Most Christians know they should read God’s word.  They understand that it is God’s message to them and He expects them to read it.  However, for various reasons, many Christians find this duty a daunting task.  It is a mountain they fear they cannot climb.  The Bible seems so big.  They do not understand how it is organized.  The vocabulary and grammar are challenging.  Many Christians just give up and never read the Bible—or at least never read it through.

Now, there is another way.  The Bible Reading Plan for Beginners takes into account the great number of people who do not have a strong background in the word of God.  This plan gives you a stepping-stone so that you do not have to read straight through every word of scripture the first time.  It starts you with the basics.  After you feel comfortable at this level, then you can go on to the entire Bible.

The Bible Reading Plan for Beginners is a plan for reading about 40% of the Bible in 170 days (about six months).  In this plan, you will read much of the Old Testament story, every chapter in  Psalms and Proverbs, the two gospels of Mark and John and several of the New Testament epistles (including Romans, Philippians, Titus and others).  You will not read the details of the ceremonial law, lengthy genealogies or difficult prophecies.  Instead of 1,189 chapters (the entire Bible), you will read 513 chapters.

Do not think that we are judging what parts of the Bible are important.  They are all important.  But some portions are better for beginners to read.  The Bible speaks of the milk and the meat of the word.  Beginners start with milk and later progress to meat.  This reading plan seeks to introduce you to the milk of the word.  After you are comfortable with the milk, you will then be ready to begin reading the meatier portions of the word.  We suggest that you read through this plan at least once—twice if you think you need it.  Then, you can go to a plan that includes the entire Bible.  At that point, much of it will be familiar to you and the rest will make more sense.