Last week I set you a challenge to read the Bible. Strictly, the Bible is a library of books; each one has a lot to say about life.

I respectfully suggest that the first chapter of Genesis is not the place to begin, and that might surprise you.

The Bible is not a novel. You can pick and choose as you go through the Bible, though don’t read only the passages that appeal to you. Life is not a bowl of cherries, or a ‘box of chocolates’, as Forest Gump suggested. There are flavours you might not like.

The Book of Psalms is a good place to begin. There you will find reflections on life and on the Word of God.

The Psalms are like ‘Letters to the Editor’: comments made by individuals though attributed mainly to King David; but that is not strictly true. The Psalms cover a great expanse of the history of the Jewish people, some written long after King David died.

In any list of Psalms, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ (Psalm 23) is top of the pops.

Towards the end of my last Church appointment I asked the congregation to suggest hymns or Psalms that they might like to sing, and I would endeavour to include their choices in acts of worship. We sang Psalm 23 to four or five different tunes (but not to the Vicar of Dibley!).

My favourite Psalm is 139, in which the author reflects on his life from his first awareness. He had come to realise that in the highs and lows of life God had always been with him.

Once you have spent time with some of the Psalms go to the New Testament and the Gospel as told by Matthew, Mark and Luke. There you will find the Parables told by Jesus.

Basically they are straightforward stories, but take time to think about them. If you imagine yourself into the story you might just learn something about yourself.