Bibles Bible Studies Books

Do you struggle with the idea of love? Do you feel unworthy of love? Well, you should know that God's love is always available for you. God's love is unconditional and He loves you no matter what. This 12-week study references key bible verses that expose the love that God has especially for you. The various sections (digging deeper, ponder & pray, trinket to treasure and the notes) in each chapter help you come closer to God and feel His divine love for you. Another thing that makes God's love plain are the intimate stories from Women of Faith.

Never led a bible study before, that's ok because this book has a leader guide that will help keep your discussions on track. Don't be scared to start a new study or suggest this one to your group and/or friends...how many times do you get together for lunch and shopping? Why not promise to meet once a month for a year to discuss God's love for you? Make that commitment today.

The title of the book was the initial attraction. This is something I had trouble doing for several years after accepting Christ as my Savior. I always had the nagging voice of the enemy telling me I could never be totally free of my past wrongs.

Chapter by chapter the book points out so many scriptures of how much God loves us and what He promises and tells us. There are short comments from other women too. I was finally able to break free of that past and truly receive His love without a doubt left.

This book will is great for great group study or individual study. Each chapter has about 7-10 questions or comments with focused scripture, and there's a leader's guide at the end with answers and additional comments.

I am ordering another topic of study today, and going to the Women of Faith conference this year in Tampa.

This is really the only complaint I have about this Bible -- it's weight. As a lap-book, it's truly uncomfortable. Taking notes with this Bible on your lap is also uncomfortable. The cover's sharp points dig into the skin. But now I see that this Bible is offered in paperback and lighter-weight versions, so that will solve this problem.

This Bible is a wealth of information including word studies, commentary, red lettering for Jesus' words, center-column cross-referencing, maps and charts in color. A massive endeavor to have put together, I commend the editors.

I'm so pleased to have this splendid new Bible to add to my personal study library. It is chock full of wonderful features that should add a great deal to my study of the Scriptures.

This is one fine book do not look this one over great detail, history, liturature, and all of the above.

I own the paperback version of this bible. It is a wonderful translation. Extremely easy to understand. There is so much information included with the study part of it, you could read forever. Incredibly interesting! The study part of it provides so much evidence and documentation as to what the world was like during the time each book was written. I have had other Bible's in the past and this one is by far the best ever!

Dr. Myles Munroe is especially Gifted and Called to serve our "today". The Study Guide he authored was led by our Lord and is one of learning the route to a deeper life, experiencing spiritual guidelines for many life changing issues and all is backed with the Word of God. The Study Guide is quite easy to use and any and all should expect spiritual growth when their 40 days are complete.

The "Kingdom Principles Study Guide" is designed as a supplement to Myles Munroe's book "Kingdom Principles" and is made up of 40 lessons to be used over a 40 day period.

Each daily lesson includes: A scripture verse for the day, a daily devotion based on an excerpt taken from the book "Kingdom Principles," several related thought provoking, application questions, and a meditation. These include principles for contemplation, concepts for consideration, and distinctiveness of the Kingdom of God to experience.

I found the devotional thoughts motivational and inspirational, the application questions stimulating and compelling, and the meditations to be rich with a moving, and meaningful focus.

This is an important, comprehensive study guide that will help the reader expand their kingdom living experience as they reflect anew on "Kingdom Principles."

Great study guide about the Kingdom and how God wants us to set up His Kingdom here on earth. God is our King and we are to rule under Him. This 40 day devotional will encourage and enlighten your life.

Great Book and was enlightening because this book helps you understand your place in God's Kingdom. Very inspirational and very good read.

All of the Kingdom books by Myles Munroe are a must for anyone and everyone seeking the truth about the Kingdom of God

This review focuses on Volume 2 on Isaiah for the NICOT series. I'm a preacher and full time pastor who uses commentaries in my sermon preparation. I've found that this commentary is very helpful on a number of points. It provides a wealth of relevant resources that I've typically not found in other commentaries (I'll illustrate that in a moment). He deals with the Hebrew exegetical ideas and source issues without spending a lot of time (no bogging down in minutia as some have a tendency to do). His footnotes do contain the minutia on textual issues that some require or desire. Yet in the main text of his commentary he deals with crucial textual issues if they affect the exegetical outcome. That's helpful, especially his pithy summaries of the various views. Summaries are well done in this commentary.

The second volume has over 700 pages of information on Isaiah 40-66.

Since it may be the greatest passage in Isaiah, let me zoom in on how he handles the fourth Servant song. (Isaiah 52:13 to 53:3). For this section he gives 37 pages of information. He breaks the passage down into the following outline:

a. Astonishment and Rejection (52:13-53:3)
b. Punished for others (53:4-6)
c. Unjustly punished (53:7-9)
d. Many made righteous (53:10-12)

He provides his own unique translation for each one.

In section a. Astonishment and Rejection 52:13-53:3 Oswalt prefers the translation in 52:15 of the Hebrew 'Yazzeh' [sprinkle] to be interpreted as 'startle' because of the parallelism meaning. He also interacts with a variety of other opinions, including a footnote on 52:14 that introduces some technical points about protasis and apodasis as support for his position. They really do make the most sense of all the options (imo).

I was convinced by his points. For application ideas, see Oswalt's NIVAC on Isaiah. In that volume, which I also own, he draws out practical application to Philippians 2:5-11 as he discusses the idea of sacrificing for others. Then he draws out contemporary significance to this passage in his NIVAC by focusing on Accepting the offering by an appropriate response to what Jesus has done for us. He has many preachable points in this section.

Overall, Oswalt has written a worthy commentary that I believe is an excellent addition to every pastor's library. I also have found Alec Motyer's commentary on Isaiah to be very helpful, especially for a quick evaluation of literary style and outline ideas.

Oswalt's NIVAC commentary won the Gold Medallion Award. I think this commentary I am reviewing here, the NICOT, is worthy of an award. It's that good.

Back to the passage I was using to illustrate Oswalt's NICOT Vol 2 with.
At the end of his commentary on Isaiah 52:13-53:12, he has an Excursus.
Actually it is a select bibliography on the passage. However, the bibliography is organized into categories:

The Identity of the Servant
New Testament and Early Christian Interpretation
Jewish Interpretation
Exegetical and Theological Studies

Although several of the bibliographical entries are obviously in German, and useless to most of us, most of them are in English.

As a pastor who has just completed preaching through the 2nd half of the book of Isaiah (chaps. 40-66 ) I would emphatically endorse this commentary to anyone studying through Isaiah. The commentary is very practical and gives insights into the text that are profound in my opinion. Very readable and refreshing-here is an OT scholar that actually believes in the unity of Isaiah!

This commentary is by far more useable than either Young's 3 vol. set or Motyer's commentaries, both the TOTC and the IVP volume although these can be used as supplements to Oswalt.

Having just completed my study of the book of Isaiah, I have to say that I am a little shell-shocked. The depth and breadth of Isaiah's vision is breathtaking, and he is a master in communicating that vision. Much of this is evident even to a layperson like myself, but I cannot overstate the value of a commentary such as this to assist in grasping the extended themes of judgment of the faithless, redemption of the faithful, a promised Messiah, the incomparable faithfulness and glory of the living God, etc.. or how their historical significance has application to my life today.

I worked through two commentaries in my study - Edward Young's three volume set (the original NICOT offering) and Oswalt's two volume set. Without going too far into comparing them, I will say that I found Oswalt's volume to be considerably more accessible to the layperson while still impressively scholarly in tackling the textual controversies which are rife in Isaiah scholarship.

Oswalt's commentary lies in the evangelical tradition of Biblical scholarship, which means that he accepts the scriptural and traditional testimony of Isaianic authorship for the complete book, and also that his interpretation falls within the historical Christian paradigm.

He is generous in drawing from liberal and conservative studies together for interpretation of the text while at the same time very penetrating in his analysis and criticism of the a priori arguments raised by liberals in rejection of Isaiah's authorship of the whole book.

But I found most valuable the heightened vision of God and his glorious Messiah, along with the challenge to myself to seek to live a godly life before him which Oswalt has imparted to me through this commentary. I heartily recommend this commentary to all who want to understand the book of Isaiah, the Bible, and above all, their relationship God.

Another great biblical resource that is packed with great illustration pictures, concise information and easy to carry along.

I purchased this book as a gift for my mother-in-law. My parents have the same book and they love it. My mother-in-law had been trying to find the book after seeing their's. The book is great to just flip through for interesting Bible facts or to find answers to questions.

I teach Bible Church School and this book is great when you need to understand the gist of a person or place in the bible. It's not your exhaustive detailed reference work, but it is a 'to the point book'.

Great little pocket/purse size for information on just about anything in the bible. Places, people, etc...fun to read!

A super resource for anyone interested in Bible characters and Bible places.

Very good book. I led a Bible study on the parables and used this as one of my references and guides. Definitely made the planning and teaching easier.

The Parables of Jesus by David Wenham is a superb book on one of the most important topics in Gospels study. It is not new. It has been on the market since 1989. Even so, it is not "dated". Even after all these years it is quite simply the best book on parables for adults that aren't Bible college or Seminary grads I and most readers have ever seen. (Originally, it was part of a series called the Jesus Library. There were at least 10 volumes by very fine authors [including F. F. Bruce, R. T. France, and Michael Green]. This one is the only one still in print. It's that good.)

It particular is an ideal book for an adult Sunday School class or in-homes study class to use as a textbook, if they want to dig a little deeper than usual, but not get overwhelmed. I have used it that way myself, with the group reading and discussing about half of a chapter per week.

Wenham is a first rate British expert in parables studies, but he writes this book with lay people and college students in mind, not seminarians or grad students.

Even His arrangement is telling: What most technical books on parables start out with he puts at the end in three appendices--The authenticity of the parables, The Interpretation of the Parables, and The Purpose of the Parables and the Interpretation of Mark 4:10-12.

With that arrangement, you can start by studying the parables first, and you can go further to see what the experts are saying about the most controversial topics later--if, that is, you wish to. He does point the way. There is even a select bibliography and a note on further reading, all of which help the reader who gets hooked on the topic and wants to explore it more do so.

Wenham is no ivory tower theorist. Like Jesus engaged his listeners, he engages the reader with Jesus' call to a revolutionary Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, in some sense starting small and ending up dominant, and demanding obedient discipleship. He is very practical, engaging, and calls the reader to commitment.

If you want the best book available on parables, you probably want instead Klyne R. Snodgrass's Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus: (Eerdmans, 2008), say, as the teacher of the Adult Sunday School class or, in particular, as a pastor. But it is the sort of book layfolk might consult. From my experience, I think few of them would sit down and read it, even in small chunks. Still, there is so much vertical whitespace setting off the various topics along the way through the book, that they are intelligible most of the time. And the most difficult issues are dealt with in about 200 pages of end notes (which can be consulted or ignored, depending on the reader's needs).

...this is it!

I have read most of the commentaries currently available as I've written two books about the parables from a Biblically-faithful and creative perspective(Parablelife: Living the stories Jesus told in real time published by FaithWalk and available on amazon.com). Wenham's volume was far and away the most useful. He used the metaphor of revolution throughout this well-written, readable volume to help explain Jesus' use of the words "the Kingdom of Heaven". The book is organized in a creative way - the parables are grouped and discussed as they pertain to the metaphor of revolution.

Wenham's strength is in application, demonstrating both how and why these stories of Jesus can shape our lives. He is an able scholar, and his love of God's Word shows in his careful discussion of each parable. There is a short discussion about various historical and contemporary methods of interpretation at the back of the volume, along with several indexes that make the book even more user-friendly.

I am using this book as the text for a group bible study on the Parables of Jesus. This book is an excellent resource for teachers and students of the Bible. It provides a through basis for exegesis of each of the parables, grouping them logically and explaining them accurately. Wenham lets the historical and literary context drive his interpretations, avoiding the twin pitfalls of assuming the parables are either allegory or single point. Overall, a must-have for anyone who plans to seriously study the parables.

I prepared a series of Bible studies on the parables of Jesus and wanted supplemental material to add to my understanding and class lectures. Specifically, I was interested in Jewish traditions and cultural insights that would add color and clarity to the stories.

I purchased three books, including David Wenham's "The Parable of Jesus." I am not a Bible scholar and not particularly interested in theological debates over allegorical loose ends and old disputes over linguisitc fine points that other books were consumed with.

This book provided me exactly what I needed - clear, concise insights into the culture, traditions and context of the times. For example, in the Prodigal Son, Wenham pointed out that by asking his father for his inheritance while the father was still living, in the meaning of the legal traditions, the prodigal was actually implying that he wished his father dead.

In the parable of the Good Samritan, he observes that the road from "Jericho to Jerusalem" drops 2,500 feet along a treacherous and winding path; ideal for robbers and thieves to hang out. Further, he points out that "two denari" was enough money to pay for twenty-four nights at the inn.

These details helped me to put meat on the bones of the story and bring to life these precious parables. These are not earth-shattering biblical truths, but they were very helpful to me in making the topic interesting and relevant. Just like Wenham's book.