A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
Fred G. Zaspel
I am excited for any endeavor that directs Christians back to the biblical text. I love the larger, more in-depth commentaries also, of course; they are indispensable. But helping every-day Christian readers learn the Scriptures themselves is surely one of the greatest services we can ever provide. And that’s just what this excellent series from P&R does.
Each book guides the reader through a given biblical book, passage by passage, providing the following:
- a brief summary overview of the passage at hand
- a series of questions – not the “How would you feel if you were a puppy?” kind of fluff we’ve all seen too much of, but questions designed to point the reader back to the text for answers and reflection
- a guide to related biblical connections
- a guide to related theological connections
- application questions that rise immediately from the passage at hand
- a “prayer prompt” guiding the reader how to pray in light of what has been learned.
In brief, these Bible study guides aid the reader to come to an understanding of the Scriptures by a thoughtful reading of the text themselves. No, they do not get into the nitty gritty detail that larger commentaries provide. But they do facilitate a competent grasp of each passage, and, in doing so, they also help the reader develop the habit of fruitful Bible reading.
I am very happy to recommend these for wide use – for personal study or group study and discussion.
Titles currently available in this series:
- Esther and Ruth: The Lord Delivers and Redeems (with Iain Duguid)
- Daniel: Faith Enduring Through Adversity (with Iain Duguid)
- Matthew, Volume 1: Making Disciples for the Nations (with Daniel Doriani)
- Matthew, Volume 2: Making Disciples for the Nations (with Daniel Doriani)
- Galatians: The Gospel of Free Grace (with Phillip Ryken)
- Hebrews: Standing Firm in Christ (with Richard Phillips)
- James: Portrait of a Living Faith (with Daniel Doriani)