START
By Al Horn
The Good Book Company. 42 pages. £2.50
ISBN 1 876326 26 3
START is a snappy, attractively-produced evangelistic Bible study guide aimed at students and young people wanting to investigate Christianity.
There are 19 short Bible studies in four sections looking at the gospel message, discipleship, Christian growth and expectations in the Christian life. Each section uses passages from a different NT book. Studies are a page long and include discussion starters, observation questions, helpful summary paragraphs and application questions.
Al Horn faithfully and clearly explains the gospel message and does an excellent job of spelling out the cost of following Jesus, providing a healthy emphasis on discipleship as well as conversion. I can see this guide working well in a church youth group setting, providing under-pressure-youth-leaders with a couple of terms of excellent teaching material. My only criticism is that in the drive to emphasise the cost of discipleship there is no mention of the Holy Spirit's help to live the Christian life, or how we develop intimacy with God, giving a slightly legalistic impression. This guide is very helpful though, and a great resource for youth evangelism and discipleship.
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