How to read the Bible for the first time (without starting at Genesis)
Dillon McCurdy · August 17, 2026 · 7 min read
Every January, a lot of people decide to read the Bible cover to cover. Genesis goes fine — it's stories, and good ones. Exodus starts strong. Then somewhere around the tabernacle measurements, or the first ten pages of Leviticus, the whole thing quietly dies.
That's not a character flaw. It's a bad plan. The Bible isn't one book to be read front to back; it's sixty-six books, written over about 1,500 years, in three languages, in a dozen genres. Reading it in order is like starting a library at the leftmost shelf.
Start here instead
Read the Gospel of Mark. It's the shortest of the four accounts of Jesus' life, it moves fast, and it was probably written for people who knew almost nothing going in. You can read it in about an hour and a half. If you read a chapter a day, it's sixteen days.
Then read John. Same story, very different angle — less action, more of Jesus explaining who He is and why He came. It's where "I am the way, the truth, and the life" comes from (John 14:6), which, if you're wondering, is where we got our name.
After that, Acts (what happened after Jesus left), then Romans (the clearest explanation of what Christians actually believe), then Psalms whenever you need to pray and don't have words.
That's a real foundation. You'll understand more of the Bible from those five books than from a year of grinding through the Old Testament in order.
Where to read it
Free options: the YouVersion app, biblegateway.com, or Scroll, which is our own app and gives you a verse a day with no ads.
What to do when it gets weird
It will. You'll hit a genealogy, or a law about mildew, or a story where somebody does something terrible and the text doesn't seem to comment. A few things to keep in mind:
- Described isn't the same as endorsed. The Bible reports what people did, often honestly and unflatteringly. That's not the same as recommending it.
- Genre matters. Poetry isn't a science textbook. Law codes aren't narrative. A proverb is a general truth, not a promise.
- You're allowed to keep going. You don't have to resolve every hard passage before the next one. Write the question down. Bring it to someone. Keep reading.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."Psalm 119:105
A lamp for your feet, not a floodlight for the whole road. You get enough light for the next step. That's how it works.
One more thing
Read it with somebody. The Bible was written to communities and mostly read out loud in groups for the first 1,500 years of its life. Reading alone is fine — reading with two or three other people who'll tell you what they noticed is better.
If you're in Big Rapids and want people to do that with, that's part of what we're building. Get on the list and we'll tell you when and where.