Listen To An Audio Bible
For a lot of the churchs history, people listened to Gods Word instead of reading it. Sometimes it can be helpful to purchase an audio Bible, then take a walk and listen to the Bible instead of reading it. If you find that youre struggling through your daily reading, consider supplementing it with an audio Bible.
With the NIV 50th Anniversary app , you can read or listen to the full Bible textand its free!
Amplified Bible Not Accurate
Here is the Amplified Bible translation of Acts 14:23.
When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they believed .
The Amplified Bible is rated as not accurate because it added and joyfully accepted as the Messiah. These words do not exist in the original Greek text.
Learning How To Read The Bible Can Be Fun And Enjoyable
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Practical, encouraging, and full of biblical truth, Fall in Love with Gods Word has everything you need to learn how to:
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- Use Scripture to conquer sin, false beliefs, and negative thought patterns
- Experience fresh spiritual growth and passion for Gods Word.
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Bible Study By Chapters
In the Bible there are 1,189 chapters in the Old and New Testaments. In a little over three years, a person could make an intensive study of the whole Bible, taking a chapter a day. It is usually a good practice to start your Bible study in the New Testament.
Time needed: 20 minutes.
Study the Bible by Chapters
Seek to find its main subject or subjects.
If you are reading the Gospel of John, for example, you might give each chapter titles like this: ch. 1 Jesus Christ, the Word of God ch. 2 The Wedding at Cana ch. 3 The New Birth ch. 4 The Woman at the Well ch. 5 The Healing of the Man at the Pool of Bethesda ch. 6 The Feeding of the 5,000
Including its main thoughts. For example, for John 1, you might make an outline like this:Jesus Christ, the Word of God:a. Jesus Christ was the eternal Word of God, 19b. Jesus Christ came into the world, 1018c. John witnesses that Christ is to come, 1928d. John says that Jesus is the Lamb of God, 2937e. Jesus Christ calls His first disciples, 3851
How Do You Study The Bible
Thats all Ive got for now. I hope that these methods will guide others in how to study the Bible for beginners out there. May it inspire you to find what works best for you in your own Bible study. Thank you for taking the time to read this guide to how to start studying the Bible. If you have any questions or comments, please dont hesitate to comment below. Let me know: how do you do your Bible study?
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Level Five & Six: The Letters & A Prophetic Book
The next section contains epistles, or letters, written by early church leaders to various congregations or individuals. They struggled with and celebrated the same things we do today.
The final section of the New Testament is also prophecy. Its primarily about Jesus second coming, and how to live in the interval between His two appearances.
Look Up The Historical Context
Many Bibles will give you some historical context at the start of each book. What was happening during the time of this book? Who were the major figures at the time? What was society like? What was the original language? Understanding the historical context will go a long way with studying any specific chapters or verses.
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The Cons Of Study Bibles
Potential for Information Overload
There are times when more information can be too much information. If you’re just starting out as a Bible reader, for example, you may want to get familiar with the biblical text before you blast yourself with a firehose of information from study Bibles. In the same way, people who participate in small groups or other activities often default to checking study notes rather than engaging the text for themselves.
Basically, you want to learn how to think about the Bible on your own before you start reading what a lot of experts think. Don’t allow other people to think for you when it comes to something as vital as God’s Word.
Size and Weight
It’s a practical matter, but it shouldn’t be ignoredmost study Bibles are big. And heavy. So, if you’re looking for a Bible to toss in your purse or carry around the woods for devotional experiences during a hike, you may want to stick with something smaller.
Incidentally, one of the ways to avoid this disadvantage is to purchase electronic versions of a study Bible. Most new study Bibles are available through Amazon or the iBookstore, which makes them not only portable but searchable — a great extra feature.
Potential for Personal Bias
What Is The Best Translation For Beginners
Many people wonder what version of the Bible a beginner should use, and heres my short answer: The best Bible translation for you is the one youll actually use.
For example, I could tell you that many people insist on only using the KJV, but if the KJV seems like a foreign language to you , then you probably wont stick with studying it. A good starting point for some beginners is the NIV, since its fairly easy to read and uses more modern words we tend to use in our everyday life. You may also want to consider an ESV which is a more literal translation. The more literal the translation, the better option it is for studying.
When my husband first began studying his many Bible years ago, he loved the Amplified Bible, which adds synonyms to help you understand the meaning of certain words as you read. Today, he finds the NASB to be his version of choice. Truly, choose the one that suits your current reading style and aligns closely with your comprehension level.
I do have one caution to make here: Some people use The Message as their Bible of choice. Note that The Message is not necessarily a version of the Bible, but rather a paraphrase of it. While it might be sufficient for casual reading, I personally dont recommend using it for focused Bible study.
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Know That You Can Start A Bible Studyby Faith
Faith is the essential component of the Christian life. Followers of Jesus Christ are to live every day by faith. That is what Paul is communicating to us in Galatians.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
The life you and I live every day is by faith in the Son of GodJesus Himself. Christ not only lives in you, He is living through you.
Jesus Christ gave His life for you, so that He could give His life to you, so that He could live His life through you.
If you are being prompted by the Lord to start a Bible study, just say yes Iwilldothis,Lord.Pleasehelpme. Jesus is with you every step of the way and in every situation. That includes:
- in your church, neighborhood, community, or workplace.
- at any age or stage of life. Someone around you needs to know Jesus or to know Him better through studying the Bible.
- with any size grouplarge or small.
- whether you have been studying the Bible for 2 years or doing it for decades. Share what you know and what you are learning.
You can start and lead a Bible study not because you are so great or smart or have been a Christian a long time or know the Bible really well. You can do this because Jesus is the one who enables you to do it. Say “yes” and jump in with both feet.
Level Three: The Prophetic Books
The last section contains the writings of the prophets. They wrote about a great deal of things, but mostly they spoke about two major catastrophes in Israels history.
In 722 B.C., Israel was destroyed by Assyria, and then in 586 B.C., Babylon attacked and captured Jerusalem. These events were incredibly significant in the life of Israel. By and large, the prophets wrote to warn of, or explain, these events.
The final prophet, Malachi, wrote about 400 B.C., and then there was silence until Jesus arrival.
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Read Through One Book At A Time
With this method, you simply work through one book at a time, instead of skipping around. This helps you fully grasp the meaning of the book overall and how each chapter relates its message. This should be one of your go-to methods of Bible study. If all of your studies bounce from passage to passage, you only gain fragments of Bible knowledge and never a sense of the whole. When you do a whole book from beginning to end, you learn about Bible topics as they arise in your reading and ultimately build a better foundation.
The Bible Is A Big Book With Stories Advice Promises Good News How
By titling this article Where to Start Reading the Bible, we dont want to give the wrong impression. So first, a disclaimer: Theres no wrong place to start reading the Bible. But there is a wrong time: Later. Or never.
The Bible is so valuableso importantso life-changingwe are thrilled you have decided to read it. We are glad you want to know where to start reading the Bible.
This article will look at four main approaches to where to start reading the Bible:
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Ground Level: The Historical Books
The bulk of the Old Testament primarily covers a period of time from about 2500 B.C. to about 400 B.C., in the area of the world known by scholars as The Ancient Near East. It specifically focuses on Gods historical and prophetic interactions with the Hebrew people. There are 39 books or sections written by a number of different authors.
The Old Testament is divided into at least three major sections. The first part contains the history of the Jewish people. Its roughly chronological, and all the narratives fit into the times described in these history books.
Start With Gods Promises And Truth
The best place to start is with Gods many promises and with the Truth. These dont change because you got busy or distracted.
What did change if you are dealing with shame and condemnation is you are likely entertaining some lies and false beliefs. Thats why the first things first: lets replace the lies and unbelief with Truth and promises.
I think having a list of verses that point to truths and promises that resonate with you is a smart idea. I would read through those verses in a few translations or write them out in my favorite translation.
Here are some verses to start your list.
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What To Expect From Yourself
And heres another thing. If I had a dollar for every time I saw someone elses Bible, marked-up with notes and bleeding with highlighter, and thought WOW! I want THAT!, I could buy myself a fancy commentary set or ten! To be sure, I love how encouraging it is to see other peoples Bible study photos and videos. But inspiration can turn to envy really quickly when we start comparing ourselves to others.
It can be damaging to hold yourself to the standard of someone elses Bible study. This is especially true when youre just learning how to start Bible study! Remember: this isnt about having a perfect Bible or being a perfect person. God meets us where we are. We dont have to climb the mountain or go to the temple to talk to God. We are blessed to serve a God who came to us. One who put on skin and sandals to walk in our shoes, feel our pain, know our hearts. We serve a God who stoops to meet us.
In the same way, you dont need to mark up every inch of your Bible to spend time with God. You dont need to read Hebrew or speak Greek. You can still gain important messages and lessons from the Word without tearing it apart. Focus on what you can do sustainably. If you can only spend five minutes a day, every day reading the Bible, that would be better than doing a huge two-hour study once a week. See what fits you, your life and your learning style. Do what you can.
How I Studied The Bible When I First Started Out
My own interest in Bible study first began about 20 years ago with the desire to read the Bible from cover to cover.
After several failed attempts to complete a read the Bible in a year plan, I decided to try something different. The 90 Day Bible came to my attention, and it perked my curiosity. Maybe, if I really dedicated myself to it, I could read the Bible through in 90 days?
On one hand, its a lot of reading to do each day, and I didnt have much time to do a deep dive into many Scriptures. However, I did get a great overview of the Bible, and 90 days wasnt too long for me to keep my commitment. It seemed more manageable than the typical 365 days, at least for the stage of life I was in at the time.
Before I knew it, my husband had decided to join me. We ordered not one, but two copies of the 90 Day Bible and began setting our alarm to wake up super early each morning so we could each do our reading and discuss it together.
Oh, how I loved our Bible time in the mornings! Since his degree is in Theology, and he was already well versed in Bible study and understanding Scripture, our conversations were rich and wonderful. I learned so much during those 90 days.
We loved completing that plan together, and did it again the following year. It was a great foundation. From there, I began to focus on other Bible study methods and continued to grow.
And Im still learning, even after all these years!
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Learn About The Different Types Of Bible Study Tools And Resources
There are many good resources out there. Most of them are helpful and useful for different purposes.
My favorite book to help people study the Bible is: Unlocking the Bible: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible . It explains every book of the Bible and how they all fit together. Be sure to get the book and not the companion volume that only has charts, diagrams, and images. The covers look very similar.
You might also want to look into investing in a Study Bible. A Study Bible is like an all-in-one collection of the most used tools all in one cover. I recommend the CSB Tony Evans Study Bible .
As you begin using some of the tools that are in most Study Bibles, youll start to see whats useful and why its included. My first Study Bible lasted me for many years as my primary resource before I started adding to my resource library.
If you want to see how a Study Bible can be used, heres an article where I explain how to use one: How to Use a Study Bible: A Helpful Illustrated Guide
What Bible Should You Read
Since we have so many different types of Bibles, we should ask, Which Bible should I use for Bible study? Here are five questions to consider:
The answer to the first question is No. The reason is that a Bible that reads easily may be an inaccurate translation of the Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic languages in which it was originally written. The answer to the second question is the old King James Version Bible is not as accurate as it was in 1611 because the English language has significantly changed in the centuries since it was written. The answer to the third question is that a gender-neutral Bible should never be the goal of Bible translators. The goal must be to translate the Bible just as it was written. Changing the words changes how God wrote it. The TNIV distorts key passages of the Bible. The answers to the fourth and fifth questions are that these Bibles are not more important because of the man who sponsored them. The most important question in choosing a Bible is which Bible should you use for Bible study if you do not know Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek?
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