Where Do I Start in the Bible? Are Your Kids Bored With It?

Yesterday there were two commenter questions I want to answer.

The first one came from Christy and she asked how am I keeping my kids from getting sick of me reading the Bible to them over breakfast and lunch.

My children are now 5 and 7 and I have been doing this for at least 4 years now and truly they love it! I don't think they know anything different and they have never once been bored - I think I keep it fresh - or I try to anyway ! We have fantastic discussions and they eat it up. I always read straight from the NIV and we do small portions and define the words to be sure they understand it.

For example on Wednesday, we discussed I Corinthians 5:33 "Bad company corrupts good morals." I had to define - "company, corrupts and morals" and then explain how this passage is useful when we apply it to playing with the neighborhood children.

We have a "Kitchen Bible" -this Bible never leaves the kitchen and it's always on the table or counter ready to go! My children see the joy it gives me to learn and read it and they follow right along! I also pray that they will always love God more than anything this world offers. Pray over your children daily that God will give them a hunger and thirst for him and then be faithful in reading with them - if you don't - who will?

The second question came from Anonymous:
"I would love to be able to sit down and memorize some scripture and spend time learning about God's word. I am a very new beginner and my question is - where do you start? I don't belong to a church and have been intimidated on how to get started along this journey. I feel like if I just open up the Bible and begin somewhere, I'll be lost or extremely confused since I have not read the Bible before at all. Any suggestions for me?"


Oh Anonymous - I am so glad you asked! Bear with me - my answer is LONG (I apologize in advance lol!):


The Bible can be a challenge to read because it does not read like an ordinary book from cover to cover. It was written over thousands of years, by nearly 40 authors and in several languages. To put it in simple terms, the Old Testament gives us a foundation for who God is, his character and the foreshadowing of Christ's coming. The New Testament is about Jesus' life, crucifixion, resurrection, the spread of the gospel and instructions for Christian living.

So where do you start? Let me go book by book in order of where they fall in the Bible and explain it - I will give you my recommendations as I go. Hold on to your seat - cause here we go on a ride through the entire Bible!

The Book of Genesis tells us how God created the world, how mankind fell into sin, and the impact of the fall. This book is necessary for a complete understanding of God's word.

Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are filled with the Jewish law - which can be difficult to read...so you may want to save those books for later in your journey. But don't miss them because all of God's word is meant to be read!

Joshua through Job gives a lot of Jewish history. When I studied these books I kept a "Character of God" journal - where I wrote down all the things I learned about my God. I learned so much about how my God works in the lives of real people. These are not hard to read but they are not the place to start. Once you have a good foundation - head over to these books.


Then there's Psalms - which I LOVE - as history and poetry collide, again the character of God shines brightly. This is what I am reading in my quiet time currently.

Next comes Proverbs. It's a favorite of mine. It is filled with God's wisdom for relationships - marriage, parenting, friends and neighbors. This is a great book to commit to memory.

Ecclesiastes is a wisdom book and Song of Solomon is a great book about having a loving marriage...if you want to read some hot stuff - read here lol!!!

Isaiah through Malachi are prophetic books and again a very difficult read...don't avoid them - but save them for later.

Then there's the gospels - This is where you start!!! If you want to know more about Jesus, his life and teachings you MUST start in the gospels - the book of John is the most common book people refer beginners to - and I agree. All four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are wonderful - but they overlap each other - so you may not want to read all four in a row. Start in the book of John!

In Acts - we see Jesus ascend into heaven and the beginning of the Christian church as we know it today. This is the sequel to the gospels so I recommend you read this after you read a gospel.

Then there's the book of Romans - this book clearly defines salvation and grace - I love this book. So after reading the Gospel of John, then Acts, read Romans. If you read these three books -you will have a very strong foundation for what you believe!

From there we delve into the epistles - they are all helpful for how to apply the principles of God to practical life - but some are easier to understand than others.

My favorites are Ephesians, Philippians, James and I John. I recommend you read these next after reading John, Acts and Romans.

Then finally we come to Revelation - a book of prophecy about the end times. This is a hard book to understand but certainly a fascinating one. Read it when you feel comfortable with some of the other readings above.

After you've finished these New Testament books - I'd go back and hit Genesis, Psalms and Proverbs but my mom would say don't miss the solid doctrine in Hebrews and Revelation. Oh girlie - it's all fantastic - open it and just enjoy the meat of God's word! It's delectable!

And for my seasoned Christian Bible readers - please chime in - what are your favorite passages and what would you recommend for those who are new to Bible reading? There is no right or wrong answer to this question so it's okay if you have a different suggestion.


The key is - Walk with the King!