Member Reviews
This is a great resource for Bible Study, Very concise and easy to read and begin a conversation. Very simple and concise way to learn the Bible. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my thoughts or rating. I highly recommend.
100 More Stand-Alone Bible Studies is the second in the series by Penelope Wilcock. She advises that these studies were written with the purpose of being used in a home group setting and will be the most helpful in that way, although they can be used by individuals.
Wilcock also provides guidelines for leading a group Bible study, which boils down to stand back and don’t get in the way. This laissez-faire approach could easily lead to misunderstanding the Bible without the guidance of a qualified teacher. Further, it opens the door for potential disagreements to get out of hand.
The subjects addressed in this study book are not ones that usually promote peace. For example, there is extensive time spent right off the bat on baptism, whether infants should be baptized, what is baptism in the Holy Spirit, does it only relate to salvation or is it something more, and what are the participants’ personal experiences regarding baptism in the Holy Spirit. I have known these very issues to cause disagreement among church members and for some to stop attendance over the matter.
If you are not afraid to ask tough questions and confront every issue, albeit from the author’s point of view, have at it! But frankly, this book scares me. It’s like giving a three-year-old a shovel and telling him to start prying up rocks. On the mountain where I live he’s likely to find a few snakes.
Scripture cautions us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) I’m afraid the studies in 100 More Stand-Alone Bible Studies uses a much bolder method.
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100 More-Stand-Alone Bible Studies by Penelope Wilcock is a wonderful source. The Bible studies are beautifully organized and titled by topic. Some topics have two or three studies. It makes finding what you need for your planned Bible study easy.
Each bible study contains verses, commentary, questions, and prayer. Each Bible study has multiple verses. The commentary is very well done. It contains thoughts, explanations, and sometimes etymology of the topic. The questions are wonderful and practical. I was exceptionally pleased with the prayer portion because they are so short. I like this because it leaves room for you to add to it, making your prayer more personal.
This book is wonderful for anyone in a leadership position. However, it is not beginner friendly. The vocabulary is not friendly for the new Christian. If you are looking to dive deeper, but are worried about the vocabulary I suggest buying on the Kindle app. Kindle has a built in dictionary that makes this book a lot easier to read.
This book is exactly what it says it is. Although I don't think it beginner friendly, I don't think it was meant to be. This book excels at being a helpful tool for anyone in leadership. Even if you aren't a group leader but occasionally give spiritual guidance to a friend, this book could really help. I did notice a minor editing flaw of missed capitalization, but other than that it is well-edited. For these reasons I give the book 5 stars.
I'm thankful to netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for this honest review.
It wasn't what I thought it was. I thought it was more going to help me in my personal devotions and although it does and can its is awesome for group. It helps me come up with topics to talk about when I can't think of one and it helps me to have a solid foundation to start that topic on.
Definitely a great resource for teachers and leaders. While the author definitely leans towards a more high-church (Anglican, etc.) view of sacraments and other issues, this book could be used by any Christian small group or pastor. The discussion questions are excellent! I plan to use it in preparation for preaching and teaching.
Very disappointing. I was hoping for some *Bible* studies. Instead, this book is topical studies of various doctrines. A couple of Bible passages, supposedly relating to the topic, but sometimes I can't see the connection, along with a short commentary and questions for discussion.
Based on the questions, I see this as more of a philosophical study of "what do you think" or "how do you feel about..." rather than a true Bible study of "what does the Bible say about this?". There should be a lot more scripture references and discussion about what the scripture says.
Scripture quotes are from various Bible translations, NIVUK, KJV, GNB, NRSVA, TLB, and others.
I'm not sure how to pinpoint the views in this book, but they're definitely not conservative evangelical. It's definitely from the viewpoint of a more liturgical denomination (Anglican?)
Personally, I was not impressed with this book,, although others of the more liberal persuasion might find it helpful.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.