Scripture

Reading, listening to, and reflecting upon scripture has been done as long as there have been Christians (Acts 8.28). This could be in group settings including church services or small groups, or in personal settings such as a daily “Quiet Time” set aside for reading and prayer. Some Christians will use commentaries or daily devotionals to provide a scripture passage for each day and/or useful context to what they’re reading. Scripture reading may follow a book of the Bible from start to finish, a “Bible series” looking at passages with similar themes, or through spontaneously chosen passages. More recently, audio and app versions of the Bible have emerged.

Further resources

There are several translations of scripture, with good translations including the New Revised Standard Version and the New International Version. For “devotional” contexts (personal use), translations such as the Message can be useful. Bible Gateway is a website which offers these translations for free, alternatively via the Bible App.

There’s a whole host of “alternative” translations which place the Bible in particular contexts, such as The Bible in Cockney!

Chris Juby’s “Bible Summary: Every Chapter in 140 Characters or Less” is a good overview.

The Church of England’s Daily Prayer app incorporates prayer with daily scripture readings. 

Pray as You Go invites listeners to reflect on what a Bible passage might be saying to them. This is a version of Lectio Divina, which encourages Christians to meditate on a verse of scripture and what God may be saying to them through it. 

The Bible Society offer daily reflections online. This can be used as a Bible in a year, which suggest Old Testament and New Testament passages for each day, sometimes with commentary.

Good biblical commentaries include the Old Testament for Everyone (John Goldingay) and the New Testament for Everyone (Tom Wright). For those more academically inclined, the Logos app provides a library of multiple commentaries. 

Study Bibles include shorter versions of commentaries to the side of passages. These include Rabbi Barry Rubin’s “The Complete Jewish Study Bible” which looks at Old and New Testaments from a Jewish perspective.

The Bible Project is a YouTube series explaining themes and books of the Bible.

Sarah Hoggett’s Ultimate Art Bible offers suggestions on how you could create art for your physical Bible.

For kids and youth: 
VeggieTales is a vintage TV series retelling Biblical stories with vegetables!
The Brick Testament retells Biblical stories with Lego
The Liberator is a contemporary translation aimed at youth
Open the Book (for schools)

Spoken versions include David Suchet’s.