Many readers do not have the resources to help them understand the Bible. Sometimes resources that are available are written in academic writing and are too dense and difficult to read. These study guides are designed to make Bible study available to every reader.
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My approach to the scriptures and the reading guides:
I read the scripture in a straightforward way. That is, I read the Bible first as God's word and then as literature and chew on the work of scholars later. I look to the Holy Spirit to guide, and I find that he does.
I do, however, include historical facts about the life and times of Jesus and the various authors of the books as well as the latest archaeological finds that relate to the life and times of the author and the readers he addressed. If you are interested that is called cultural-literary interpretation. It is a slight broadening of the grammatical-hstorical method many seminary students learn.
In my latest writings, I find I am looking at the scriptures through the eyes of a student of literature (literature was both my focus in college and my career as an English teacher) and am finding an amazing level of literary skill and artistry that was not noted in my own seminary education in biblical literature. It has enhanced my appreciation of the authors and my understanding of their work.
My approach theologically is firmly evangelical. I am convinced of the inspiration of the scriptures and their value to believers.
My procedure in the latest guides is to use the New English Translation, but I often do my own translation from Greek and Hebrew as a check. I use Biblehub.com as a resource both for the Greek and Hebrew texts and for the lexical help.
Use the dropdown menu to open the guides for the books listed. In most cases the studies are chapter by chapter and are posted on this site as PDFs that can be downloaded for free.
Once you open the file, you will find on the browser the option to download.
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