I recently received the following questions:

First I wonder if you can give me any suggestions on what parts of scripture I should begin reading from?

And second can you recommend a book that gives an overview of each book in the bible and explains the significance of each chapter? Maybe a real good Commentary?

In one form or another, these questions seem to be asked of me with some frequency. When someone asks me where to start reading in the Bible I usually suggest one of the following three books:

a) If they are seeking something more than what they have but don’t really know for what (both Christians and non-Christians) I usually recommend The Gospel According to John

b) If they are a Christian at a crossroads and looking forward to an new era in their life – Philippians

c) If their faith demonstrates some level of maturity but they know they need to step it up a notch – Ephesians

Regarding Question #2, it is difficult to point to a good one-volume commentary, but my favorite one-volume guide to the Bible is J. Sidlow Baxter’s Explore the Book.

I also like Mark Dever’s books on The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made and The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept and they seem to be much more consistent with what this particular questioner is looking for.

So, what do you think? How would you respond to these questions?

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