Where Should I Start Reading the Bible?

The most common mistake is starting at page one and reading straight through, as if the Bible were a novel. Genesis is gripping, Exodus holds up—and then many readers hit the ritual details of Leviticus and Numbers, lose momentum, and quietly give up around February. The Bible is not arranged to be read cover to cover on the first pass. So don’t feel guilty about not doing it that way; almost no one should.

Start instead with a Gospel, because the whole Bible is finally about Jesus (Luke 24:27), and the Gospels tell his story directly. The Gospel of John is a wonderful first book—it states its own purpose plainly: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ… and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Mark is short and fast-moving if you’d rather start there. From a Gospel, a good path is to read Acts (how the Church began), then a shorter letter like Philippians or Ephesians (how to live in Christ), and the Psalms alongside everything (the Bible’s own prayer book, good for daily reading). The Old Testament becomes far richer once you know the Christ it points toward.

A few practical habits help more than any reading plan. Read a little regularly rather than a lot occasionally—“blessed is the one who meditates on his law day and night” (Psalm 1:2) describes a steady diet, not a heroic binge. Before you read, pray briefly that God would speak to you through his Word. And read to meet a Person, not to complete an assignment—asking of each passage, “what does this show me about God and his grace in Christ?”

Finally, you were never meant to read it alone. The Word “dwell[s] in you richly” (Colossians 3:16) most fully where it is also preached and taught in the Church. Personal reading and the Sunday sermon feed each other. Start small, start with Jesus, and keep coming back.