Explore Bible Notes
St. Matthias Press
£2.50 per quarter or £9.95/year
Are your quiet times somehow lacking focus? Or maybe the elaborate 'read the Bible four times in six months' plan you spent a whole day devising has somehow failed to work out . . . maybe, too, you are frustrated with those Bible-reading notes which somehow tell you more about the writer's own opinions than what the Bible itself is saying.
If any of the above applies to you, then you need to get hold of the re-launched Explore Bible notes for adults, publication of which has recently been taken over by St. Matthias Press.
There are many good things to be said about these notes. First and foremost, they take the Bible seriously. The Explore notes give you sequential readings through different parts of the Bible, rather than jumping around from day to day. Each day's notes also point you to the Bible, rather than using it as a jumping off point for a vague and general discussion. By the time you've done your portion, you know considerably more about what the passage is saying, but nothing at all about the preferences, hobby-horses or life of the writer, Phil Crowter, a Baptist minister in Streatham (except that he is obviously a good and godly man!).
The Explore notes also score highly because they make you dig into the Bible for yourself, rather than doing it all for you. What confronts you each day is not a page of dense text or a full-blown exposition of that day's verses, but a series of punchily-written paragraphs constantly referring you back to the reading, drawing your attention to specific points, asking you what you can see, challenging you about how it applies. The net result is that, as with all good Bible teaching, you come away having had your eyes opened.
Explore is attractively presented, easy on the eye, and written with a warm, encouraging tone. I liked the idea of printing maps from time to time to help familiarise readers with the relevant biblical geography. The readings are also undated so that if you miss a day, you are not tempted to skip a bit to catch up. At £2.50 for three months, or £9.95 for an annual subscription, these notes are exceptionally good value.
David Baker
Explore Bible Notes are available from local bookshops or direct from St. Matthias Press, PO Box 665, London, SW20 8RL (Tel: 0181 942 0880).
