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Bible Travel Guide for Students
Copyright 1999, 2016 by The Barton-Veerman Company. All rights reserved.
Previously published in 2008 as Students Bible Handbook by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. under ISBN 978-1-4143-1859-2.
Cover illustration of map copyright Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
Designed by Jennifer Phelps
Edited by Stephanie Rische
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Some of the material used in this book was adapted from these other Tyndale products: the Life Application Study Bible, the Students Life Application Bible, and the Life Application Commentary series, all produced for Tyndale House by The Livingstone Corporation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tyndale House Publishers.
Title: Bible travel guide for students.
Other titles: Students Bible handbook.
Description: Carol Stream, Illinois : Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2016. |
Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015036647 | ISBN 9781496411808 (sc)
Subjects: LCSH: Bible Introductions.
Classification: LCC BS475.3 .S77 2016 | DDC 220.6/1 dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015036647
Build: 2016-03-02 09:55:42
INTRODUCTION & USERS GUIDE
Welcome to the Bible Travel Guide for Students! This guide will help lead you through the sometimes confusing world of Gods Word. It will serve as your atlas to the Bible. But remember, looking at a map can be interesting but not nearly as exciting as visiting the actual place. Checking your route and finding out what you may discover are good ways to prepare for a journey, but they shouldnt replace the journey itself. Opening, reading, and studying your Bible will transport you into the adventure. Take the Bible Travel Guide for Students with you as you explore Gods Word!
MAKE THE MOST OF THIS GUIDE
You have probably picked up this book for one of two reasons:
- You would like to be able to read and understand the Bible on your own. Whether your Bible is old and dusty or new and shiny, you want to start owning it. You have decided you dont just want other peoples comments about Gods Word. You want to check it out for yourself.
- You are teaching others about the Bible and want a helpful source of basic information.
In either case you will find this guide useful. It will keep the big picture in front of you as you read Gods Word.
PACKING LIST
The material in the Bible Travel Guide for Students is organized in biblical order. Each book in the Bible has a fascinating individual history. Part of understanding and applying the Bible involves becoming familiar with that background. You will find the following essential features packed here to guide you through each Bible book.
- Snapshot This easy-to-read section will inform you about the impact and importance of each Bible book. Each Snapshot will help you see how the message of a given book is relevant to your own needs and concerns. This feature also gives you the following information about each Bible book:
- Purpose answers the question, Why was this book originally written?
- Author identifies the human author when possible.
- To Whom Written identifies the original audience of the book.
- Date Written/Date of Events locates the book on the timeline of history.
- Setting notes important historical events that impacted the writer and original audience.
- Key People highlights the people who stand out most in the book.
- Key Places points out where the events recorded in the book occurred or where the audience of the book lived.
- Special Features notes unusual facts that will help you get a sense of each books uniqueness.
- Itinerary This section gives a narrated outline of each Bible book.
- Notebook This section describes the major themes in each Bible book and supplies several questions to help you dig into each theme, whether in the context of personal or group study.
- Postcard This section concludes each books summary by challenging you to personally apply the important lessons from that portion of Gods Word.
Each of these features will facilitate your study whether you are pursuing it alone or with a group. At first you may find that you have a lot of knowledge gaps to fill. Every insight will seem crucial. As you become familiar with the territory, certain features will stand out for you as particularly helpful. When preparing a study for a group, the questions in the Notebook sections will provide a starting point. Both the Snapshots and Itinerary will give you an overview of the book that you can share with others or simply absorb as you begin to read that part of Gods Word. Consider all the features as part of the baggage you are taking as you explore the world of the Bible. Some of the items you will naturally use more than others.
TRAVELING COMPANIONS
This guide also includes a suggested reading plan and a special index that will act as experienced companions during your Bible explorations. This unique Bible reading plan will give you a guided overview of all of Scripture. You wont read the entire Bible the first time through, but you will visit all the major events, stories, and lessons in Gods Word. When following the reading plan, use the provocative question included with each reading to help you make a personal application of Gods Word to your life. You will also find the Where to Find It Index, which tells you where to locate key stories and events in the Bible and then specifically in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Have an exciting, lifelong adventure in Gods Word. The journey leads to an eternity with your heavenly Father. As for this guide? Dont leave home without it!
INTRODUCING... THE BIBLE
As you probably already know, the Bible is a unique book. It repeatedly calls itself the Word of God. Although the Bible came to us through many authors who wrote over many centuries, it presents and displays the thoughts, plans, and character of one mind Gods. Working through the talents, styles, and experiences of many people, Gods Spirit made sure that the final product was Gods Word to the world.
The Bible is unusual in another way. Between the covers we actually find a library of sixty-six volumes. They vary in length and style. Although we call them all books, some of the individual volumes in the Bible fit other categories: letters (for example, the letter of Paul to the Romans); anthologies of poetry (Psalms); collections of wise sayings (Proverbs). If you dont have a church background, one of your first goals ought to be to simply know the names of the books of the Bible.
The Bible books are grouped in two large sections: the Old Testament (thirty-nine books) and the New Testament (twenty-seven books). The Old Testament books were written during the centuries before Jesus Christ. The New Testament books begin with the four biographies of Jesus (the Gospels) and record the first years of the Christian church. The Old Testament and the New Testament can be subdivided further into thematic sections: