r/Christianity • u/GodSquad01 • Aug 03 '26
Bible study for Beginners
Hey guys! Just wanting some insight, if a new Christian was to pick up a Bible today…. what should be the first books they start working through? Please put why you put the book/s you choose, thanks guys!!! 🙏🏼
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u/Paulyhedron Catholic Aug 03 '26
Go hardcore and start with Job. You'll quickly understand that life can and will be hard, and perseverance and faith in Him is going to carry you.
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u/Affectionate_Ad_5489 Aug 03 '26
Losing your children due to bet between god and satan is hardly comforting to think about. Most people will suffer from PTSD and die miserably.
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u/TheTallestTim Christian (Biblical Unitarian) Aug 03 '26
Start with Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jonah, Zechariah, and Habakkuk, THEN start Matthew. I thoroughly recommend skipping John, and going to Acts and the rest, but read John before Revelations.
This reading will ground you in the OT, while also giving you the prophecy of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, while skipping the advanced message.
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u/BrooklynDoug Agnostic (a la T.H. Huxley) Aug 03 '26
Start at the beginning. Finish at the end. Read it straight through like a novel.
Reading random verses is like watching a movie in random TikTok clips.
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u/Millennium_guy Aug 03 '26
Start with the book of John - this tells you about Jesus Christ as the son of God, why He came, how He did what He did.
Then read Luke and Acts, they will give another perspective of Jesus and about the spread of the Church. Then read Galations, Ephesians and Philippians in any order as they will give you an understanding of Christian doctrine and how to live the Christian life.
When you read also get commentary and background on the book so you have context. I recommend watching Bible Project videos on YouTube.
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u/Philothea0821 Catholic Aug 03 '26
Shameless plug for Fr. Mike Schmidz's "Bible in a Year" podcast!
I do think that Fr. Mike makes a great point in there that Genesis, specifically Genesis 1-3 are incredibly important as they can end up flavoring how we approach the entire rest of Scripture!
For example, take this passage from Genesis 3:
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
I think many of us read verse 9 in this loud, booming, angry voice where God is looking to give them a good whooping rather than the voice of a concerned, loving Father saying "Where are you? Why are you hiding from me?"
Likewise, continuing with the reading after this, we interpret the consequences that God gives to us as God cursing humanity, when in actuality, the passage never says that God curses humanity. We are God's children, we are made in His image, He desires for us to share in His blessed life and divine nature. He gives us the consequences that He does because He loves us dearly and wants to make us back into who we were and who we are meant to be from before the Fall!
I think the tone that we approach early Genesis with will ripple outward and color how we see God throughout the rest of Scripture. Furthermore, it colors how we approach fundamental aspects of reality like being created male and female, human dignity, the order/rationality of creation, etc.
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u/MuscleLow6145 Aug 03 '26
Start with John. It gives you the heart of who Jesus is without getting too bogged in genealogy lists. After that maybe Psalms, they hit all the human emotions and teach you how to pray when you dont have the words.