I’ve called myself a Christian for years, but if I’m honest, my faith has mostly been in the background.
Recently I noticed I’ve never actually sat down and read a full book of the Bible. I tried Genesis once because it’s the first book, but I got stuck around the genealogies and stopped. I’m trying again now and want to stick with it this time. I’m just not sure where to start. Should I read straight through from the beginning, or jump to something that calls to me more?
Part of me wants to start with the older scriptures because I feel like I’m missing a lot of context. Another part of me thinks that might be a rough place to begin and I’ll end up quitting again.
Start with one of the Gospels. Mark is short and moves fast. John is more reflective. Either one puts you in front of Jesus from page one, and since everything else in the Bible points toward him, that gives you an anchor before you tackle the rest.
I stalled out in Genesis too. Twice, and the genealogies got me both times. What worked was reading John first, then Acts, and only going back to Genesis once I cared about the bigger story.
Missing context is a fair concern, but you can layer that in over time. The goal is to build the habit and finish a book, so pick whatever you’ll stick with. A chapter of John a day takes maybe five minutes.
I tried reading the Bible straight through like a novel and kept stalling out.
Since you’re drawn to the older Scriptures, start with Ruth. It’s only four chapters and tells a complete story. After that I’d read Luke, then go back to Genesis 12-50 and Exodus 1-20 for Abraham and Joseph, then Moses. A chapter or two a day with a short prayer for understanding was more sustainable for me than a rigid schedule. Don’t feel bad about skimming the genealogies on a first read. I did.
You don’t have to read the Bible straight through from the beginning. I tried that and stalled in the genealogies every time.
If I were starting over I’d open First John, the short letter near the end of the New Testament. It’s only five chapters, so you can finish a whole book. It’s written in plain language to people whose faith had gone stale.
For the Old Testament, read a psalm or two alongside it instead of jumping into Genesis. Psalms don’t require knowing the whole plot first. Once reading feels normal you can circle back to the early stories when you want the context.
Pairing First John with a psalm or two is a good idea. First John was written to people who had already been believers for a while but still needed reassurance. I read it twice the first week I picked it up. I caught things on the second read that I’d missed completely.
I wish someone had told me years ago that you don’t need the whole backstory to read the Psalms. Reading them made me curious about the context, and I ended up looking things up whenever a psalm mentioned something I didn’t recognize.
Some of the heavier lament psalms cluster together, and landing on a run of those right at the start can be discouraging. Mixing in a few of the shorter praise ones like Psalm 100 or 117 helps while the habit is still forming.
That makes sense, especially the part about finishing one book and building momentum. If I start with John and then Acts, is there an Old Testament book you’d suggest next for context?
When I finished Acts, I went straight to Exodus. Acts 7 tipped me off. Stephen’s speech went through Abraham, Joseph, Moses and I realized I barely knew the stories he was summarizing.
Connections to John kept popping up. John the Baptist had called Jesus the Lamb of God, and the Passover lamb in Exodus 12 suddenly made sense of that title. Jesus called himself the bread of life right after feeding the crowd, and there was the manna in Exodus 16.
I read the first twenty chapters or so, then slowed down on the tabernacle measurements, then I returned to those later. After that, Genesis made more sense, since I already knew where Abraham’s family was headed.
The source also points toward Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians as next steps. That’s a pretty specific path through Paul’s letters. Freedom in Christ, identity, joy, the supremacy of Jesus. Those four cover a lot of theological foundation once you’ve got the gospel narrative down from John.
You don’t have to start in Genesis (but it’s also not the worst choice). Most people find it easier to begin in the New Testament and then return to the early books once the bigger picture clicks.
I’ve heard something like 73% of people who start in Genesis bail before Leviticus. So you’re in good company.
Reading the Bible like it’s fresh good news can change everything, even if you grew up around it. I’ve gone through the whole thing front to back multiple times now, and each pass shows me something I missed before.
Stillness helps, being still enough to let the words take root instead of rushing through and not getting discouraged when parts feel dry.
God bless you as you begin this way of truly knowing Him through His Word.
My two cents is the four Gospels. It’s a solid place to start.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John put you right in front of Jesus, and that’s the heart of the whole thing. Starting there gives you the foundation without getting lost in the genealogies that tripped you up before.
Genesis is worth pushing through. The genealogies are rough, no getting around that, but after wrestling with Genesis, Ecclesiastes meant a lot more to me. Then John, then Romans. That order gave me the full arc, creation, wisdom literature, Jesus, theology.
Has anyone else found that starting with the harder stuff made them more committed? Like you’d already put in the effort so you weren’t about to quit.
Your own curiosity will guide you better than any reading plan. Proverbs and Romans are both solid entry points. When a verse or topic catches your attention, just search that keyword and let it pull you deeper into whatever book speaks to you.
When you hit a wall in your reading, let what you’re carrying right now, the heavy stuff, lead you to passages that speak straight into those places. Scripture meets you where you are.
The genealogies will make sense later. But the verses addressing what’s on your heart today are the ones that keep you engaged.
Both the Ethiopian Orthodox and Protestant Bibles have their place, but the Protestant Bible is the shorter and easier to find. It’s a practical place to start.
For a first read, I’d go beginning to end, just skimming past the genealogies and detailed lists (that’s usually where people stall out). An app like YouVersion lets you compare translations side by side. The CEV reads more naturally than the older versions.
The Bible Project on YouTube is worth checking out. Short videos that cover most books and help with the weird KJV language if that’s been tripping you up. It works as a companion while you read, but not a substitute for actually reading it.