I. Are you looking for books that will help you grow deeper in your faith? We recommend the following:
The following list correlates with the first half of the KOINOS Christian Foundations seminar series. (To see books for the second half of this series, click here. To see books related to other KOINOS series, click here.) For books related to these seminars, click on the seminar's title:
(Overall
Introduction to Christian Foundations)
The Old Testament Journey
(The New Testament as a Whole)
The Jesus We Must Know--A New Look at the
Gospels
Real People of the Book (Acts-Revelation)
OVERALL INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN FOUNDATIONS
"A Handbook of the Christian Faith (by John Schwarz) is a one- volume overview of the Bible, church history, Christian beliefs and practices, other religions, and other issues of Christianity written in an easy-to-understand style. Organized in ten thematic chapters, the book is designed for use by individuals or study groups. 'I cannot think of a more helpful resource for adults who are serious about their faith and the desire to understand it better,' says Dr. W. Ward Gasque, President, Pacific Association for Theological Studies."
Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart's How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth offers "a guide to understanding the Bible in its literary dimensions with techniques for interpreting scripture while being faithful to the literary genres."
"Reading the Bible need not be a haphazard journey through strange and bewildering territory. Like an experienced tour guide, How to Read the Bible Book by Book takes you by the hand and walks you through the Scriptures. For each book of the Bible, the authors (Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart) start with a quick snapshot, then expand the view to help you better understand its key elements and how it fits into the grand narrative of the Bible."
In The Canon of Scripture, F.F. Bruce examines the historical evidence for acceptance of the 66 books of the canon and addresses several central issues: how were these books selected, and how do we know the ancient church leaders chose the right volumes.
John Bowker's Complete Bible Handbook looks at each Bible book from five perspectives:
- Origin and significance of each book
- A review of each book's story lines
- A look at each book's original cultural context
- Helpful info about the history within and around each book.
- Notes about each book's unique theology as well as the key ideas it shares with other Bible books.
The book's illustrations help bring all its contents to life.
Kay Arthur's "How To Study Your Bible is a dynamic guide to cultivating step-by-step Bible study skills such as observation, interpretation, application, and more--skills that mean the difference between being a passive spectator and an active participant in God's Word!"
The IVP Bible Background Commentary [Old Testament], edited by John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas, "examines the literature, history, and social context of the Old Testament and their relevance for making sense of this ancient collection. Particular attention is paid to differences between ancient Mediterranean and modern Western culture."
An Introduction to the Old Testament, by Tremper Longman and Raymond B. Dillard, answers questions about the writing of the Old Testament, for example, when? where? who? and why?
Bill Arnold and Brian Beyer, in Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey, have written a readable introduction to the message of the Old Testament, collectively and book by book.
Philip Yancey, in The Bible Jesus Read, acknowledges that in studying key sections of the Hebrew Bible (he concentrates on Job, Deuteronomy, The Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the Prophets) he found himself confronted by the core questions that haunt his Christian faith: Do I matter? Does God care? Why doesn't God act? As always, Yancey explores these central human questions with a style that is marked by directness, humor, and honesty.
Walter Brueggemann's Theology of the Old Testament gives a masterful look at key Old Testament events and ideas. Although one can never confuse the Old Testament with the New, this volume helps readers see that the Bible speaks of one God seeking to interact with his people.
John Walton's Chronological and Background Charts to the Old Testament is a "revised, updated, and expanded edition of a very popular tool for pastors, teachers, and students for the study of the Old Testament. The book includes 42 new charts, and revisions to another 18. Inside, a new design promotes ease of understanding. Subjects cover historical, literary, archaeological, and theological aspects of the Old Testament."
Walter Kaiser's The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable and Relevant? explores the trustworthiness of the ancient texts. Does the Old Testament give Christians merely a wonderful collection of stories or something more?
Ordering the New Testament under ten broad thematic headings, F.F. Bruce's, The Message of the New Testament, discusses the New Testament books, showing how each book or group of books makes a distinctive contribution to the overall message of the New Testament.
"This revised edition of Robert Gundry's Survey of the New Testament goes beyond providing background information and technical introductory material and leads students to read the New Testament itself. This fourth edition includes full color."
Walter Dunnett's Exploring the New Testament provides a simpler, but less comprehensive version of the Gundry volume described above.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary [New Testament], edited by Craig S. Keener, is the companion volume to the similar Old Testament volume described above.
The following volume of charts illustrates many "aspects of the chronology, historical background, and criticism of the New Testament, covering such topics as weights and measures, social structures, theories of the history of the text, and the history of Rome and Palestine."
"Because Christianity claims to be a historical revelation, says F.F. Bruce, the question of the reliability of the documents on which it was founded is a crucial one. Here he presents the most convincing evidence for the historical trustworthiness of the canon of the New Testament."
You can understand the New Testament so much better by grasping its historical context. "The first third of F.F. Bruce's New Testament History recounts the Roman and Jewish context, then fifty pages survey the lives of John and Jesus, and the last half is a history of the first two generations of the church."
In The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey explores the life of Jesus, as he explains, "'from below,' to grasp as best I can what it must have been like to observe in person the extraordinary events unfolding in Galilee and Judea" as Jesus traveled and taught. Yancey examines three fundamental questions: who Jesus was, why he came, and what he left behind. Step by step, scene by scene, Yancey probes the culture into which Jesus was born and grew to adulthood; his character and mission; his teachings and miracles; his legacy--not just as history has told it, but as he himself intended it to be.
In Jesus the Messiah, Robert Stein draws together the results of a career of research and writing on Jesus and the Gospels. Every episode in the life of Jesus is here treated with historical care and attention to its significance for understanding the life and ministry of Jesus. Clearly written, ably argued and geared toward the needs of students, this book will give probing minds a grounding in the life and ministry of Jesus.
In A Short Life of Christ, Professor Harrison does not attempt to retell the events in Christ's life; rather, he analyzes the outstanding events and features of that life. He combines history, biblical theology, and apologetics in his study of the significant aspects of Christ's life.
In an intensive guide to the gospels, Craig Blomberg surveys the largest source of eyewitness information about Jesus' life and ministry--the books of the four apostles who watched Him, spoke with Him, and served Him during his years on earth.
In The Method and Message of Jesus' Teachings, Robert Stein helps locate the many modes of discourse of Jesus, speculates as to why they were employed, and leads readers through the mazeways of the Gospels. A reverent and learned treatment.
John Piper has written Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ so that all people may see and enjoy Jesus as he really was and is.
Robert Thomas's NIV Harmony of the Gospels places parallel gospel passages side by side. It also offers explanations for similarities and differences between the accounts.
Robert L. Thomas's Charts of the Gospels and the Life of Christ includes various charts on the life, ministry, setting, and teachings of Jesus Christ, all in the format of Zondervan’s popular series of chart books.
Acts
In The Acts of the Apostles: An Introduction and Commentary (The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries), I. Howard Marshall offers an amazing piece of scholarly work and wisdom. This book includes detailed analysis of the text; if you do not know Greek, you won't be lost. This is an invaluable tool, not just because of Marshall's own scholarship, but also because of the other writers with whom Marshall dialogues.
Phil Bence, the Director of the KOINOS program has written his own commentary on Acts: Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. This volume differs from the previous two in that it deals with paragraphs, more than verses. It seeks to unpack the meaning of larger blocks of text.
Epistles
F.F. Bruce filled his Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, with solid information: the history of the early church; Roman politics, laws; what the Sanhedrin could andcould not do; political and theological battles between Pharisees and Saducees; the politics behind Stephen's death; Paul's early theological wrestlings, as well as a presentation of the biblical Paul and his letters. You can better understand Paul's letters when you better understand the circumstances behind them.
The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship, edited by Gerald Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, offers a great introduction to Paul and Pauline studies. This volume is concisely written, easy to read. It offers a conservative scholarly bent, but is also fair in its assessment of current scholarship. As with other volumes in this series, the bibliography is worth the price of the volume.