The seeker, the skeptic, and the saved can be heard asking the same question:

“Where in the Bible did you find that?”

The Bible is a huge book and is not organized in the same way most English language books are put together. Let me see if I can help you with this. As with most books, the Bible has a table of contents in the front and an index in the back — called the concordance. You can find the book name in the table of contents and word topics in the concordance.

The first book of the Bible is Genesis, or beginnings. The last book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ detailing the end of the age. The Old Testament contains 39 books and the New Testament 27 books. The teachings of the prophets and the law are in the Old Testament and the life and teaching of Jesus is recorded in the New Testament. They reference each other through prophecy and fulfillment, and combine to be a unified word from God.

Knowing the little bit above will help you determine where to start your search. A new reader is encouraged to start in the New Testament with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Sandwiched between the Gospels and the end (Revelation) are accounts of the beginnings of Christianity and the Church (Book of Acts), Christian Theology (Book of Romans), followed by many letters written by the Apostle Paul to these new churches (e.g. Corinthians, Ephesians, etc.). Jesus’ brother James contributes a short book towards the end of the New Testament and the Apostle John closes it out with three short letters (1,2,3 John) and finally his apocalyptic book of Revelation.

I’ll continue next week with a layout of the Old Testament. Until then, see if you can find this in the New Testament: The Day of Pentecost...

Read Part Two...

Mark S. Disbrow is pastor of Amazing Grace Community Church in Aspen Springs.