Sunday, October 17, 2010

Book Review: Psalms

I have used a couple of the books in the Life Change series before in a small group setting, and I thought it would be really great to use Psalms for personal study as I am unable to attend my local small group this year due to scheduling issues.

Unfortunately, my overall response to this particular study is that I really, really need the discussion from other people to make this study of Psalms work.

Not that this isn't a good study.  Over the course of ten lessons, you study a few Psalms in depth and you have almost all of the Psalms assigned in one of the lessons.

Each lesson is set up with a key verse, a lesson objective, a desired action, a list of psalms (as few as 5 to as many as 40) that fit the lesson's topic, an introductory paragraph, and then the 'meat' of the study.  That study is split up into four to five sections, each focusing on a section of a psalm.  Half of the lessons study only one or two psalms.  Half of the lessons have you studying a portion of a different Psalm each day.

The study really is great for a small group.  One aspect I particularly liked with John in our small group that is also present in Psalms is the extra information segments that occur at the end of each segment.  Each is a short description of something from the reading -- a cultural practice that wouldn't be familiar to modern readers, an elaboration on on concept, or something.  I love these.  Another point in small group study is that there are plenty of questions at different levels -- you won't discuss them all, and some would be totally inappropriate in some groups.  But there are plenty of questions to choose from.

If you are looking for a personal study, my recommendation would be to get a good look at the specific book in this series that you are thinking about, and to figure out if it will work for you.  John, which I did in a small group, would have worked for me on my own.  Psalms does not.  For this particular book, for me, I need the input of others.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


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