Ready to jump into reading the Bible? Great! Here's how to get started.
7 STEPS AS YOU BEGIN TO READ THE BIBLE TOGETHER
1. Determine what kind of Bible reading fits your family's situation best.
BONUS: Have fun! Enjoy this time with your kids, whether they're your own children, your nieces or nephews, your grandchildren or great-granchildren, your friend's kids, or your Sunday school class. Make reading the Bible together a priority, but also a pleasant time. Talk about what you're learning, pray together, acknowledge the joy and sorrow in Scripture, and learn alongside the kids. Ask God to bless your children, and make the most of this sacred and joyful opportunity.
1. Determine what kind of Bible reading fits your family's situation best.
- Do you have young children? Are they ready to have you read to them directly from the Bible? Or would reading a Bible story book together (maybe one with pictures) work better?
- What's your kids' attention span? Will they do well on a long-term project like reading the entire Bible? Or would a series of shorter goals like reading some of the best Bible stories for kids or selected books of the Bible hold their interest better?
- Will you be reading with teenagers? Will they do best reading with the whole family or on their own? Would they benefit from a thorough reading of the Bible, so that they come away with an understanding of the whole story of the Bible? Or do they need to begin with the basics of the Christian faith, like learning about Jesus through a reading of the Gospels?
- Will you read straight from the Bible, or would listening to an audio Bible at home or in the car work better?
- How interested are your kids in reading the Bible? The greater their interest level, the more time you can devote to your reading, and the more of the Bible you can dig into together.
- Will you read daily? Twice a week?
- Will your kids do best with ten minutes of reading at a time? Twenty? Thirty?
- Your time investment will help to determine how much of the Bible you can commit to reading.
- Whole Bible, cover to cover — the simplest reading of the whole Bible
- Whole Bible, in chronological order — the simplest way to understand how each part of the Bible fits together, though it requires some jumping around from book to book
- Whole Bible, mixed — daily readings from both the Old and New Testaments, perhaps with additional readings from Psalms or Proverbs
- Reading of selected books — perhaps only the New Testament, or only the narratives of the Bible, or a single Bible book
- Reading an age-appropriate Bible story book — great for preschoolers and young children who need a simplified, kid-friendly telling of key Bible stories
- Will you read in the morning before school? Just before bedtime? When are your kids most able to relax and enjoy reading or listening?
- Be flexible—every day is different. Some days, you won't be able to read at your usual time. Other days you may have to skip and catch up later. Have a backup plan for times when you'll have to miss your scheduled reading. Even if you fall behind your schedule, keep on reading!
- At the same time, be as consistent as possible. Consistency will help you keep your reading a priority in your family's schedule.
- For younger readers, we recommend the New International Reader's Version (NIrV). It rephrases the New International Version into shorter sentences and simpler vocabulary to better fit a child's comprehension level.
- More sophisticated readers may do well with any of the major, modern Bible translations. Check them out first to make sure their wording and phrasing is appropriate to your kids' reading level.
- For kids or parents whose first language is not English, you might consider the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV). Originally translated for the deaf, it translates the Bible into simple English while maintaining an adult-level sentence structure.
- We recommend against using the King James Version because of the difficulty most kids will face in understanding its archaic English (and also because the newer translations reflect the latest advances in Bible translation and the latest research on ancient Bible manuscripts). If you prefer the KJV, consider using an updated revision of it, like the New King James Version (NKJV) or the 21st Century King James Version.
- The Bible Project offers animated videos that introduce each book of the Bible and several important Bible themes. These can be a great way to give your readers a sense for the meaning of each Bible book as you come to it.
- The NIrV Adventure Bible and similar children's Bibles offer kid-appropriate introductions to the Bible's books and provide commentary on important biblical passages, events, persons, and teachings. Look especially for a Bible with helpful pictures, maps, and diagrams.
BONUS: Have fun! Enjoy this time with your kids, whether they're your own children, your nieces or nephews, your grandchildren or great-granchildren, your friend's kids, or your Sunday school class. Make reading the Bible together a priority, but also a pleasant time. Talk about what you're learning, pray together, acknowledge the joy and sorrow in Scripture, and learn alongside the kids. Ask God to bless your children, and make the most of this sacred and joyful opportunity.