about going through hardships with a joy that comes from a relationship with Christ.

Intermission: By now, Jesus is coming into clearer focus through your reading of the New Testament portion of the Bible. You can go back to read one or two of the other gospels that you haven’t yet read. Or read more of the letters in the New Testament. You will by now notice that Jesus and the writers of the New Testament were familiar with the writings of what we call the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Scriptures. If you feel ready, you can begin to read some of the books of the Old Testament for yourself. What follows is a suggested order to sample the Old Testament. The sequence isn't critical so start with what most interests you.

Step 9. Exodus: The second book of the Bible, telling the story of ancient Israel and how God liberated them from bondage in Egypt. This book sets much of the pattern for God liberating us from bondage to spiritual slavery through Jesus.

Step 10. Psalms (the p is silent): This is the song or prayer book of the Bible (without the music—but the psalms were originally sung.) My advice: skip through the book of Psalms and look for prayers that seem to make sense to you here and now, and use them as prayers yourself. At least to get started. My favorites: Psalm 23, Psalm 19, Psalm 4, and Psalm 121.

Step 11. Proverbs: This is a book of inspired and down-to-earth wisdom about living life on planet earth with an ear toward heaven. Take it in manageable doses, no more than a chapter at a time.

Step 12. Isaiah Chapter 40 – 53: This will give you an introduction to the Hebrew prophets, who were a major influence on Jesus. His life was, in many ways, a fulfillment of the longings and visions of the prophets. These chapters include what are called the “Servant Songs” which were very powerful signs of Israel’s coming Messiah, fulfilled in Jesus.

But many of us, myself included, didn’t hear a lot of Bible stories growing up. Or we heard stories that we didn’t realize were from the Bible, or how they fit into any bigger picture. Let me recommend for you, a book by Walter Wangerin, an outstanding contemporary writer, called The Book of God. Imagine a great story teller who was completely familiar with the entire Bible, sitting around a campfire telling the whole big story of the Bible from start to finish. That’s how
The Book of God reads. It’s not a translation of the Bible, but a re-telling of the major story-line of the Bible from start to finish, or more accurately, from Abraham to Jesus. This is the book I wish I’d read before digging into the Old Testament myself for the first time.

You might think I’m crazy for recommending this, but you can also get yourself a good book of Bible Stories for Children (older children, not to insult your intelligence.) The bookstore clerk will think you’re getting it for one of your nieces or nephews, but you’re actually getting it to read for yourself. This will accomplish much the same goal as reading The Book of God—familiarizing you with some of the stories of the Bible so you have something to hang your hat on when you read the Old Testament itself.