Reader's Guide To The Bible: A Chronological Reading Plan

by George H. Guthrie

The Reader’s Guide to the A Chronological Reading Plan by George Guthrie invites readers into the world of the Bible and offers guidance for walking day-by-day through its pages. May be used as a companion to any Bible translation but is designed to complement Reading God’s A Chronological Daily Bible (HCSB®; B&H, 2011)

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian Living

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Dr. George Guthrie serves as the Benjamin W. Perry Professor of Bible at Union University in Jackson, TN. As a student of the New Testament and Koine Greek, he is the author of numerous articles and seven books, including, The Structure of Hebrews: A Textlinguistic Analysis (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 73. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994; republished by Baker Books in 1998), Biblical Greek Exegesis (Co-authored with J. Scott Duvall, Zondervan), the NIV Application Commentary: Hebrews, and Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Hebrews. Dr. Guthrie has participated in translation projects, such as the revision of The New Living Translation, and has served as a consultant on the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the New Century Version, and the English Standard Version. He has also served for five years as a co-chair of the Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics Section of SBL, has served on the Executive Committee of the Institute for Biblical Research, and has served on the editorial board for Sheffield's JSNTS monograph series. At Union University he has led in the establishment of, and serves as Senior Fellow in, the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies, which is committed to promoting sound Bible reading, study, and interpretation at the grassroots level of the church. Dr. Guthrie holds both the Ph.D. and the M.Div. degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Th.M. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Reviews

[Coralie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My church went through this reading plan and used this book to go through the Bible chronologically together as a congregation for 2020. It was an amazing experience!

And, I really liked this companion guide/reading plan a lot. It helped me stay on track and is clearly organized. The guide presents the Bible as one full story from start to finish, and so breaks it down into the Three Act Structure with scenes in each act. And the breaks and divisions between scenes and acts are notated between the reading plan and commentaries. There are also three timeline charts inside that you get to help fill out, which was cool.

Every week had an introduction and each day had a brief commentary explaining the context and things to watch for as you read. I liked the background information and context. It definitely helped. At the end of each day, there are either statements to reflect on or questions to consider. And at the end of each week are small group discussion questions. My Sunday School class often used the small group questions, since my church did this all together. Personally, I found the questions hit or miss. There were some thought-provoking ones and ones that challenged reflection and growth and then there were some that weren't particularly so.

All in all, I would recommend the guide and reading plan. I found it very useful and am glad to have gone through it!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This companion did a great job of breaking chunks of scripture—while still keeping the big picture in tact. The timeline helped keep the narrative in order—especially through the later part of the Old Testament. This is a book that I will use multiple times.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are struggling with how to read and understand the bible this is a great book to work through.

[Tressella Jaggers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good addition to the chronological Bible. Helps to understand what you’re reading.

[JoAnn J. A. Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent companion to reading the Bible through chronologically, but some of the opinions stated did not agree with my own. As it goes many people would find it educational.

If you are trying to read the Bible through this book might well help you.