The Book of John

This series is well researched and clearly organized. My favorite thing about the Smart Guide to the Bible: Book of John is that it literally typed out the scripture verse by verse. The short commentary on the verses often include simple black and white drawings, geographical details, cultural explanations of Jewish practices and/or Roman practices; also quotes from pastors and Christian authors, from across the centuries. I can’t speak to the nationalities represented because printed words don’t communicate those details like videos. However, there are male and female voices, and the commentators are inter-faith ( Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Presbyterian, Messianic Rabbis, etc.). A very complete section at the back lists the books and authors ( more than 50 ) used to compile the commentary. Also, there are questions asked of the reader…… some are reading comprehension in nature and others are more about spiritual life. Another favorite about this series is the wide margin. There is so much room to write notes:) I prefer a mechanical pencil, and I can fit quite a bit of copy work from writing out the cross reference verses, or just writing a verse that stands out to me for the sake of helping me to memorize the scriptures. There are also definitions of biblical terminology and phrases like “Sadducee” , “lifted up” , or “love”. Much care and attention to connecting all the books of the Bible to the book of John has been achieved by pointing to prophetic verses in Isaiah or, for example, making a list of 10 different names for Satan with the reference from a different book of the Bible next to it. In addition, I would like to say that I would be comfortable with my children reading this book ( ages 10-19 ), and that an 8 year old reading at grade level could handle this material if encouraged to proceed methodically through it, without hastiness. Even though I’ve had the EXTREME luxury of reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation my whole life through - I learned much from this particular volume, and I am so blessed by the presentation of the salvation of Jesus Christ at each turn of the page. I’ve got Smart Guide to the Bible Book of Hebrews already waiting on the bookshelf, and I’m really looking forward to it:)