6 Books that Will Help You Get Into (and Get the Most Out of) the Bible

One of our core values at Brookside Church is Biblical Authority — looking to the Bible for truth, direction, and inspiration. On Sunday mornings we preach from the Bible. Our small groups (all ages) are tethered to God's Word. We have been encouraging personal Bible reading for YEARS through our 365 Bible Reading Plan. The bottom line? We believe the Bible is uniquely authoritative as God's Word, and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training for right living (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17). 

But we don't only care THAT people read God's Word. (Though of course we never want to minimize this either!) We also care HOW people read God's Word. Or stated another way, we want to help people get into the Bible in such a way that they get the most out of the Bible (in a way that is consistent with how the Bible itself wants to be read!).

Our goal is that our teaching models this and certain classes we offer facilitate this (think: Bible Basics). And we also want to point people toward helpful resources that contribute to this goal as well.

With that in mind, here are six resources I encourage others toward, when I hear they want help with understanding how to read the Bible on their own, or with interpreting certain kinds of Scripture, etc. I hope these help you get into God's Word, in such a way that God's Word gets into you! 

(Note: These are listed in no particular order. [Other than the Study Bibles at the beginning — start there if you don't have a study Bible yet.] Choose the one or two of these that you find more interesting, and dig in!)

---

A good Study Bible. There are lots of options out there! (My two personal favorites are either the ESV Study Bible or the NIV Zondervan Study Bible.) Helpful explanatory notes on the biblical text, lots of charts and diagrams, and valuable articles throughout [or at the end] make a good Study Bible a tremendous resource.

Journey Into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible, 2nd ed., by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays

40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, 2nd ed., by Robert L. Plummer

---

Savoring Scripture: A Six-Step Guide to Studying the Bible, by Andrew Abernathy

Come and See: The Journey of Knowing God through Scripture, by Jonathan Pennington

Handbook for Personal Bible Study, 2nd ed., by William W. Klein

---

You may also be interested in...

• How to Study the Bible on Your Own
• The Life-Changing Power of the Bible. And What that Means for You.
• Bible Reading, Speedboating, and Scuba Diving
• Building a Biblical and Theological Library? Here Are Some Books to Consider — Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
• The "Ministry" of Recommending Books