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Bible Savvy Set of 4 books
Made up of four individual volumes (Epic, Foundation, Context, and Walk), Bible Savvy is a foundational resource for those wanting to better understand the Bible. From the whole storyline of the Bible to personal application and how to live it, this set of four accessible books is an ideal resource for small groups, Sunday school classes, youth groups, and individuals seeking to increase their breadth of knowledge about God's word.
Epic: The Storyline of the Bible unveils the single theme that ties all the various parts of scripture together: redemption.
Foundation: The Trustworthiness of the Bible explains that the Bible is God's book, not merely man made, and why it can be wholly trusted.
Context: How to Understand the Bible shows readers how to read the different parts of the Bible as they were meant to be read and how they fit together.
Walk: How to Apply the Bible helps readers put their greater understanding of the text into practice and how to draw real-life applications from it.
Epic: The Storyline of the Bible unveils the single theme that ties all the various parts of scripture together: redemption.
Foundation: The Trustworthiness of the Bible explains that the Bible is God's book, not merely man made, and why it can be wholly trusted.
Context: How to Understand the Bible shows readers how to read the different parts of the Bible as they were meant to be read and how they fit together.
Walk: How to Apply the Bible helps readers put their greater understanding of the text into practice and how to draw real-life applications from it.
- GenresNonfiction
482 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2013
18 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 17, 2013
One of the great weaknesses of many Christians today is the lack of time spent in the Bible. The fact is, the Bible can be an intimidating book. James Nicodem has written a series of short books called The Bible Savvy Series designed to overcome that weakness by making the Bible accessible and less intimidating. The series contains four short books: Epic, Foundation, Content, and Walk. Nicodem writes with an engaging, simple style that is accessible to all readers. His years as a youth pastor and senior pastor have given him an ability to communicate difficult truths simply and concisely. As J. Vernon McGee would say, he “puts the cookies on the bottom shelf” where everybody can get to them. He is adept at using illustrations without coming across as self-promoting or simply a story teller. Making deep and difficult subjects seem simple (rather than simplistic) is a sign of a master teacher. Nicodem certainly fits the bill.
The first book in the series is Epic: The Storyline of the Bible. In Epic, the author attempts to lay out the grand narrative of Scripture in less than 200 duodecimo sized pages. A sizable task in a diminutive package! When I first started seriously studying the Bible, one of the first tools I bought was an introduction to the Bible. It gave overviews and brief backgrounds of each book of the Bible. Epic is not that kind of book. As a matter of fact, one chapter covers Genesis 12 – Song of Solomon. The book isn’t designed to give backgrounds, maps and timelines. It’s designed to lay out the grand narrative of Scripture—the story of redemption. The author is clearly not a Dispensationalist, which skews some of his views of Old Testament prophesy and the nature of Israel. But, as a Dispensationalist, I would be very comfortable using this book in a small group setting. One thing that is very helpful is that Nicodem doesn’t shy away from difficult apologetic questions. He offers great answers to some frequently asked difficult questions.
The second book is Foundation: The Trustworthiness of the Bible. After understanding the basic storyline of the Bible, readers are given reasons that the Bible can be trusted. In four short lessons, the author covers everything from verbal inspiration to perspicuity—once again keeping the cookies on the bottom shelf. I appreciate the author’s emphasis on reading, hearing, studying and memorizing Scripture. I do however wish he wouldn’t have taken off on his negative riff about verse-by-verse preaching. As a preacher, if anything would prevent me from using this book in small group studies, it would be that page-and-a-half riff. There was no need to undermine this valuable type of preaching—especially to immature Christians who will most benefit from both these books and expository preaching. I wish Nicodem hadn’t done it.
The third book is Context: How to Understand the Bible. I only wish my seminary hermeneutics classes had been this clear and easy to understand! The author gives his readers a great overview of how to read the Bible in its proper context.
The fourth book is Walk: How to Apply the Bible. This is where Nicodem’s series sets itself apart. He moves his readers from thinking about how to rightly understand the Bible to actually doing something with it. He explains the COMA approach to Bible study—an acronym meaning Context, Observation, Message, Application. This is a well-tested method of Bible study and the author does a very good job explaining it.
Each chapter of each book concludes with a study guide designed for both personal and group study, making the set ideal to use as a small group curriculum. If a small group was to work straight through all four books, one chapter per week, it would only take 18 weeks to finish the series. After that 18 weeks, they would have an excellent foundation to become students—both hearers and doers—of the Word. I would have preferred a few things to be different, including his eschatology, his lack of appreciation for expository preaching and his promotion of the NIV Study Bible. But despite those small differences, I would encourage pastors and churches to use these books in their churches in a small group setting.
Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition (March 15, 2013)
ISBN-10: 0802494048
Moody Publishers provided me with a complimentary set of these books in exchange for an unbiased review. In no way did that influence my opinion of the book or my review.
The first book in the series is Epic: The Storyline of the Bible. In Epic, the author attempts to lay out the grand narrative of Scripture in less than 200 duodecimo sized pages. A sizable task in a diminutive package! When I first started seriously studying the Bible, one of the first tools I bought was an introduction to the Bible. It gave overviews and brief backgrounds of each book of the Bible. Epic is not that kind of book. As a matter of fact, one chapter covers Genesis 12 – Song of Solomon. The book isn’t designed to give backgrounds, maps and timelines. It’s designed to lay out the grand narrative of Scripture—the story of redemption. The author is clearly not a Dispensationalist, which skews some of his views of Old Testament prophesy and the nature of Israel. But, as a Dispensationalist, I would be very comfortable using this book in a small group setting. One thing that is very helpful is that Nicodem doesn’t shy away from difficult apologetic questions. He offers great answers to some frequently asked difficult questions.
The second book is Foundation: The Trustworthiness of the Bible. After understanding the basic storyline of the Bible, readers are given reasons that the Bible can be trusted. In four short lessons, the author covers everything from verbal inspiration to perspicuity—once again keeping the cookies on the bottom shelf. I appreciate the author’s emphasis on reading, hearing, studying and memorizing Scripture. I do however wish he wouldn’t have taken off on his negative riff about verse-by-verse preaching. As a preacher, if anything would prevent me from using this book in small group studies, it would be that page-and-a-half riff. There was no need to undermine this valuable type of preaching—especially to immature Christians who will most benefit from both these books and expository preaching. I wish Nicodem hadn’t done it.
The third book is Context: How to Understand the Bible. I only wish my seminary hermeneutics classes had been this clear and easy to understand! The author gives his readers a great overview of how to read the Bible in its proper context.
The fourth book is Walk: How to Apply the Bible. This is where Nicodem’s series sets itself apart. He moves his readers from thinking about how to rightly understand the Bible to actually doing something with it. He explains the COMA approach to Bible study—an acronym meaning Context, Observation, Message, Application. This is a well-tested method of Bible study and the author does a very good job explaining it.
Each chapter of each book concludes with a study guide designed for both personal and group study, making the set ideal to use as a small group curriculum. If a small group was to work straight through all four books, one chapter per week, it would only take 18 weeks to finish the series. After that 18 weeks, they would have an excellent foundation to become students—both hearers and doers—of the Word. I would have preferred a few things to be different, including his eschatology, his lack of appreciation for expository preaching and his promotion of the NIV Study Bible. But despite those small differences, I would encourage pastors and churches to use these books in their churches in a small group setting.
Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition (March 15, 2013)
ISBN-10: 0802494048
Moody Publishers provided me with a complimentary set of these books in exchange for an unbiased review. In no way did that influence my opinion of the book or my review.
July 8, 2013
About the Book:
Made up of four individual volumes ("Epic, Foundation, Context, "and "Walk"), "Bible Savvy "is a foundational resource for those wanting to better understand the Bible. From the whole storyline of the Bible to personal application and how to live it, this set of four accessible books is an ideal resource for small groups, Sunday school classes, youth groups, and individuals seeking to increase their breadth of knowledge about God's word.
About the Author:
Jim and his wife, Sue, have been married for more than thirty years and have three grown children. Born and raised in the Midwest, Jim did his schooling in Biblical studies (BA/Wheaton College; MDiv, DMin/Trinity Evangelical Divinity School). In keeping with Christ Community Church's mission to make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ, Jim loves to mentor others in prayer and the study of God's Word. With that goal in mind, he has authored Prayer Coach: For All Who Want to Get Off the Bench and Onto the Praying Field (2008) and the four-book Bible Savvy series (2013).
My Review:
The Bible Savvy collection is an excellent resource to have in your home library. My husband is in seminary and found these to be great additions in helping him with his course work. They are perfect for anyone especially some one new to the Christian walk. The 4 volume set breaks down and explains alot of the Bible for you. Here is a brief summary of what each book includes:
Epic: The Storyline of the Bible unveils the single theme that ties all the various parts of scripture together: redemption.
Foundation: The Trustworthiness of the Bible explains that the Bible is God's book, not merely man made, and why it can be wholly trusted.
Context: How to Understand the Bible shows readers how to read the different parts of the Bible as they were meant to be read and how they fit together.
Walk: How to Apply the Bible helps readers put their greater understanding of the text into practice and how to draw real-life applications from it.
The author points out the fact that the Bible is not an easily understood book and breaking it down makes it a little easier to understand. He has taken the Bible and sorted through it and pointed out significant facts to helps us better make sense of it all.
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me at no charge from the publisher for my honest review.
Made up of four individual volumes ("Epic, Foundation, Context, "and "Walk"), "Bible Savvy "is a foundational resource for those wanting to better understand the Bible. From the whole storyline of the Bible to personal application and how to live it, this set of four accessible books is an ideal resource for small groups, Sunday school classes, youth groups, and individuals seeking to increase their breadth of knowledge about God's word.
About the Author:
Jim and his wife, Sue, have been married for more than thirty years and have three grown children. Born and raised in the Midwest, Jim did his schooling in Biblical studies (BA/Wheaton College; MDiv, DMin/Trinity Evangelical Divinity School). In keeping with Christ Community Church's mission to make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ, Jim loves to mentor others in prayer and the study of God's Word. With that goal in mind, he has authored Prayer Coach: For All Who Want to Get Off the Bench and Onto the Praying Field (2008) and the four-book Bible Savvy series (2013).
My Review:
The Bible Savvy collection is an excellent resource to have in your home library. My husband is in seminary and found these to be great additions in helping him with his course work. They are perfect for anyone especially some one new to the Christian walk. The 4 volume set breaks down and explains alot of the Bible for you. Here is a brief summary of what each book includes:
Epic: The Storyline of the Bible unveils the single theme that ties all the various parts of scripture together: redemption.
Foundation: The Trustworthiness of the Bible explains that the Bible is God's book, not merely man made, and why it can be wholly trusted.
Context: How to Understand the Bible shows readers how to read the different parts of the Bible as they were meant to be read and how they fit together.
Walk: How to Apply the Bible helps readers put their greater understanding of the text into practice and how to draw real-life applications from it.
The author points out the fact that the Bible is not an easily understood book and breaking it down makes it a little easier to understand. He has taken the Bible and sorted through it and pointed out significant facts to helps us better make sense of it all.
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me at no charge from the publisher for my honest review.
July 25, 2013
Bible Savvy is collection of four books written by James L. Nicodem. The series is geared at building our understanding of the Bible, and honestly the author has a wonderful knack of sharing his wisdom in an easy to understand way that isn't condescending, instead the author hits a very good balance of sharing insight and knowledge while putting a humorous tone to his writing. By the end of the series I felt like I had met a good friend who had shared his knowledge with me. Several of the things he said made me feel like he was talking to me. The four book series covers a lot of information without being overwhelming. I found the study guide at the end of each chapter to be quite helpful in allowing me to reflect on what I had learned, but also had me thinking about what I thought I already knew! Another plus to these books are the size, they are small enough to fit in a purse which allowed me to take them along with me. I found the crisp white pages and font size to be very easy on the eye, while this doesn't matter to everyone, it's something I always look for in any Bible or Bible study that I do! Each of the books could be used alone but honestly I think the entire series would be wonderful as a Bible study either individually or in a group setting. I also the series would make a wonderful gift for a newly converted Christian, what a wonderful way to start them on the amazing journey that is the Bible!
As someone who tries to read the Bible daily I wasn't sure if these books would be helpful for me but boy was I wrong. Using these books have really deepened my understanding of the Bible, clarifying some areas that I had questions about but also reaffirming things that I already knew. I can see myself reusing these books in the future! I do have one complaint though where the series is concerned, I do wish that the books were numbered to make it easy to figure out the order of the series. Overall though I would highly recommend this entire series for anyone looking to further their understanding of the Bible.
A complimentary copy of these books were provided for review.
As someone who tries to read the Bible daily I wasn't sure if these books would be helpful for me but boy was I wrong. Using these books have really deepened my understanding of the Bible, clarifying some areas that I had questions about but also reaffirming things that I already knew. I can see myself reusing these books in the future! I do have one complaint though where the series is concerned, I do wish that the books were numbered to make it easy to figure out the order of the series. Overall though I would highly recommend this entire series for anyone looking to further their understanding of the Bible.
A complimentary copy of these books were provided for review.
August 17, 2013
My husband will be doing the review for these books!
I teach a class at my church called Overview of the Bible, and this series of books would fit in perfectly. Jim Nicodem writes this series of books very plainly so that anyone can pick them up and understand what is being said. However, at the same time, he doesn't insult the reader. I felt like I was in a conversation with Jim rather than reading a book.
New Christians, or people wanting to know more about Christianity, will learn a lot about how the Bible is put together and get a better grasp of what is in it. Those who have been Christians longer will be able to gain a better understanding of concepts they know (or think they know).
I recommend these books to everyone wanting to grow closer to God by getting better at reading the Bible.
I teach a class at my church called Overview of the Bible, and this series of books would fit in perfectly. Jim Nicodem writes this series of books very plainly so that anyone can pick them up and understand what is being said. However, at the same time, he doesn't insult the reader. I felt like I was in a conversation with Jim rather than reading a book.
New Christians, or people wanting to know more about Christianity, will learn a lot about how the Bible is put together and get a better grasp of what is in it. Those who have been Christians longer will be able to gain a better understanding of concepts they know (or think they know).
I recommend these books to everyone wanting to grow closer to God by getting better at reading the Bible.
October 4, 2016
Took our youth boys class at church through this excellent set of short books. It's a sharp Bible Introduction Class in fun, readable, understandable, and engaging prose. I recommend it to anyone who wants to begin to understand what they hold in their hands when they grab a Bible.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews