Searching the Scriptures

By Charles R. Swindoll

I grew up listening to Pastor Swindoll’s sermons over the radio but had never read any of his books until now but I’m glad I did. I had been on the hunt for a book like this; on how to study the Scriptures so, it caught my attention when I saw it.

Let me start by saying that in all my life, I had never truly STUDIED the Bible. I would only read book after book just like I read chapter after chapter of any romance novel. But I had never learned an effective way to study the Bible, so naturally, the Word had never truly been alive in my Christian walk. Only recently have I developed a deep passion for understanding, memorizing, and teaching the Bible.

The Biblical wisdom and scripture maturity of Pastor Swindoll is etched on each page. Each chapter is filled with step by step processes on how to effectively study the scriptures with examples and hands-on exercises at the end of each chapter. I thoroughly enjoyed the theme of preparing a meal with Bible study, it gave a deeper level of understanding to Jesus’ model prayer on the sermon of the mount, “ give us this day our daily bread.”

Pastor Swindoll focuses on 4 points to Bible Study: observation, interpretation, correlation, and application. I had been implementing the last three but I realized through reading this gem, that careful observation is very important. To get the most of one single verse, one must take its time meditating and digging deeper into the meaning. In this fast- paced world, it is human nature to want to zap through verses, chapters, and books to finish as fast as possible. However, Pastor Swindoll, emphasizes the importance of taking the time to delve into scripture with clear observation as if looking through a magnifying glass.

I recommend this book to all Christians who simply can’t settle but want more from the Bible. This book is an essential to those who teach the Bible in a Sunday school class, small group, or leaders of any form.

Thank you to the publisher for my electronic copy in exchange for my honest review.

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