Bible Reading Priority Tier List (read description)
I am a minister and my brother is currently in seminary. We’ve both spent a lot of time recently working with new Christians, and one of the most frequent questions we’ve gotten is “what book of the Bible should I read first/next?” The Bible is an understandably daunting library of texts, so the two of us together have been working on a way of summarizing our recommendations that we hope is a useful tool for new readers and those helping them.
The idea behind these tiers is that these are what we recommend people read within the designated amount of time they have been exposed to Scripture. By the first six months of reading, the idea is to have made it through all of the books in that tier at least once. By the end of two years, the idea is to make it through all the books in both tiers up to that point, and so on.
The thought behind what we included in the very first tier is to give the new reader an introduction to Jesus and a synopsis of basic doctrines, practical faith, and an understanding of the church. The foundation provided by a reading and application of these handful of books will be what is built on going forward.
We had a little fun with what we view as the hardest book to read and apply as a Christian. There are other candidates, but that one stood out as, well, weird.
Let us know what you think! (format credit: tiermaker.com)