Family, Faith, and Fridays: Do You Know Your Bible? REVIEW

The Bible is a big deal in our house. It is the basis of our faith- God's Word passed to us so that we might know Him, worship Him, and teach others about Him. So when we were given the opportunity to review Books of the Bible At-A-Glance I was thrilled! Books of the Bible At-A-Glance is just one of many Bible resources from Teach Sunday School.

Also available are Sunday School lesson plans, craft ideas, games, hand outs, skits and plays and so much more. Teach Sunday School allows for home use as well as church and small group use. It really is a one stop shop full of resources and you can print as many copies you need.

So what is Books of the Bible At-A-Glance?
You could consider it your Bible cheat sheet. Remember the days of Cliff Notes? This is kind of like that- an overview of the Bible in a condensed, but thorough version. While it should not replace your Bible reading, it can indeed enhance it. All books of the Bible, that is 66 in all, are represented.

Each book has a dedicated page with all sorts of information packed into it.

Title

Order in the Bible- What book it is in order, whether in the Old Testament (39 books) or the New Testament (27 books)

Who authored the book- Included is the author's name, or ideas of who is speculated to have authored it if it is not for sure, or simply unknown.

Dates Written- These are often approximate, but are noted if so, and help to give you a point of reference on a timeline.

Time period- This tells the complete time period the book actually covers in history if applicable.

Famous stories included- These are the accounts you will be most familiar with if you have any Bible knowledge.

Most famous verses- These were gathered from the web of the most searched for verses. In many cases they are ones you will be most familiar with and hear quoted often.

Important points about the book- This is an outline of the book.

How we have been using Books of the Bible At-A-Glance and what we think.

When we first got the pdf of Books of the Bible, I printed the file off and bound it so it would be easy to reference. I did a quick perusal of it first and then put it aside until we could use it as a family. Because we do nightly devotions as a family that includes Bible reading, I knew this would be a good resource for us. Before beginning a new book of the Bible I am able to pull this reference out and read it to the family giving them a little background before we start. This year we are reading the Bible chronologically and so we just began reading Esther.

Though we have read Esther many times together, this was a good way to remind the kids when it was written and why. Included in the Important Parts About the Book section, it told that the events took place in Susa which is now a part of Iraq, so you get a little geography too! By giving a general overview of the story, it helped us to anticipate some things that would happen. This was especially good for our 11 year old, who obviously has not read through the Bible as many times as our 16, 21 and 24 year olds.

One of the things we would like to begin doing is memorizing some of the verses the study lists. We have been excited to see there are many we already know, but because this information was based on a web search, there are some verses we are less familiar with. Take note that some verses are not necessarily ones that would point someone to faith if trying to teach the gospel to someone, but are occasionally ones that just speak of the main focus of that book or help to tell the story.

I love this little reference book! It is so easy to use and is perfect for a quick glance when you need basic information about a book of the Bible. It is easy to use and understand so I would not hesitate to use it with younger kids as well. Though we have used it for our family use, it would also be perfect to use with kids in a Sunday School setting, or even to pass out for adults in a Bible study for reference.

I have also been able to use this in my own personal Bible Study time to reference things I am reading and obtain additional information. It is great to be able to have that information at my fingertips.