Around the world, many readers in distant places do not have the resources to help them understand the Bible. Others do not have resources written for the average Bible reader; the language is too dense and academic. These study guides are designed to make Bible study available to every reader.
The first guide Messiah: The Life of Jesus According to Matthew arose from my teaching of Matthew to 9th grade students fifteen years ago. It incorporated many of the handouts I had created for them. And it was written on their level. I originally called it a student's guide to Matthew. I have slightly updated the original to speak to older readers.
This first volume was also created for publication as a paperback book on Amazon. It can still be purchased from Amazon as either a paperback or Kindle book. You can order it here Amazon
The book has been used by individuals and study groups, but on Amazon it is not easily found. That led me to recreate it as a PDF and make it available to all for free of charge on the web. I have done the same with the several additional studies here. Presently there are eight guides, though several are works in progress. Those that are in PDF format may be downloaded freely at no cost. Go back to the study guides in the above menu to see the list of guides available.
My approach to these scriptures and study guides:
I read the scripture in a straightforward way. That is, I read the Bible first and look for the message and chew on the work of scholars later. If one reads the scholars to any extent, the blizzard of ideas and arguments about the scriptures is overwhelming and often contradictory. I may read the scholars and commentaries after I have read and thought through the scriptures just to compare. 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 book of Genesis especially. They have been very enlightening as they correlate with the history in Genesis.
In my latest writings, I find I am looking at these scriptures through the eyes of a student of literature and am finding an amazing level of literary skill and artistry that was not noted in my own education in biblical literature. That has enhanced my appreciation of the authors and my understanding of their work. That shows up more clearly in the last series of guides: Acts, Romans, Revelation, and Genesis.
My approach theologically is firmly evangelical. I am convinced of the inspiration of the scriptures and their value to believers. I am less convinced of the doctrine I received as a young Christian of verbal plenary inspiration. It seems to me that inspiration is more subtle and more about meaning than the words used. That is due I am sure to my studies in linguistics and translation of the original languages.
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.