Study 7: OK, where shall I start reading? 

We made it to the final session, well done! OK, so where do you even start?

First thing to say is you are in the perfect place on this app to easily start reading the Bible.  You can have a search around the app and find yourself a good daily plan that will give you somewhere to start reading with probably a mixture of Old Testament sections and New Testament. 

However, if you are up for it then I would encourage you to go for a gospel, try reading the gospel of Mark. The reason I picked Mark is that it is the shortest, but also has been written with ‘action’ in mind. I love action and the Bible is full of it. I tend to fall asleep with long lists of names and difficult places to pronounce, so give me that action! 

Find a version that you like reading too, you might find selecting a version called The Message is easier to read. Or you can try any of the NIV (New International Version), ESV (English Standard Version) or NLT (New Living Translation) versions. I tend to use the ESV or the NLT versions when I am reading the Bible to get a feel for the bigger story being unfolded. 

If you can, read a verse or bit each day but sometimes grab a larger section from the Bible and spend some time reading that too. I have found that it also helps to read slow, may sound silly that, but unlike a novel that can be rapidly devoured, but when you read the Bible you will need to tune yourself in sometimes. 

You can use the YouVersion app to hear the Bible being read to you too, which is actually how the early church would have received the accounts of Jesus, so I like that. I often listen to a chapter being read and then spend some time thinking it over and praying about it too. (We will come onto the prayer bit in another plan).

The last thing I want to leave you is some framework when you read the Bible, I often try and read it with these questions in mind: Who was this written to? (The Bible often tells us at the start of each book which is helpful) What was it saying to them? What is it saying to me today? 

Let’s go for it and read Mark! You ready?

---------

What next?

We have two more reading plans in this 'how stuff works' series, so check out:

• How Stuff Works: Prayer
• How Stuff Works: Church

---------

If you like what you read here in this series, then we have a 4-book set called The Manual Starter Pack that you can get hold of from the CVM shop to drill and mine into this stuff even more. Each book contains a month’s worth of reading notes to explore at your own pace, just go ahead and check out the CVM website