I have on my bookshelf what is called a readers's Bible. While most Bibles are printed with columns, small font sizes, and very thin paper, my reader's Bible is printed without columns, with legible font sizes, and on paper of a comfortable thickness. This makes the Bible much easier to read, but it also helps me appreciate how large the Bible is. My reader's Bible is made up of five volumes, the smallest of which is 348 pages, while the largest contains 783 pages. 

The Bible is a very long book. 

And this raises an important question: how can we wrap our minds around what the Bible says? If you've spent some time in church, you probably have heard that the whole Bible is about Jesus, which is true. Perhaps you've even been taught an outline of the Bible: creation, fall, redemption, consummation. Also helpful. But even knowing these things, it's easy to get lost while reading through the Bible, wondering how it all connects, and how it applies to you.

While there are many resources that can help, I want to focus on one that tends to be ignored in our day and age- historic catechisms and confessions. Throughout history, wise Christians, pastors, and theologians haves sought to summerize Scripture's key points and apply them to the people of God. In the case of catechisms, they wrote their summaries as questions concerning God, man, sin, our salvation through Jesus, and Christian response to salvation, with answers derived from Scripture. Because of their format, catechisms can easily be incorporated into your devotional live, reading one question and answer a day. Three of the catechisms I'd recommend are:

• The Heidelberg Catechism–published January 19th, 1563, the Heidelberg Catechism  was authored by two scholars, Caspar Olvevianus and Zacharius Ursinus. It was written to combine the best of the different Protestant schools in Germany. It is known for its pastoral voice and has provided comfort to many believers since its inception.
• The Westminster Shorter Catechism–finished on April, 14th, 1649, The Westminster Shorter Catechism was written by an assembly of Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists. As it's name implies, the Shorter Catechism is paired with the Westminster Larger Catechism (parts 1 and 2 linked) which is more in depth for any that have more questions.
• The New City Catechism–Certainly the most recent, being published in 2012, The New City Catechism, written by Tim Keller, is the shortest of the three, only 52 questions long. It is a perfect introduction to catechisms and is suitable for children and adults alike.

Reading these will not answer every question about the Bible, but they will teach us the story of the Bible as a whole, focusing on the main things the Bible teaches. In fact, each of the recommended catechisms come with scriptural citations, tracing back their answers to the Bible. It's one of the benefits of being part of a 2,000 year-old religion, we don't have to start from scratch. We can stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before, and learn from their reading through the Bible.