Made up of four individual volumes (Epic, Foundation, Context, and Walk), Bible Savvy is a foundational resource for those wanting to better understand the Bible. From the whole storyline of the Bible to personal application and how to live it, this set of four accessible books is an ideal resource for small groups, Sunday school classes, youth groups, and individuals seeking to increase their breadth of knowledge about God’s word.
Epic: The Storyline of the Bible unveils the single theme that ties all the various parts of scripture together: redemption.
Foundation: The Trustworthiness of the Bible explains that the Bible is God’s book, not merely man made, and why it can be wholly trusted.
Context: How to Understand the Bible shows readers how to read the different parts of the Bible as they were meant to be read and how they fit together.
Walk: How to Apply the Bible helps readers put their greater understanding of the text into practice and how to draw real-life applications from it.
View the set as a whole or try a copy of EPIC, FOUNDATION, CONTEXT, or WALK before you commit to the entire collection.
Series: Bible Savvy Series
Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition (March 15, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802494048
ISBN-13: 978-0802494047
“Jim Nicodem has taken on a monumental task — putting the Bible in a thimble-sized summary that gives the reader tremendous insight into…the greatest story ever told.” -Franklin Graham
“Jim wants churches to be filled with men and women who will become better Bible readers.”
-D.A. Carson, PhD. Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Author of New Testament Commentary Survey.
“Jim Nicodem’s Bible Savvy series is the kind of resource needed to reengage our hearts and minds with God’s Word, and renew our hunger for God’s truth on par with our persecuted brothers and sisters.” -James E. Dau. President, The Voice of the Martyrs
“Like a master storyteller, Jim Nicodem takes us beyond the details and exposes the grand plot of Scripture.” -Joseph Stowell
About the Author:
JIM NICODEM has been the senior pastor of Christ Community Church since its start in 1984. Beginning with a group of six families, the church has grown to over five thousand people at four campuses. A significant focus on reaching spiritual seekers has resulted in scores of new believers being baptized each year. Born and raised in the Midwest, Jim did his schooling in Biblical studies (BA/Wheaton College; MDiv, DMin/Trinity Evangelical Divinity School). In keeping with Christ Community Church’s mission to make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ, Jim loves to mentor others in prayer and the study of God’s Word. With that goal in mind, he has authored Prayer Coach: For All Who Want to Get Off the Bench and Onto the Praying Field (2008) and the four-book Bible Savvy series (2013). Jim and his wife, Sue, have been married for more than thirty years and have three grown children. Jim enjoys biking, hiking and kayaking for recreation. He loves to hang out in Chicago, where he can watch the Cubs play (no better park than Wrigley) or listen to the world-class Symphony Orchestra. The local Starbucks also sees a lot of Jim, accompanied by books (mostly biographies) or friends.
View the set as a whole or try a copy of EPIC, FOUNDATION, CONTEXT, or WALK before you commit to the entire collection.
Summary
Not unlike the official description and endorsements have alluded to, I’ll make mention of the layout of this short series.
I. EPIC: The Storyline of the Bible
II. FOUNDATION: The Reliability of the Bible
III. CONTEXT: How to Understand the Bible
IV. WALK: How to Apply the Bible
I. EPIC: The Storyline of the Bible
*Trying to make sense of it all is a tall task. There are so many different people and places and events comprising so many different stories, it makes one’s head spin. In this helpful book, pastor James Nicodem helps you make sense of the Bible with one simple revelation: It is not dozens of separate stories but rather one single story. Nicodem guides the reader across the high points of the story so it becomes easy to see how it all fits together. All those stories and poems and lessons make up the greatest epic tale in history, a story with a single theme: redemption.
II. FOUNDATION: The Reliability of the Bible
*Do we even know where it came from or how it got to us? What makes this book so special? People wonder about questions like these, and there are answers to be found.
Nicodem provides the concise and concrete answers we need to these questions about the trustworthiness of the Bible. He explains foundational doctrines, such as inspiration and revelation, and offers a clear account of the history of our modern Bible.
III. CONTEXT: How to Understand the Bible
*History, instructions, poetry, prophecy, apocalypse, sermons, and all of it written thousands of years ago. In this uncomplicated, clarifying book, pastor James Nicodem explains four different aspects of the Bible that readers need to understand in order to grasp it as a whole: history, literature, theology, and how we should see this ancient book through modern eyes. In short, he gives the context needed to read the Bible well.
IV. WALK: How to Apply the Bible
*“The Bible says…” is a common enough refrain for Christians deciding how to live or what to do. But even if we know what the Bible says, that doesn’t make it easy to follow – especially in an age that often disparages the Bible.
With pointed teaching and motivation from the Bible itself, pastor Nicodem encourages us in this difficult but vitally important challenge. Using the COMA (Context, Observation, Message, Application) structure, he offers helpful and understandable teaching on how a Christian can learn to walk out what the Bible teaches.
*Section summaries found in the back of each section of BibleSavvy.
If you cannot tell from the description and summaries up to this point, this resource is a powerhouse miniature library. As was mentioned above, it does not matter the age of the person traveling through the material because everybody will be encouraged by what lies within the pages of this text. What has not been mentioned up to this point is that there is much more to the book than front to back pages full of wordy information. If you visit www.BibleSavvy.com, the small library grows to include videos from the author, study guides as well as additional easy-to-use resources.
The short series from Nicodem gets at the heart of what our generation needs, well-guided discussions on the text of the Bible, where it came from, how to interpret it, and how to apply it. I strongly endorse this series for anybody to travel through on their own, but most especially to travel through with a small group of people that desire to grasp the over-arching story of Scripture and how we are to interpret and live it out ourselves.
View the set as a whole or try a copy of EPIC, FOUNDATION, CONTEXT, or WALK before you commit to the entire collection.
*This product was provided free from Moody Publishers with my promise to post an unbiased review.
