Sunday, April 26, 2015

God's Story in 66 Verses {a BookLook Blogger review}

The subtitle of God's Story in 66 Verses by Stan Guthrie is "Understand the entire Bible by focusing on just one verse in each book."

That intrigued me.

I am forever looking for ways to go through the Bible or to teach through the Bible that help both ME and my kids.  This sounded like it could do that, because while I have read through the Bible numerous times, I have to say that there are lots of areas where I really am not sure why I'm supposed to care, or what the point is.

From the publisher:
Treasure God's Word in sixty-six easy verses.

The Bible can seem like a big, intimidating book-mysterious, tedious, and often hard to understand. Written over a span of fifteen hundred years, two millennia ago, God's Word sometimes feels like a mishmash of stories and literary styles. What can be done to make it more accessible to twenty-first-century readers?

Stan Guthrie's answer: begin by zooming in on one key verse for each of the Bible's sixty-six books. Seeking to bring clarity and simplicity to the study of God's Word, Guthrie has written a concise, easy-to-digest collection of wisdom anchored in one verse for each book, from Genesis to Revelation-a verse that summarizes or lays the foundation for that book, placing it in context with the rest of the Scriptures.

Read this book, and you'll feel as if you've read the entire Bible-but you'll also yearn to continue mining its depths and exploring its richness on your own.

My thoughts:  

This is such an easy-to-read book, and I love it.

The "book" part of the book is only a bit over 200 pages, which boils down to just barely over 3 pages per book of the Bible.

I can read 3 pages in one sitting.

I can read 3 pages aloud in one sitting.

Each chapter has a "key verse" obviously, but the part that really excites me is that the chapter not only explains why he chose that key verse, but also gives an overview of how that book fits into the big picture of the Bible.

The text does quote the book some as well, some books more than others.


What I didn't grasp before getting the book is that the point of the Key Verse is to pick a verse that sums up the book.  That means that a verse like John 3:16, while important, is not the key verse for the book of John. 

I am giving some really serious thought to working through this book with my family this summer, starting after AWANA is over (which is really tonight).  I think reading the chapter as a group and memorizing the verse, and then re-reading the chapter could be a really good study for the summer months.





Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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