Bibles Bible Studies Books

This is little One Year Bible Companion
is so very helpful to me. It gives
historical and spirital insights into
the passages that I am reading.

The One Year Bible Companion is a good start for bible study. It is very brief, however, and many daily readings need more than its one page format. I often go to other texts in order to get more historical detail, and more importantly to seek the scriptures' meaning in my daily life.

This is truly a wonderful blessing! This book adds an extra level of inspiration to study the Bible everyday. I have learned so much more about scripture through this book than I ever learned from Bible readings alone. Kudos!

Very helpful in understanding some of the Scripture passages.

I was expecting only a reading plan with some study guides. And this book certainly has that. But the coordination of scriptures from different parts of the Bible is outstanding. Frankly, I don't know how they managed to do that so well. Each day has a reading from the Old Testament, another from the New Testament, a passage from Psalms, and a short snippet from Proverbs. Their comments are well thought out, and stimulate further reading. There is a section at the beginning to give a summary of each Bible book, including author, date written, content and theme. But the greatest value of the book is its ability to lead you through a daily walk through the Word of God. I bought my copy last November, and have been buying more as gifts for relatives and friends. Highly recommend!

I've never read the original book, so my review is based on what I read solely from this Study Book.

This book has 52 discussions, each of which discusses one woman of the Bible. It gives out basic character of the woman, and some key scriptures. I like how it prints out some scriptures from the Bible that form a summary of the story, such that we don't have to spend too much time opening up the verses (you will still need to open up some verses on your own from the Bible during discussion).

I also like the "So-and-so's Life and Times" section that explains the culture of the society during which each woman in the story lived. This really helps us in understanding the decisions that they made that we, in today's world, would otherwise have considered absurd. And, this helps us to relate their struggles with ours today.

I used this book with some young women small group (teens to early twenties). All of them never read the Bible front to back. So, for me one of the strongest points of this book is that it thoroughly leads us to walk through pretty complete history of the Bible. Most other bible study books go by topics, and thus sometimes are not as thorough.

Despite the detailed history part, the discussion questions are not boring (as most history books are) but they are pretty interesting and help the members to open up with each other.

All in all, I was satisfied more that I expected with this book. Plus, it has 52 stories, so I won't have to worry anytime soon of having to find another bible study book.

We are using this in my young adult women's bible study, and it is fantastic. The questions are scriptural, interesting and relevant to our lives. I recommend picking which women to do as a group and allowing members to use the others for personal quiet time.

The book is excellent for our women bible study we all love it.

I have personally used this book for a small group study. We get to see some strengths of many women in the Bible as well as their weaknesses and learn from both. There are short scriptures and questions that you can break up and spread them over a week period if you choose. Again, this book is great for small group studies and by using it in a small group, this will allow some accountability in the group and a time for spiritual growth with the Lord and with the others.

Some of the women are so obscure that it seems like the author is really reaching to get enough information to make a study. Our group found that some of the study questions required little to no thought at all which didn't help to get the discussion going. The real reason this book only gets 3 stars is because, if you meet once a week, it takes an entire year to finish!

I found that this is a great dictionary for the person just getting started studying the Bible. The pictures and explanations are great. The timeline in the beginning is a real asset. I teach the Training for Service class at my church and this timeline is invaluable to understanding the 400 years between the two testaments. All the charts and displays are nice and vibrant and easy to read. If you purchase it, you will enjoy and get much use out of this.

This is a wonderful bible dicitonary not just for students but for all, its been very helpful...definitions clear and precise...amazing...

I purchased ten of these for our church adult and teen bible study groups. The book is simple for teens and even though perhaps a little too simple for our adults, it is basic and satisfies the text that they need a bible dictionary for. The price was great, too.

I didn't realize how much I enjoyed using this dictionary until someone stole mine!!! It has great charts and graphs and is colorful...it has the kings in order and during what time of history...it has pictures...it's simple enough for those who do not want to be weighted down with fancy jargon...so if you are looking for a sophisticated dictionary, this is not it! However, it serves it's purpose. It gives good information, but not a plethora of info...but well worth the money spent!

For the intent and scope of this beginner's Bible dictionary, it is of outstanding value and the price is not bad either. I recommend this dictionary to my seniors Bible study classes and I'm giving a copy to the young man I'm mentoring for confirmation. Word meanings are short, concise and easy to understand and it is filled with all sorts of explanatory charts, tables, diagrams and maps, as well as, some superb artwork. I have a more complete dictionary for home study use but this is the one I carry to class.

This addition to Tom Wright's "For Everyone" series succeeds with flying colors for both the professional biblical scholar looking for a basic overview of the text and for the pastor/student looking to go deeper into the text to find the nuggets of wisdom and hope that are there. Wright is arguably one of the best of modern theologians and this popular commentary on Hebrews is a good example of why.

As a pastor I feel comfortable recommending this commentary and the entire Everyone series to them, because not only are these commentaries excellent scholarly interpretation, but are very readable. N T Wright has the ability to write in a very technical scholarly style or in a manner that everyone can understand and he masterfully demonstrates that fact with the Everyone series.

Wright provides a translation of the entire Epistle that starts each section, then he tells an applicable story that leads into his discussion of the meaning of the text.

Wright captures the essence of the meaning of the Epistle. What is great about this commentary is not just the fact its easy to read, but Wright's interpretation makes sense of the entire epistle and really he leaves very little unturned in this book. He takes seriously the Jewish cultural milieu of the writer and audience of Hebrews and does not succumb to the popular trend to make the writer an eclectic Greco- Roman theologian that relied primarily on Greco-Roman sources as opposed to Jewish sources. He avoids the idea that Paul could not have possibly been connected to anyone connected with Palestinian Christianity. The writer of Hebrews was Jewish and was addressing the concerns of Jewish and maybe even Gentile believers about the relevance of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Wright has many great stories and illustrations in all of his Everyone commentaries, but perhaps his best one was no doubt in his comments on Hebrews 8:1-6. Here he takes table-top soccer (he calls it football) and says that no one would mistake it for the real thing. He says that if this table soccer game was given to a family that knew nothing of the real thing they might imagine it to be the real thing. He then says that in the same the earthly Temple was not the real thing and that the real thing is in heaven. The Temple was just a copy of the reality, but the Jewish establishment thought it was the real thing.

This was just one of the many great illustrations that you will find in the commentary and his interpretations, though not infallible, are certainly reliable.

This is a great Bible. The footnotes, maps, biographies of Biblical personalities, etc. really help in my understanding the Word of God.
Highly reccommended.

This Bible is the best I have found as a study Bible. It has so many things like outlines, maps and anything to make your study better and more understandable. I order myself and my friend one. She loves hers also. I highly recommend this Bible.

I am loving this bible. It's great for beginners or those wanting to brush up on their bible. HIGHLY recommended. I am very pleased with my purchase!

I have searched and used many bible study aids and the Life Applicatiuon Study Bible is by far the best I have ever used. I recommend it to anyone searching for a clearer understanding of God's Word.

I thought the print was too light and it was very difficult for me to read.

Why bother creating such a beautiful book, full of helpful maps and lovely photographs, when the authors clearly only half believe the Biblical narrative? I got disgusted by the all phrases such as "purported to have happened," and "said to have taken place," in the first few chapters. My guess is that most people wanting to really delve into the geography of the Bible believe it's true, or they wouldn't be bothering. Had I realized how heavy this slant was, I would have chosen something else.

This Atlas is beautiful. It has a combination of a variety full-color maps (some of which are interesting, low-angle images), satellite images, and color photographs of the many different regions and climates of the Biblical lands. The narrative is a helpful chronology of the major events of the Bible--including the "inter-testamental era--and concludes with an examination of the role of archaeology. There are also separate two-page snapshots of key archaeological discoveries. This atlas has everything I was hoping to get when I ordered it.

This is great to have a translation that doesn't skip all around. This makes the Bible so much easier to read & understand. I'm not a beginner but wanted a Bible told in chronological order just for a different perspective. I've even picked up on things that I didn't in my regular Living Bible. It gives a fresh feel to it so maybe I was paying better attention & got more understanding. This Bible would be a great choice for anyone and especially for beginners because of the NLT, which uses our everyday language. If you've never read a Bible with a New Living Translation, it will SO OPEN up the Bible to you. If you get the meaning, then God's word will start to truly work in your life like never before! I never understood the King James Version & the stories meant very little to me because I felt like I could not relate. I had heard the same stories for years growing up & in & out of church but I didn't understand God's word & it wasn't effective until I bought a Living Bible translation & finally got true understanding of his word. The NLT is the newest translation after the Living Bible translation. Also, I like the size of the Bible, not too big & heavy but not too small either. The font size is perfect, no squinting or holding it closer to read. Great choice in a Bible!

As in other posts, this is a brilliant idea, and it is laid out in chronological order of events, such as Job being right after Genesis, and it is easy to read in the NLT version, especially the old testament. I would recommend it to anyone. It is easy to read 3 days at a time.

Love this Bible so intresting to read it in the order it happened. Brought many points out that I missed in reading other bibles.

This is a great Bible. It's written in chronological order of events that occurred. I read a section every evening. It's also written in the New Living Translation so it's very modern-day wording and easy to understand. I HIGHLY reccommend it!

Read the Bible chronologically will give you a fresh start in a fresh year. Worth to try and experience it.

Thielman's theology treats the New Testament texts sympathetically, "as they were intended to be read," and through careful analysis, he thoroughly and convincingly engages less sympathetic scholarship. Using clear prose and thoughtful organization, both the theological diversity of the 27 books of the New Testament and their inter-relatedness are described. The introduction calls the reader to embrace the insight of faith while carefully examining the New Testament documents in their historical context. In subsequent sections, each book of the New Testament is discussed separately but within groupings based on similar historical and literary characteristics: The Gospels and Acts; the Pauline Letters; and the Non-Pauline Letters and the Revelation of John. In his final chapter, Thielman highlights five central theological unities of the New Testament: the centrality of Jesus, the importance of faith, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Church as God's people, and the final eschatological restoration. In short, this book offers meticulous scholarship and reasoning that is readable, engaging and informative; it celebrates the diversity of the New Testament texts while highlighting key points of theological harmony. This is a welcome addition to any theological library.

Having read Thielman's previous work "Paul and the Law" (InterVarsity Press, 1994) I was really looking forward to this (now his magnum opus) work. Overall, I was pretty satisfied after browsing through the pages. However, it is more of a theological introduction of the New Testament (i.e., R. Brown, P. Achtemeier/J. Green/M. Thompson, etc.) than an actual theology of the New Testament (i.e., G. Ladd, L. Goppelt, A. Schlatter, etc.). He goes over every book and letter of the New Testament and neatly exposits what each of the books and letters say. Thus, it will be a useful text for a New Testament introductory course at a graduate level seminary.

Having said all that, however, there is one glaring error that Thielman espouses that forces me to dock off two stars. In his section on Paul's view of justification, he writes: "It is not merely the verdict of innocence that God pronounces over the one who has faith in Christ, but it is also a saving power by which God rescues those who have faith in Christ" (p. 462). For Thielman, justification/righteousness is not merely a forensic declaration that a believing sinner is righteous before God due to Christ's perfect obedience, but also a "power that radically changes believers--it both saves them and demands their obedience" (Ibid). Thielman muddies the difference between justification and sanctification. He follows the same view of justification/righteousness as Ernst Kasemann, Gottlob Schrenk, and Karl Kartelge (a Roman Catholic). For those who think that Thielman has not abandoned the Reformation understanding of justification really need to study Reformation history, the Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter XI.1), and systematic theology texts written by contemporary orthodox evangelical scholars (i.e., M. Erickson, W. Grudem, R. Reymond, etc). Those who still stubbornly believe that Thielman's understanding of justification is still in line with the Reformation and its creeds after further study are those merely trying to avoid censure from their own denomination (like some pastors in the various Reformed and Presbyterian denominations). I would recommend this book as a good resource for those interested in New Testament studies. Unfortunately, Thielman really missed the target when discussing Paul's doctrine of justification.

Frank Thielman has produced a true gem of scholarship and exegetical work in exploring the theology of the New Testament. While not exhaustive, it goes into enough depth to provide the reader with a more than average understanding of the texts in both the original languages, writing sytle of the author(s), and the cultural context in which the books and letters were written. He is very careful to give detailed outlines and even pick out minutae among the different Gospels to highlight their different specific themes and then at the end unifies all the unique threads to give an overall perspective. The Epistles are carefully analyzed to provide the reader with the details surrounding the circumstances and purposes for which the letter was written to help the reader understand the reasons and methods which the author used in their presentation of their material, which also helps explain things such as what may seem like different (contradictory) emphasies amongst Paul's letters (for example) while showing in fact that they are not contradictory but make sense in the context of each circumstance the letter was addressing. He also takes a conservative approach, which I approve of, in consulting the accounts in Acts to provide a sufficient historical background in which to view the various Epistles. In his treatment of 1 Thessalonians he does this to explain several elements of why the people in Thessalonia might have been persecuted and why Paul had been "torn away" from them. He weaves the various themes masterfully throughout his treatment of each book, emphasising their differences to reveal the initial purposes and meaning of the texts in each book while also unifying the various topics in the NT under a cohereht view of Systematic Theology. And the compliment of the arsenal of footnotes is more than adequate.

As for the person (reviewer) who noted an exception to Thielman's treatment of justification, by "muddying the difference between justification and sanctification", I do acknowledge that Thielman's approach to some issues are not perfect and I have my occasional disagreements, but even in that case, though somewhat misleading, he does -in a way- show the close relationship between justification and sanctificaion. Though sanctification is a life long process and doesn't inevitably assume the Christian will be perfect, it starts at our justification from Christ in which he gives us righteousness which then needs to be worked out. Thus we should "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). Though the reviewer who pointed that out is correct that there is a difference, though interconnected. The only other exception that I would note would be his treatment on Romans chapter 7 (which is a controversial chapter among all Christian circles) by seemingly interpreting it as Paul not talking of himself but rather him personifying historical Israel. Though previous chapters had mentioned the experiences of historical Israel there is no reason to read that into Paul's (admittedly difficult) admission of his struggle with sin. So I found that a strange and rather misleading interpretation.

Overall the book is wonderful and indepth, but as with any Christian book I would always council caution to examine carefully what is being presented. The truth will always stand under intensive scrutiny. We should "test everything, and hold on to the good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). I myself am writing a book, and while I strive to be thorough with my assumptions and views concerning the Bible I certianly don't expect to have everything 100% right. For that reason I give 5 stars to this book for it has made up in vitality, content, research, and intelligence for any blunders it may have and is largely a true prize of scholarship and theology, reviving the Bible of the day of Jesus and the Apostles and awaking the reader to the power and life that the Christians of the first century had and grew in despite their struggles.

This volume helpfully interacts with the scholarship on the New Testament, yet keeps the discussion focussed on the biblical text. Arranged canonically as opposed to any order dictated by systematic theology, this provides a refreshingly different approach. A useful summary for any serious student of the New Testament.

I purchased both V. Gilbert Beers' "Preschoolers Bible" and "Early Readers Bible" for my niece. They were very similar in text, illustrations, reading level, and layout, but the "Early Readers Bible" was vastly superior. I tried to return the "Preschoolers Bible" but with shipping costs it would have cost me as much to return as it did to purchase it in the first place! A very disappointing purchase, and I already know which will become one of her favorite books, and which will languish unread. Not recommended, there are better children's bibles out there, even by the same author.

My 3 1/2 year old son enjoys reading this bible BUT he asks a lot of questions because the stories are too simple, lack depth and kind of leave you hanging. I'm searching for a new bible that has more details with accurate information in it. His language skills are advanced so that is part of it but also just reading it to him makes me feel like I'm not telling him accurate information because the important pieces have been left out.

GREAT TOOL TO REPLACE THE RGULAR BEDTIME BOOKS ..... INSTEAD READ THEM A BED TIME STORY ABOUT THE BIBLE , WHAT A BETTER WAY TO EASY , FUN LEARNING ABOUT SPIRITUALITY & A FOUNDATION FOR GOOD MORALS . START EARLY ..... THIS WAS GREAT ... NOW MY SON ASKS ME TO READ THE BIBLE STORIES TO HIM ALL THE TIME NOT JUST FOR BEDTIME ......


THANK YOU
MS. Y. ALLISON NYC, NY

Let's face it . . . preschoolers do not have a long attention span. The Bible stories provided in this book are not only educational but they are kept to 2 or 3 pages. . . just long enough to spark the child's interest. They also provide faces to the characters which helps the child to remember the stories. My daughter and I have enjoyed the this book as well as the Beginner's Bible videos. Reading this book to your child will give them a great start in their christian lives.

Clear Explanations for the Difficult Passages
Ron Rhodes
Harvest House Publishers, 2008
ISBN: 9780736921756
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor [...], 08/08
5 Stars
Excellent...
I teach an adult Sunday School Class and lead a weekly Bible study on Wednesday evenings. I am always on the lookout for tools appropriate for one of my classes. In Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses, I have found a gem of a tool. Ron Rhodes takes difficult, confusing scripture and explains it.
Rhodes answers questions such as: Where did Cain get his wife? How can the destruction of Midian be morally justified? What is the host of heaven? In what sense has the earth been given to man? Is Jesus the beginning of God's creation and is He a created being?
Of course, he could not cover all of our questions in one book. Maybe he will consider a sequel. I will be using this book in the near future for a Bible study. Well done, Ron Rhodes! Whether you are a teacher, pastor, or leader and want an individual Bible Study, Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses is an excellent resource tool.