A newbie here!

[nate8469]

lol. sorry, had to get some attention somehow. Wlell here I am. I guess this is a good first step, to admit and to let out. I will lay down what I have been thru. Well I went thru a time believing in God, then I was sort of Wiccan/Pagan in a way, and then sort of atheist. But now I believe that Christianity was right all along. Is it too late for me? hope not, lol.

But heres where I really need some good advice. Where should I start reading the Bible? Im aware that I should read the whole thing, but where should I really begin, to get some good messages to myself? Also, I want to join a church. I have never gone to any church, so Im not sure how to pick one, or even how to act in church. lol wow, hope that isn't too hard for any of you to answer, I know it seems pretty tough. But if you can, I would be very thankful.

Nathan

 

[ephraimanesti]

lol. sorry, had to get some attention somehow. Wlell here I am. I guess this is a good first step, to admit and to let out. I will lay down what I have been thru. Well I went thru a time believing in God, then I was sort of Wiccan/Pagan in a way, and then sort of atheist. But now I believe that Christianity was right all along. Is it too late for me? hope not, lol.

But heres where I really need some good advice. Where should I start reading the Bible? Im aware that I should read the whole thing, but where should I really begin, to get some good messages to myself? Also, I want to join a church. I have never gone to any church, so Im not sure how to pick one, or even how to act in church. lol wow, hope that isn't too hard for any of you to answer, I know it seems pretty tough. But if you can, I would be very thankful.

Nathan

MY BROTHER,

WELCOME! You will probably get many different answers regarding how to read the Bible in the early days of your Walk. My suggestion is that you read through the New Testament in order--from Matthew through Revelations--slowly and prayerfully, asking God to help you understand what you read, retain what you understand, and act upon what you retain.

Once you have read through the whole N.T. one time, go back and re-read the Gospel of John, the Letter to the Romans, and John's three letters. This will give you a good understand of the Christian walk and how to proceed on it.

In addition to the above, on a daily basis read a few pages in Psalms and Proverbs--they contain praise for all that God has done for us and practical wisdom for living a Christian life.

BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE NEW TESTAMENT BEFORE YOU MESS AROUND IN THE OLD (outside of Psalms and Proverbs)-otherwise, things can get confusing.

By the time you complete the above, you should have become Church involved and acquired a Spiritual Mentor of some kind who will guide you from there--in reading, doing Bible studies, or whatever.

It is most important that you let God lead you to the Church into which He wants to place you. Pray and fast about it, asking for God's guidance, and then visit as many Churches in your vicinity as you can. When you are at the right place--if you have been faithful in fasting and praying--God will let you know with a "still small voice" in your heart. Keep your eyes, ears, mind, and heart open and, as Scripture promises, "SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND." (Luke 11:9)

MAY YOU BE BLESSED, AND MAY GOD LEAD YOU INTO ALL TRUTH!

A BOND-SLAVE OF CHRIST,
ephraim

 

[Livewired]

Any of the four gospels is the best place to start. Reading all of them would be great. John, in my opinion, is the easiest to read, as well as it's the one written towards the gentile unbelievers, so that may be the best place to start.

After that, pick any of the shorter letters. Stay away from Revalation, Hebrews, and the Old Testament (not to lessen the importance of those books, just because they're harder to read and you will want the basics first). In the Old Testament, great advice can come from reading Proverbs every time you open the Bible, even if it's one verse. That's probably the only book I would recommend reading, perhaps get a commentary on the overall structure of the story of the Bible from Eden to Christ.

I got lost there. After John, I would recommend the other Johns and James as the next books (like I said, the letters). Many of these were written to new churches/Christians of the time, so they should apply well to you.

I'm glad that you have gone from where you've been to being in a relationship with Christ. Your testimony is encouraging and I pray that you may persevere in reading the Bible and learning (something I struggle with as well).

Like I mentioned, picking up a good book (I think there's a Christian book review type section on these forums?) that overviews Christianity would be good in addition to the Bible.

Also, you may want to post in the proper forum to discuss what kind of church to go to...

Edit: Forgot to add that the most important thing for you to learn is that you can talk to God and he will listen. I can't tell you how much prayer has done for me and how awesome it is to be able to talk to the all-powerful creator of this universe when I need him.

 

[rejectreality]

Welcome!!

Of course it's not too late for you. It's never too late to come to God. As for reading the bible, as before mentioned, the 4 gospels are wonderful. My personal favorite is Matthew. But, all of them are good and all should be read. Again, welcome. God bless

 

[Elijah2]

All good advice from all.

Read the Gospels, and understand the beginnings of our Lord, and then His ministry for 3 1/2 years before HE died on the cross.

Look around and find a church that hasn't too many cars parked outside of it on Sunday. Normally, that will indicate a large church, and a large church is busy and lose the plot sometimes.

Best way is to ring up a church that you seem to like, and tell them what you have shared with us, that will be a start, and then someone will probably contact you and meet you at the door when you arrive for the first time.

 

[Rowan]

I agree with reading the Gospels of our Lord. They teach us how to pray and love, some of the most important things we can do.

I was also a Pagan in the past. If you ever need to talk about any issues pertaining to this, feel free to talk to me on the boards or by PM

Will be praying

 

[HumbleUnderdog]

You've gotten some good tips so far. Another option for bible study is to start right from the beginning of the Old Testament. Some ppl say that it gets confusing, but I beg to differ. The OT paves way for the NT which makes the NT easier to understand. The OT may be confusing, but the NT fulfills and explains the OT.

But whether you start at the OT or NT it doesn't matter, as long as a some point you read both to get the full picture of God's Plan for Salvation.

Some other options are to follow the bible study of a church, which you need to find. The other option is to use the guidlines in your bible for study. Most bibles nowadays have bible studies in them.

As for picking a church, I suggest just going to their services and trying them out, see what their "style" is and how the ppl are, etc.

 

[JPPT1974]

It's never too late to decide if
You want the NIV or the KJV
As I have both btw
Sometimes I have to read the NIV most of the time
So that I can understand better
But keep the KJV because that is how they spoke
During Biblical times.