Hello there, My name is Jay I'm 29 years old. I'm originally from South Wales but have lived in Surrey for the past 6 years. I am new to the Christian life and I'm currently exploring the Anglican faith. I have recently started going to my local church with a view to become baptised. I am starting to Pray more, read the Bible, but I am so confused on where to start in the Bible. I have to be honest and say that I find the bible quite heavy going and a difficult read. For absolute beginners like myself what are the most important chapters to read in the Bible? I would appreciate any advice you may have on becoming a Christian, Adult Baptism etc... Thank you and God bless you. Jay
I've heard many times that if you read no other book of the bible, read the Gospel according to St. John. I would certainly recommend it. I would also suggest using a modern translation like the NIV, ESV, or, my favorite, NLT. Of course, watching some of the great bible movies like Jesus of Nazareth or Passion of the Christ can be very helpful. I am very happy to hear about your decision to enter into the Christian life. God bless you on your way brother.
My advice would be to go to the scripture union website there is a uk site and it has the daily bread scripture reading series for the iphone or ipad if you a techno person like myself. I would suggest you use a modern translation like the NIV, NRSV or the ESV as LL said above. Start small and don't let yourself get too far bogged down in the old testament law books they will turn a new reader off very quickly. If you want to read more slowly make your way through the New Testament and then tackle the Old Testament. If you have any questions talk to your local priest or ask here I am sure someone would be happy to help walk you through the scripture. Blessings, Gordon
Jay The Church is a divine society founded by Jesus Christ. Its purpose is to carry on what Jesus began - to teach people of the goodness and love of God and his purpose for us and to restore the relationship between God and man broken by man's disobedience which we call sin. The Church is the family of God's people, uniting us in worship and in work to set up his reign of justice and love. The Church helps us to bear witness to God by the quality of our lives. We become members of the Church through baptism. In baptism we are made members of Christ and children of God. As Christians we try to renounce all that is evil and try to keep God's will and commandments as expressed through the Bible, the Church and our own conscience. We try to be fellow workers with Christ in spreading kindness, joy and love and we join together to worship God our creator. We aim to grow in the knowledge and love of God through the sacraments of the Church, prayer, Bible reading, self-discipline and service to others. The Church calls us together for worship and it is the channel by which God strengthens us for the difficulties and temptations of life. God gives us the Holy Spirit through baptism and confirmation and we are constantly strengthened through the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ - Holy Communion. Through the Church we learn about God and his intentions for mankind and our eternal destiny. There's a very good book popular with Church of England folks that I'd recommend called 'Reflections for Daily Prayer'. (If you get one, make sure it's for the current Church year). It offers accessible reflections by clergy, biblical scholars and theologians on one of the Common Worship Lectionary readings for Morning Prayer each day. The reflections are quite short taking up about 3/4 of a page. The book includes a simplified form of Morning Prayer with Lectionary details and a daily Collect prayer. Also included is a very brief guide to the practice of daily prayer and contemplative Bible reading known as Lectio Divina.
Good suggestions Gordon. Jay, a good practice I adopted early on is to read one chapter of the NT a day Monday through Friday. If you do that you'll work through the whole NT in one year. I incorporate it with the short morning prayer devotional for families in the 1928 BCP. I don't know the equivalent in UK. It takes very little time and is very beneficial.
Hi Jay, welcome to the forum. To become a Christian, there is only one way and one thing you need to do: come in faith to Jesus Christ, accept Him as your Saviour and Lord, and commit to follow His teachings. Upon coming to Him in faith, you are spiritually reborn and baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. Water baptism as a professing believer, especially if done by immersion, testifies that in Jesus you have died to sin and your old self, been buried with Jesus, and raised again with Him to newness of life. Baptism by immersion is a visible portrayal of the Gospel message. A good place to start with the Bible are the Gospels -- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and especially John, as LL has pointed out. In the Old Testament, I like the Psalms and Isaiah.
Yes, begin by reading the words of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. And pray to our Lord as often as you can. Stay involved in your local church and look for ways to give the peace of Christ to others. ...Scottish Monk
Welcome to the forum Jay! Does the church you're attending have bible study or prayer groups? I find I get a whole lot more out of the Bible discussing it with others. I moved to a new church a year ago and found the best way to fit in is just to get involved in as much as you can at the church. Volunteering on things such as helping with the tea and coffee is a good way to get to know other church members.
At the moment I am having unofficial introductory lessons to Christianity which the Reverend and the youth worker are doing with me. I had my first lesson on Wednesday. The first lesson focused entirely on Mark. Found it a little difficult when asked what my thoughts were on each passage we read. The reverend did say the church runs classes called 'Beyond Ourselves'. It's a 10 lesson course aimed at current Christians and newcomers that are interested about Christianity. However he didn't tell me when this would start. They feel this is the best way for me to go. Thanks for making me feel welcome and I am taking the help and advice on board.
I agree with many others: start with the Gospel of John. It is like a self contained bible, within the Bible. It is written so well and explains so much, that many have said that it is possible for all the other gospels and writings to have perished, but only St Johns gospel to survive, for the Christian religion to basically be fine. Note: I don't think starting with Mark is going to be of much help, especially when you're starting out and still deciding on whether Christianity is for you. Starting with Mark and the "synoptic" gospels is a very recent phenomenon that has to do with the German scholarship rather than classical Christianity. And judging by the last 100 years, German scholarship kills the faith and produces atheism, so just remember that. You will be told that Mark is the "earliest" written, and the "most true", when in fact Christians have always maintained that Matthew is the earliest gospel, because of early records, and because of originally bring written for Hebrews (in the language only they spoke). Going back to John, it is no less, no worse, no more secondary than any other of the gospels. In fact people find it best, for kindling their faith, as a sort of self-contained all-encompassing message of Christianity.
Well I never said to go with Mark because of some scholarship, it was from personal experience. It is a fast book to read and gives the basics
Sorry I wasn't talking about you historyb I saw Jay mention Mark from his outside sources, and while there's nothing wrong with Mark obviously, too often I've seen people (not you) invoke it as the "reliable" gospel which people should read for its greater trustworthiness, which throws the other gospels into doubt by contrast, and I wanted to reiterate that all of scripture is trustworthy. Mark is as good as John, as good as Matthew.