Tips for Using the Online Bible:
Hello, I’m Elizabeth, the webmaster here at Clio Bethany UMC. All of the scripture references you read on our site (on this page and others) are linked out to an online Bible to make it easy for me (or anyone) to quickly read the verses that are referenced. I prefer to read the Bible and books on my Kindle, phone or Surface tablet. Some choose to read a trusted paper copy and that is great, too. However, for anyone interested in having a Bible in their pocket, here’s my tips for how to use these links on our website.
See how the Scripture verses are in blue? Like this: John 1:39 Hover over that verse and a little box will pop up allowing you to read it. If we reference something longer, the whole thing might not fit in the box, and so the next part becomes more important.
In the little box that pops up, you have some options: 1) At the top, you can share the verse with your social networks. 2) You can click on the More link and a new tab will open with the online Bible ready to read that section. It will look like this.
On this new tab, if you click on “Read More” you can get to the *really* good stuff.
Once you create a free account, you can then read the Bible (your choice of version, it will open in NIV) on the left and read the Faithlife Study Notes on the right. This adds lots of rich context to your study of scriptures and is my personal favorite way of reading the Bible.
Also, when you sign up for a Faithlife account, if you are interested there is a whole social network of Bible reading going on there. I created a group for Bethany UMC for anyone that would like to read the scriptures together. This is a place for anyone who wants to do online Bible reading, share questions, observations, etc. We can follow this reading plan, or choose our own. No one but me is there yet, but perhaps you’ll join me. 
It can be a little tricky to navigate, but once you get used to it, it’s worth it for the free access to the Bible AND the study notes all in the palm of your hand. God is SO Good to give us this new way to read His Word with each other.