Young People and the Bible:
This is a very well produced version of the Bible with excellent full colour art work and gives young people a really good overview of the whole Bible. I used it with my oldest children and we read it together at bed time. The images are really well done and give a great sense of the dynamism and action of a lot of the bible stories. It literary starts with Genesis and ends with revelation covering both the narrative sections and a quick overview of the epistles. It could be a great entry point for a lot of young people with the Bible.
2) Manga Jesus volume 1, Siku, Hodder and Stoughton
Graphic Artist Siku does an excellent job in capturing the drama of the gospel. This is a short book it is in black and white but printed on very high quality paper. It is artistically of an even higher standard than the Lion bible despite being in black and white. There are some very clever artistic touches that adds another dimension to this retelling of the gospel story.
3) Bible Baddies, Bob Hartman, Lion
This is an excellent resource for retelling the stories of the Bible. The stories are incredibly well written and set a gold standard for what could be a narrative sermon. This book should not be restricted to children and could make a great resource for being read out in church services. Bob Hartman is incredibly gifted and he has not shied away from some of the more difficult bible stories including Ehud and Eglon, Jezebel, Barrabus etc. I used to read these stories to my kids at bed time – i think i enjoyed them even more than they did! It probably works best for pretty literate childre over 8 years old.
4) Bite Sized Bible, Andy Bianchi, Collins
This is not a full bible but some of the key parts of the Bible broken down into bite size pieces. It works chronologically through the whole bible and includes one-line introductions to passages give their context and fill in the gaps as well as some cross references to help you find your way in the rest of the Bible. You can read each of the sections in about 3 to 4 minutes. It is a resource that I have dipped into for bed time bible stories with my kids. The book has a very badly thought out front cover with a picture of Eve offering the Adam a bite of the forbidden fruit – not sure what the link is between a bite size chunk of the Bible and the forbidden fruit?
Adults and the Bible
1) A walk through the Bible , Lesslie Newbigin, Triangle
Lesslie Newbigin takes the reader on a journey through the story of the Bible in 80 pages. Newbigin writes with a lightness of touch and theological awareness that makes some deep truths of the Bible available to a casual reader. This is a wonderful little book that could help us all to get a clear grasp of the plotline of the entire bible story.
2) Essential 100, Your way into the heart of the Bible by Whitney T. Kuniholm, Scripture Union
The bible broken down in the 100 key readings. I saw this book has been used effectively at London School of Theology where the whole college, staff and students alike would read the same reading each day and then have opportunities to discuss it on a group email or meet up in small groups each week and process their reading together. The criticism could be levelled against this book that it is encouraging a canon within the canon – that we are being very selective in our bible reading. But the idea behind this book is instead to provide a catalyst to help people get the big picture of the Bible story. It could be a useful tool for your church.
3) Topical Memory System: life Issues, Navigators
This resource from the navigators tries to help Christians to memorise and internalise the Bible. It provides a short article and then a memory verse on life issues such as dealing with anger, depression, love, knowing God’s will, handling money etc. Authors of the articles include Jerry Bridges, Calvin Miller, Ted Engstrom. You get a little card to stick in your wallet to carry around with you for the day and you can chose which version of the Bible you want to use (NIV, KJV, NKJV and NASB). The danger is ofcourse that we learn the bible in an atomistic way that encourages a proof texting approach to the Bible. The strength of the course is it really does help us get the Bible into our hearts and minds – to have a passage of the bible ready as we face challenges in life. As the Psalmist says: “i have hidden your word in my heart that i might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11
4) The Street Bible, Rob Lacey
Rob Lacey had a real gift with words. This is more of a series of meditations on the bible than a translation per se. The author himself said: “No way is this the Proper Bible. It’s a trailer for, an intro to, an overview of
The Bible (capital “B”),For those who’ve never read it, And those who’ve read it so much it’s gone stale on them”. Rob’s use of language is very powerful and can help people give the Bible a fresh hearing. To get a flavour of it click here .
5) BIble Experience, Zondervan Publishing
This is a brilliant recording of the Bible with a purpose made score and some top quality list of voice actors this set of CDs or MP3s can bring the bible alive for a new audience. The cast include: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett and Cuba Gooding Jr. My favourite part was to hear Samuel L. Jackson as John the Baptist – he brings his customary brilliance and attitude to the part. Stick the CD into your car and experience the Bible on the way to work or download the mp3s onto your ipod and enjoy the bible as you work out.
6) New Bible Dictionary (3rd edition)
With a top quality list of contributors this is the best single volume Bible commentary you can buy. With some excellent introductory articles on everything from the intertestamental period to the use of the old testament in the new testament this is a very useful introduction to understanding the bible. But the real centre of the book are concise, pithy yet scholarly comments on every passage in the Bible. Ofcourse in a single volume commentary it cannot go into much detail or even comment on each individual verse – but as a first stop this is an ideal book. If you lead a small group or just want to go deeper in your own study this is a must buy book. (see below for a electronic version).
7) Faith of Israel, William Dumbrell, IVP
A gem of a book, helpful to both Bible readers and Bible teachers. This book works through all of the books of the Old Testament and provides a theological overview of each of them. Dumbrell provides a masterful study helpfully bringing out the way that each book fits into the overall story of the bible and gives helpful pointers to know how to understand the big themes of the Bible connect in with each of the books.
9) Praying the Psalms, Bruegemman, Paternoster
Couldn’t have a list of bible resources without something helpful from Bruegemann. Here is a little book helping Christians to enjoy the Psalms and their deliberate emotional reality. Bruegemann needs to be read because he brings some challenging and theologically rich insights to bear on the biblical text, you need to read carefully because you won’t agree with everything he says – but the conversation is worth the effort.
10) Acts for everbody , NT Wright, SPCK
A great resource for daily bible reading – Bishop Tom Wright brings his huge intellectual ability together with his communication skills Wright has provided a readable commentary that could be a very helpful book to read as part of a daily quiet time. This is part of an excellent “…. for everybody series” they are well worth a look.
11) The IVP Essential Reference CDROM
If there’s only one thing you buy from this list – this is it! This CDROM packs a shelf full of great reference works onto your hard drive which means not only can you save the rainforest you can also save yourself a fortune. Most books you will want to read in print format – but to have some classic reference works available at the click of a mouse is brilliant. The folowing works are a fantastic resource in their own right and well worth buying in print if you are not a fan of computer based resources.
New Bible Dictionary (3rd edition)
New Bible Commentary (3rd edition)
New Dictionary of Theology
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
Dictionary of Paul and his Epistles
Old and New Testament background Commentary
What you get is top quality evangelical scholarship in the most user friendly format possible. It costs £100 which is amazing value as most of the books are £35 each in print. Thank you IVP!
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Krish,
Thanks for your work on this blog and for the comment about Essential 100. Some people have criticized the idea because it implies that some parts of the Bible are “non-essential” or a canon within the canon, as you say. It’s a reasonable reaction. But I would contend that everyone who reads the Bible reads excerpts–either topical, a single book or just random. Essential 100 is simply an organized set of excerpts that communicates the big picture of the Bible. Anyway, I’m fascinated to hear that the London School of Theology has used it. Blessings!