Irving L. Jensen Collection - A Review

Irving L. Jensen Collection

by

Irving L. Jensen

A Review

Faithlife and the family of Irving L. Jensen have provided a great collection of 24 Bible Study tools aimed at students with a wide range of previous exposure to the Scripture.

For those just beginning their study of scripture, whether a new believer or a long time member of the Family of God but with little experience in personal study, there a number of individual book studies. Some these (e.g. the study on the Prison Epistles) provide introductory material before jumping into a series of questions which will help the reader dig, understand, and apply, the Scriptures to their own life. Along with books on individual books, there are also titles that cover larger portions of scripture. For example, The Layman’s Bible Study Notebook provides a set of workbooks covering the whole New Testament.  Simply Understanding the Bible includes an introduction to every book of the Bible (alas, it does not provide study questions to guide the student into deeper study). Except for this book, there appears to be less than complete coverage of the Old Testament, A number of key OT book are covered, but there are some key OT books which seem to be missed (e.g. Isaiah). As noted earlier, the New Testament is covered quite well - both with titles covering multiple Bible books and those focusing on a single book (e.g. each of the gospels has an individual book).

There are also tools for those who are ready to dig in for themselves. At the gentler end of the spectrum is Jensen’s Enjoy Your Bible: Making the Most of Your Time With God’s Word.  The ten chapters (130 pages) begin to introduce the reader to the tools needed to begin a habit of personal inductive Bible Study. For those wanting a bit more in-depth discussion of the inductive Bible Study Method, Jensen’s  Independent Bible Study provides 6 chapters plus appendices with more details on developing a personal Bible Study habit.

Besides the book studies, there are also three character studies within the collection (David, Ruth, and Mary).  

I and other users of the LOGOS Bible Study Library waited a long time to gain access to this material - at times even wondering if it would make it into publication. When the Jensen family became involved in the process, things moved along more quickly. This collection of books is provided for use with LOGOS Bible Software - available at various price ranges, including a Basic version available with a few key books for free.

These books are certainly suitable for individual study.  Though instructions are included within the collection for using the material with a small group or Sunday School class, it is not clear to me how this can be easily accomplished given that the individual books are mostly out of print (updated editions from another publisher are available for several of the titles). Some clarification from LOGOS or the copyright holder may be needed.

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

Build the Altar - A Review

Build the Altar
A Personal Worship Retreat

by

Paula Wiseman

A Review

Paula Wiseman has become one of my favorite Christian fiction writers.  She is now, slowly, building a reputation for none fiction works as well.  I earlier purchased a copy of her 56 Tips To Help You Get the Most Out of Every Book in the Bible and appreciated her insights and thoughts. Her latest book at 42 pages uses the various altars found in scripture as tools for teaching about worship.

Ms. Wiseman uses five altars built by men and women from both the Old Testament to help the believer understand the purpose and role of worship in his and her life. Noah, David, Elijah, Hannah, and Mary, provide are the individuals used to build her argument.  Each chapter is divided into two sections: “Consider the Context” and “Connecting to Christ”. The first section focuses on the story of the character and the altar he or she builds. The discussion is both exegetical and practical - questions are used throughout to make the discussion personal for the reader. The second section builds parallels between the history discussed in the first section and life of a 21st-century believer. The two sections provide sufficient depth to be of interest to both the new believer and a mature believer looking for something to help renew their faith.

This book/booklet could serve as a guide to personal devotions for as short as a week or a month or longer. Another way I might find this guide useful would be to spend the first day of the week using this guide as a tool in a personal retreat setting (park, zoo, mall, etc.) and then use the remainder of the week using the insights found during that alone time to guide the reader's personal devotions for the next week. Finally, the book could serve as the foundation for a six-week study for a small group - the small group covering the material in the book, while encouraging the members to use the material to guide their devotions in the time between meetings.

However the book is used and whoever uses the book, it is likely to be a blessing to the reader.

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