Summary and Review
[I received a free electronic review copy of these books from Netgalley and NavPress in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
These books are the third pair released in the Storyline Bible Study series. I picked up my own copies of the first set – Mountains and Valleys – when they first released because the covers are gorgeous and the content was intriguing. And that’s about as far as I got with them – I checked out the layout, loved it, and they have taunted me from a pile ever since.
Because I liked the set up of these so much, I immediately requested the review copies of this third set, following Sticks and Stones. And the set up and content continue to impress me.
The titles are somewhat tongue in cheek – Saints focuses on 5 Bible stories and personalities who might be on some list – if only in their own minds – of “saints, ” but the studies show where they fall short. The “sinners” list includes those who are shunned in the Biblical record as “sinners” but who are drawn out by Jesus for some other purpose. For my review, I read all of the set up information as well as one full study in each book. And that teaser made me want more.
The studies are set up in four steps/sections – context, a close reading of the text, building understanding and making connections, and finally responding. There’s also an element that connects the stories in each study to the larger story of scripture in the books that have come before. I find the structure thoughtful, logical, and intentional. The writing tone is conversational and easy to read. I could honestly read these cover to cover, but so much would be missed by blitzing through what is here.
Bible studies tend to collect on shelves at my house and rarely get finished, but these feel like exactly the sort of studies I am looking for right now. I plan to work through the whole collection. As of this writing, the author and publisher websites don’t say anything about what might be next after this release, but I will be watching for something new in this impressive series.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*
*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it!