Sunday, November 4, 2012

Book Review: The Power of Knowing God

Everybody keeps telling me that I need to do a Kay Arthur Bible Study.  So when I had the chance to review The Power of Knowing God, I simply had to go for it.  Especially seeing it billed as a 40-Minute Study, and as "no homework."  Sounded great.

This is designed as a small group study, particularly suited for people who have a limited amount of time available to meet, like a lunchtime study at work.  I may stay home, but I also stay busy.  So I was intrigued.

The basic idea is that as a group, you work through the material in the chapter.  Everything you need is in the book, which is great.  Bible text is printed IN the book, which makes it really easy.  I did not use it in a small group (more on that later) but it sure appeared to be fairly low-prep for a small-group leader.

Each chapter has introductory text, followed by a series of Bible passages which are to be read aloud and marked up (triangles for every mention of God, for instance), and that is followed by a few questions for discussion.  After a lot of those sections, there is a wrap-up by Kay Arthur.

Okay, before I get too much into what I thought, here is what the publisher had to say:
Do you really know God?

You may know about God, but do you truly know what He says about Himself—and what He wants from you?

This eye-opening study will help you gain a true understanding of God’s character and His ways. As you discover for yourself who He is, you’ll be drawn into a deeper, more personal relationship with the God of the universe—a relationship that will enable you to confidently display His strength in life’s most challenging circumstances.

40 minutes a week could change your life!

The 40-Minute Bible Studies series from the teaching team at Precepts Ministries International tackles the topics that matter to you. These inductive study guides, designed to be completed in just six 40-minutes lessons with no homework required, help you discover for yourself what God says and how it applies to your life today. With the leader’s note and Bible passages included right in the book, each self-contained study is a powerful resource for personal growth and small-group discussion.
My thoughts:   Having never done inductive Bible Study before, it took me a bit to "get" the whole marking it up part of this, but that was interesting to do. I then would work through the questions and think about them, and wonder how they related to all the little triangles and squiggly lines I had just done, and then I'd think how this would be so much better if I was bouncing thoughts off of a group of other people.  You know, doing it like it was designed to be done.

For just me, I found it took longer than 40 minutes to get through a lesson.  I do wonder if a small group could do it in 40 minutes, as most every small group I've ever been a part of has tended to talk a lot.  Of course, I've never participated in one that had any true time pressure either.

Basically, if the group leader could keep things moving appropriately, I think this would make a really interesting small group study.  But for just me, well, it was hard.

Maybe at some point I can get my kids doing a study like this with me...

You, however, can get a really good look at the first chapter of The Power of Knowing God and decide for yourself whether this would work for you.

I'd love if you could rank my review:



Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review.

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