If you want to start reading the Bible but do not know where to begin, choose one book, a manageable passage, and a repeatable time. You do not need to understand every question before opening the text. You do need a willingness to read carefully, learn patiently, and let the passage challenge your assumptions.
For a first week, Mark is a useful starting point because it gives a relatively short account of Jesus’ ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection. This is a practical recommendation, not a claim that one reading order is spiritually superior. The wider Bible remains important as you continue.
Prepare a simple place to read
Use a Bible translation you can follow, in print or digitally. If you are reading the King James Version and encounter unfamiliar words, take time to check their meaning rather than guessing. A clearly identified translation can help you distinguish the biblical text from a devotional writer’s explanation.
Choose a short period you can realistically protect. Five or ten minutes is a starting point, not a standard Scripture imposes. Keep a place to record a question so that one difficult sentence does not prevent you reading the rest of the passage.
A first-week plan through the opening of Mark
- Day 1: Mark 1:1-20. Notice how the book introduces Jesus and the call to follow him.
- Day 2: Mark 1:21-45. Observe Jesus’ authority, compassion, and time in prayer.
- Day 3: Mark 2:1-17. Notice the connection between forgiveness, healing, and Jesus’ calling of Levi.
- Day 4: Mark 2:18-28. Read the questions people ask Jesus before drawing conclusions from his answers.
- Day 5: Mark 3:1-19. Observe the conflict, the crowds, and the appointment of the twelve.
- Day 6: Mark 3:20-35. Pay attention to the accusations and relationships in the passage.
- Day 7: Mark 4:1-20. Read both the parable and Jesus’ explanation; review what you have learned.
This plan does not complete the book. It gives you a place to begin, after which you can continue through Mark in similar sections. If you need two days for one reading, take them. Understanding matters more than keeping up with an artificial timetable.
Ask three questions after reading
First: what happens or is taught here? Describe the passage before applying it. Second: what does it show about Jesus, God, or the people involved? Third: how should I respond faithfully? That final response may be trust, repentance, gratitude, a question to study, or a concrete act of obedience.
For example, after Mark 1:35 you might notice that Jesus withdrew to pray. You can respond by making space for prayer without turning the precise hour of his rising into a command for every believer’s schedule. Observing a detail and establishing a universal instruction are different steps.
Keep difficult questions rather than hiding them
You will encounter things you do not immediately understand. Write the reference and a clear question. “What does this phrase mean in this conversation?” is easier to investigate than “The whole chapter is confusing.” Read surrounding verses and seek help from someone willing to examine the text with you.
A teacher or commentary can help, but neither replaces the passage. When an explanation seems persuasive, check how it accounts for the actual words and context. You are learning a way of reading, not collecting the first confident answer you hear.
Read toward the whole story of Scripture
Luke 24:44-49 records Jesus explaining the fulfilment of Scripture and directing attention to his suffering, resurrection, and the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness. As you grow, learn how individual books belong within that larger story rather than treating the Bible as disconnected inspirational sentences.
A first-week plan is only an entry point. Continue into the rest of Mark, then ask for guidance on reading other kinds of biblical writing, including Old Testament narrative, poetry, prophecy, and letters.
Make the next reading easy to find
Record where you stopped and the next passage. Kyrios Forge’s Faith goals screen visibly includes “Read one Bible passage,” which can serve as a simple prompt alongside your own Bible. The app also shows devotionals and plans; use those resources to support reading rather than assume a summary is the whole passage.
If you share a reflection with others, include the reference and explain what you noticed. A small, honest observation from the text is a good beginning. You do not have to sound like a teacher to start learning faithfully.
Read the passages for yourself
Read these passages in context alongside this article. Links open the King James Version; Scripture quotations above are identified as KJV.