Easy To Read Bible Stories
Maria Mauri
In negative terms, books like Jeremiah that require a great deal of redemptive historical and theological knowledge are not a great place to start. For example, Ezekiel or Jeremiah require deep knowledge about the divided kingdom and the exile. A young Christian could gain knowledge and insight from these books, of course, but they may encounter more frustration than necessary compared to others.
In positive terms, books that build basic foundations in theology, Christian living, and redemptive history provide a better starting point for young believers. The following are categories and specific books that I recommend young Christians try first. I have listed the four categories in the order I recommend starting and progressing.
After the Gospels, Acts, while a very challenging book, sets the stage for the foundation of the church, the coming of the Spirit, and the spread of the gospel. These events provide good foundations for understanding the epistles of the New Testament.
Exodus has similar ramifications. The exodus from Egypt is the central event of redemption in the Old Testament. The Passover, the journey in the wilderness, and the giving of the Law and Mosaic covenant are some of the most important and alluded to events throughout the Old Testament.
Certain books contain rich, foundational Christian doctrine but rely on relatively extensive knowledge of the context of the Bible. Galatians and 1 Corinthians, for example, require knowledge of the historical context to fully understand. Here are some books that are accessible (not necessarily easy) and productive for learning the basics of Christian doctrine.
Some Christians see John as the easiest of the four Gospels possibly because it contains John 3:16 and passages that support elements of evangelical theology. But I see John as the most challenging of the four Gospels. Although the words are easy, the meaning is sometimes difficult to follow. John is a combination of narrative and essay which I feel is more difficult to read than straight narrative.
Some Christians consider Revelation to be the hardest book in the Bible. I disagree. Revelation has a reputation of being filled with impossible-to-decipher symbolism, but in fact much of Revelation is straightforward. It is a challenging book, but not the hardest, in my view.
You might rank the books of the Bible differently based on many factors including the version of the Bible you are using, your own literary preferences, your background and understanding of the Bible, history, ancient culture and law.
But Satan did not like this happy family. So he took on the form of a snake. He called Eve and tempted her to eat the fruit of knowledge. Eve could not resist the temptation and along with Adam took a bite of the forbidden fruit.
When Mary gave birth to baby Jesus, it was nighttime. Some shepherds, who were tending to their sheep nearby, were startled when an angel appeared before them. But the angel had brought good news! He told the shepherds that their Savior had finally come, and it was time to see him.
When the master of the banquet tasted the water, it was turned into wine. He called the bridegroom aside and said that they had saved the best wine for the last. He rejoiced with the wine served to him but did not know where the wine was from.
A long time ago, Jesus asked his disciples to wait for him on the boat while he went up to a mountain to pray. As the disciples waited for the boat for Jesus, a strong storm blew the boat away to the middle of the sea. The disciples tried hard to row the boat back to the shore, but to no avail.
The disciples were worried about Jesus and wondered what they could do to get their master to the boat. Suddenly, they saw a man walk into the water! The disciples panicked, thinking that a man was about to drown. But it was Jesus, and he did not drown. Instead, he walked over the water and reached the boat safely.
So, when Moses was born, his mother hid him for three months at first. But when she could not hide him any longer, she prepared a papyrus basket coated with tar and pitch for him and placed baby Moses inside the basket. Then, she placed the basket among the reeds of the Nile river bank and instructed his sister to keep an eye on the basket from a distance.
Israelites started walking through the dry land to cross the sea, but Egyptians kept chasing them there too. When all the Israelites safely made their way to the other side, Moses stretched out his hand again, and the sea returned to its place. All the Egyptians who were chasing them in the sea got washed away and drowned in the sea.
Once there lived a man named Noah. He was a God loving person. And God too loved Noah. But unfortunately, this was also the time when a man was led astray by Satan and committed many sins. God loved his children, and their actions made him very sad.
God came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. He saw that nothing they planned would be impossible for them because they all worked together and spoke the same language. God knew that their pride and ambition for fame could drive them away from Him.
Abraham is mentioned as the father of Nations in the Bible, but do you know that Abraham did not have children even when he was old? Read this story to learn how God blessed him and rewarded his obedience.
Abraham obeyed God and took his son, a donkey, and two of his men for the journey. On the third day, they reached the mountain. Abraham then instructed his servants to stay at a distance and took Issac with him. Abraham built an altar, a place for an offering, and prepared some wood.
Joseph has the ability to interpret dreams. He shares his dreams with his brothers that one day he would reign over his family. This further sparks hatred and jealousy in his brothers, and they decide to get rid of him.
A long time ago, in the Persian Empire, the brave king Ahasuerus was looking for a wife. The king ruled over many lands, including the land of the Hebrew people. One day he saw and fell in love with a Hebrew girl named Esther.
Next day, the king rewarded Mordecai. During the feast, Esther, the brave queen, very humbly asked King Ahasuerus to save her and her people. But instead of being angry, the king did just that! He put the evil Haman to death and saved the Hebrew people! All thanks to the brave Queen Esther! This is an interesting old testament Bible story for kids to learn.
Once upon a time, there was no rain for a long time in Israel, so there was a great famine. The Lord commanded the prophet Elijah to hide in the Kerith Ravine of Jordan and drink from the brook. But, after some time, the brook dried up.
The woman looked worried because she barely had enough for herself and her son. Elijah told her to not be worried as God would provide; her jar of flour would not be used up and the jug of oil would not run dry until it rains.
Hundreds of Baal prophets gathered on Mount Carmel, but only Elijah was standing against them, representing the true God. They build an altar for their God and place an offering. Now the challenge was to pray to their Gods to send fire down and burn the offering.
Desperate for a cure, Naaman traveled all the way to Israel with fancy chariots and gifts to meet the prophet Elisha. But, Elisha sent his messenger to him, instructing to go and wash himself in the Jordan River seven times.
King Solomon let each of them talk, but they insisted that the other was lying. The first woman said that she woke up to find her baby dead, and claimed that the second woman had swapped their babies in the night. But the second woman insisted that her baby was alive and well.
The real mother cried out in horror and pleaded not to hurt the baby. She begged to give the baby to the other woman, but not kill him. But the other woman was not worried if the baby was hurt. She said they could just split him in half.
The three wise men too heard about this amazing news. They set out to visit the savior. The wise men traveled a long distance, following the star and finally reached Jerusalem. They searched for baby Jesus everywhere, but could not find him. Finally, someone told them that the baby savior was in Bethlehem.
When they reached the shore, they saw a fire with fish cooking on it and some bread. Jesus asked them to bring some fish, so Peter went back to the boat to help drag the net. There were about 153 large fish in the net, but the net was still not torn.
But there was no way for them to reach Jesus. But the friends had faith in Jesus and believed that only he could help their disabled friend. So they climbed onto the roof, cut a hole in it and lowered their friend towards Jesus.
Many stories in the Bible are in the form of parablesiSimplified version of a story to convey the message to the reader that is usually a life lesson or good morals . Parables make the real teachings of the Bible easy to understand.
Soon, the younger son took all the money and went to a far away land. With the recklessness of youth, he spent all the money on meaningless expenses. Soon he had no money left. This was also the time when famine struck the land. With no money, the younger son began to starve.
But the elder son was unhappy and refused to attend the feast. Seeing this, the father asked why he was so unhappy. To this, the elder son replied, I have never left your side and loved you always. And yet you love my younger brother more.
Once, there was a king who had accounts to settle with his servants. One of his servants owed him ten thousand bags of gold but he was unable to pay. Therefore, the king gave out an order to sell him, his wife, and his children to repay the debt.
The fellow servant begged for more time on his knees, but the wicked servant refused his pleas and threw him in prison. When other servants saw this, they went to the king to tell him about the wicked servant. The king summoned the first servant back and said to him that he should have forgiven and shown mercy to his fellow servant just as he had been forgiven.
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