100 Bible Stories for Children - A Review

100 Bible Stories for Children

A Review

An interesting collection of mostly well-known Bible stories – 53 from the Old Testament and 47 from the New Testament. Biblical references are given for each story. The stories are well written and easily understood by the older preschool or elementary child. Younger children will, of course, need to have the stories read to them; whereas, older children will be able to read the stories for themselves. The brightly colored images will attract children's interest as well.

I would like to see additional helps included with the stories. These might include questions aimed at the child, questions aimed at the adult, and a set of family or Sunday School activities that would help the child and his or her family or Sunday School class to internalize the lessons. Almost all the stories have enough white space that it would be easy to add this material to the book. An accompanying website would be another way to deliver this type of material. Without this additional material, the book is a collection of stories that many (most?) children will not be able to connect to their 21st-century lives.

The book could easily find a place in the home of Christian parents or grandparents. Similarly, it would easily fit into the local church or public library. Even the new believer of any age would find these stories a helpful step in providing a foundation of Biblical history if they missed gaining this information in their youth.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

Knowing God By Name - A Review

Knowing God By Name

by

David Wilkerson

A Review

I have been aware of David Wilkerson since my earliest days as a believer.  His The Sword and the Switchblade, both the book and the movie, were part of my early journey into Christian reading outside of the Scriptures. As I was preparing a sermon series on The Names of God, I was excited to stumble upon this book and gladly added it to my library; expecting it to contribute to my sermon preparation over the next few weeks.

I was disappointed. Rather than being a discussion of the names of God, it serves as a platform for the author to discuss themes of interest to him. The names of God are only secondary to the primary themes developed in the book - not irrelevant, but supplementary to the concept hinted at in the book's title.

The book is well-written and interesting in its own right, but it is not the book that was expected given its title. Let me give one example - I am in the midst of preparing a message on “Immanuel”. The chapter devoted to this name is actually focused on the theme of spiritual warfare. That “God is with us” (the meaning of Immanuel) is certainly relevant to the topic, it has not become the focus of the chapter.

For the reader, church, or library, looking for a book by David Wilkerson, this book will fill the bill. If the reader is looking for an in depth examination on some of or all of the Names of God, this book misses the point.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Transcending Mysteries - A Review

Transcending Mysteries

by

Andrew Greer & Ginny Owens

A Review

Transcending Mysteries is a disappointing look  at the Old Testament as a precursor to Jesus Christ for the current reader.  Though the authors are well-known members of the contemporary music scene, the book never rises to the level of greatness one would hope for.  As this reader made his way through the book it felt as if he were making his way through a scrapbook - a scrapbook composed of pieces cut from the Old Testament, a series of journal entries, and lyrics from hits from the contemporary Christian music scene.  This scrapbook did not make for easy or helpful reading.

Though the connections seemed limited, I did appreciate the book’s use of The Voice as its standard, but not only Bible translation. I also appreciated the use of CCM to support the authors’ written message.  I have occasionally used favorite hymns as the foundation for a sermon series. It may not have worked here, but I do appreciate the effort. I also appreciate the use of two voices, one male and one female, to give meaning to the book’s words.

What could have added to the books value?  Let me suggest things:

1. The inclusion of an audio CD including performances of the songs highlighted in the book.  I enjoy CCM, but did not know all the songs referenced.
2. Reading much like a journal, I found many of the entries in this scrapbook to be too personal, rather than scholarly.  Personal may be important to the author, but not so much to this reader.  I would have like to see a greater emphasis on the truth of scripture, as opposed to the truth of scripture “to me (i.e. the author).” In the same vein, many of the entries are responses to the other writer’s comments, rather than to the scripture.    

Having said this, it is not clear to this reviewer where this book might find a home.  It does not seem suitable for use in a college or seminary classroom.  It might be of interest to some who are beginning a study of the Old Testament, but I can think of several more helpful introductory Old Testament texts that I might recommend as a better place to begin a study of the OT.  

Hence, the bottom line is that I was disappointed, though there may be value to the book for some.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.