A Great Reading Plan

For a great daily reading plan recommended from Pastor Brian, click here!

Fast Facts on the Bible as a Whole

  • The Christian Bible consists of the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT)
  • “Bible” comes from Latin biblia, meaning “books”
  • The word “testament” means “covenant”
  • The Bible has 66 books
  • The Bible was written by many different authors writing in many different times and places
  • The Bible was written from about 1450 BC to 100 AD
  • The Bible contains many literary genres – poetry, myth, wisdom literature, prophecy, letters, narratives
  • The Bible was the first book to be printed, in 1454
  • Miles Coverdale published the first English translation of the entire Bible in 1535
  • The Bible has been translated into over 2,000 languages
  • The longest book in the Bible is Psalms
  • The shortest book in the Bible is 2 John
  • The longest verse in the Bible is Esther 8:9
  • The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35

If we could sum up the Bible in one word … that word would be RELATIONSHIP!

The Bible is God’s word that describes His desire to have a personal relationship with us and His desire for us to do well with our relationships with others. “Love God and Love Others.”

How Do We Establish a Relationship with God

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” KJV

Romans 10:9-10
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Jesus as God with an Eternal Nature

John 1:1
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” NIV

John 10:30
“The Father and I are one.” NLT

John 17:5
“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” KJV

Certainty of Our Salvation

John 3:36
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” NIV

John 5:24
“I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” NLT

John 6:47
“I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.” NIV

John 8:32
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” KJV

John 11:25-26
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” NIV

No Other Way to God except through Jesus

John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” KJV

Evidence of the Resurrection

Luke 24:22-23
“Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.” KJV

Luke 24:36-43
“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.” NIV

John 20:27-29
“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!’ ‘My Lord and my God!’ Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.'” NLT