Christians, a little help?

Question

I would like to hear from ONLY Christians on this question; not because I don't value you others, because I do, but because this question requires Christian input.
Anyway, an acquaintance of mine is completely unfamiliar with the Bible, and has never attended church. She and her husband were recently given Bibles by another friend, but neither one of them have any idea where to start reading.
They're both VERY interested, though.
My question is this: Where do YOU think they should start? And why?
I suggested Ruth (because they're a newlywed couple), Luke, and John. Anyone have other suggestions?

Thanks for the great responses so far!

As for the people who think I'm trying to convert this couple, just so you know, THEY came to US. We didn't go to them! THEY have had questions. Should we not try to answer them? What are Christians supposed to do when people ask them about their religion? Try to convert them to Islam? Of COURSE not!

Why do people keep saying that we're trying to force them to convert? What part of THEY CAME TO US is so hard to understand?
Oh, and we're not IN the U.S., we're in GERMANY!
As soon as they were told that all of us were Christians, they wanted to know more. What is wrong with that?
I do NOT believe in proselytizing UNLESS people ask questions!

Answer 1

I would definitely suggest the Gospel of Mark. It is the shortest Gospel, and will give a good overview of who Christ was, what He did, and what His death and resurrection meant. After reading Mark, perhaps the book of Romans as it is where Paul lays out much of what the Church is founded upon. Good luck with your friends! I'll remember them in prayer!

Answer 2

Yes,the best place to start is at the beginning of the bible in Genesis.The bible is more easily understood if it is read in the order in which it was written.If you were to read any other book where would you start?Would you start in the middle of the book skipping around or would you start on the first page?You would start on the first page of course!Everything in the bible is so awesome why risk missing any of it because it was never read or understood?I have a bible that is a King James version New Living Translation and I just love it because it's a study bible and explains everything in detail.If you want you can suggest a couple of good Authors for them which are Watchman Nee,Bob George and Jennifer Kennedy Dean.All help explain the bible really well but my favorite is Watchman Nee he's really good.I started reading from the beginning and am almost to the New Testament and sometimes someone will tell me something that's not true about part of the bible and I'll know it's not true because I've already read it for myself in context.I'm so happy for your friends I hope they truly come to know the lord.

Answer 3

Any which way will do actually. But this system works well with me when I was starting...

START: New Testament (From Luke to Jude while skipping on Matthew, Mark and Revelation)

Then, proceed to the whole Old Testament before finishing on Matthew, Mark and Revelation.

Read slowly during the course. One chapter each night if understood - will be good enough.

Remember though, that this is not a matter of having read the whole bible. What matters most is getting answers from the bible.

I'll hang around here should you need some little pieces of help maybe? Just e-mail...and God bless...

Answer 4

Have them read Genesis first, then study the Gospel of John together with them.
A great book with a study guide for the first six chapters or John is "Evangelism for the Faint-Hearted" by Floyd Schneider. It gives good questions to make people think for themselves what the passage means and find the answers in the text-- instead you trying to convince them.

Answer 5

For newlyweds, I would suggest more the Song of Solomon.

But for understanding, I strongly suggest starting "In the beginning." The book of Genesis forms the foundation for the entire Bible; Everything (God, Christ, the universe, the Devil, man, Israel, sin, the Commandments, etc.) in all of the rest of the Bible is begun in Genesis.

If one gets bored with the "begats," feel free to skip through them.

Answer 6

A lot of people like to start new believers in John, because it is short and gives the story of Jesus' life. I have found that it is a bit too out there for new believers though, and since I have been studying and teaching the book of Romans, I have come to believe that Romans is the best of all. It answers every theological why and wherefores that a Christain might ask. It has the Gospel message of salvation clearly laid out, and it is quite understandable. It is food for the soul. Ruth is nice and has a contribution to Biblical maturity, but it is nothing like Romans which is not only New Testament, but it is written by the Apostle Paul. My two cents....

Answer 7

A newlywed couple? Tell them to read the most romantic thing in the entire Bible - The Song of Solomon.

My husband, a pastor's son recommends starting with Matthew the first book of the New Testament.

p.s - He also said that Song of Soloman was good for newlyweds! We read it to each other when we were first married.

Answer 8

I can only suggest from my own experience to start with the Gospel of John because it defines the Word of God as Christ, and God and the truth of the Word. It also gives the entire story of Jesus, His death and Resurrection. Then follow John with the book of Acts which describes the birth of the church and it's purpose. These are the two books that God used to introduce Himself to me when I got saved.

Answer 9

There is no best or worst place to start reading....it's a personal choice. They are very interested in reading....let them read the book freely.

I'm not a Christian....but I believe in Jesus and I believe the words in the Bible can have a positive influence on any life.

It's unfortunate when control or prejudice become part of Jesus's teachings.

Answer 10

Too bad, you got an atheist. But anyway, here goes;
Bibles and those who conduct Bible studies almost always do not want you to start at the beginning and read through to the end in a short amount of time because it is more likely that you will catch contradictions.
Also notice that in student Bibles you are encouraged to skip the parts where God commands the deaths of women and children directly, yes directly, ( if you did not know that he did this then you have not read it either).
They claim that the Old Testament is hard to understand. This is false. It is quite simple. This is a ploy to distract you from the truth.
Think about this:
WHY WOULD AN ATHEIST TELL YOU TO READ THE BIBLE COVER TO COVER??!!!