Seven Arrows: Aiming Bible Readers in the Right Direction

by Matt Rogers, Donny Mathis

Polished sermons and prepared Bible studies can inadvertently cause average Christians to feel inadequate and ill-equipped to study the Scriptures themselves. It often seems like trained church leaders have a secret skill that can leave the rest of us wondering "How do they do that?" The result is an ever-increasing level of biblical illiteracy in most churches and an over-dependence on preachers and sermons.Seven Arrows is written to aid all of God’s people in the task of reading, understanding, and applying God’s Word. Using seven simple arrows Rogers and Mathis provide a clear, orderly, and memorable guide for studying any passage of Scripture. New Christians, maturing believers, disciple-makers, and pastors will find in this book a practical tool to produce biblically-saturated lives and churches.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Faith

276 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 2015

About the author

Matt Rogers lives in Greenville, SC and serves as the pastor of The Church at Cherrydale (www.tccherrydale.com). Matt is a graduate of Furman University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and received his PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Matt writes for a number of evangelical organizations and speaks around the nation about the need for disciple-making and leadership development in the local church. This all pales in comparison to the joy Matt finds in being the husband of Sarah and the father of Corrie, Avery, and Hudson, and Willa. Find Matt online mattrogers.bio.

Reviews

[David Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will be teaching the principles (arrows) outlined in this book in an upcoming Wednesday evening discipleship group. While reading this book, I was reminded of a older and similar book with the same purpose--"Living By the Book" by Howard and William Hendricks. The Hendricks' book is more thorough than Rogers and Mathis' book; however, "Seven Arrows" is more user-friendly, in my opinion. It is shorter, more concise, and memorable. The arrows are easy to remember and intentionally ordered to lead a student of God's word from interpretation to application. While there is much to praise about this resource, it has two weak chapters--Chapter 3 and 4. The arrows are good questions to ask texts or passages of Scripture. However, the authors explain these arrows by walking through the grand narrative in Scripture from God's perspective (chapter 3) and then man's perspective/problem (chapter 4). Chapter 3 outlines the story of God in a unique way. Most biblical theologians describe the flow of the grand narrative in terms of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. There are of course different ways of describing this progressions, but the authors designate Genesis 3 to the end of the Old Testament as the King's Judgment. Yes, God judges His people during this period of time, but He is primarily working toward bring the Messiah. Neither chapter provides practical advice on how to anchor a specific passage in God's story or to determine how a passage describes humanity's problem. Finally, there needs to be a stronger emphasis on how every passage leads a person to Christ and the Gospel. While I have listed several concerns with this resource, it is still a worthy read, but I would definitely supplement it with other bible study resources like Living by the Book.

[Adam Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great read. The seven arrows for Bible reading has changed the way that I approach my daily Bible reading. We have also implemented this book as a fundamental element for our church's discipleship strategy. This book gets five stars from me because the insight gained from reading is so applicable to everyday Bible reading.

[Curt Mize · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, down-to-earth method for studying the Bible for anyone.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content of the book was great - helpful for Bible readers and especially as I was preparing to co-lead a Bible study that was using this method this Fall. However I need to give it three stars because the editing was abysmal. I couldn't get through a single chapter or even really a few pages without there being a grammatical error that made the sentence illegible. Needs another editor to read through and publish a second edition that's cleaned up, which would make the reading experience more enjoyable.

[Rachelle Cobb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview on how to study the Word.

[Matt Athey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, helpful, doable

For many reasons, I am thrilled to have discovered this book. As a redeemed sinner seeking to know God more the 7 arrows have already been deepened my bible study and journaling. As a pastor this book will be a wonderful resource to provide to Christians new and experienced to deepen their own time in the word! Excellent resource!

[Celeste Wegner · Rating 5 out of 5]

7 Arrows is amazing!!!

The best book I have read about studying the Word of God. I highly recommend this book to anyone in ministry as well as every believer. I wish I had read this book years ago. However, God’s timing is perfect. I am thankful for the authors of this amazing tool.

[Manuela Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how it explains how to study the Bible and I plan to use it in my Bible studies. It seemed unnecessarily long, though. There are long chunks that summarize the Bible. That seemed to stray from the main purpose of the book. Overall though, excellent strategy to study the Bible.

[Karie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a system for reading the Bible but a practical way to know God’s intent for his creation. Also includes a good overview of the Bible.

[Jonathan McCarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book... some helpful insights. Not terribly well written or edited.