Journey Through the Bible Book 3: New Testament Student Workbook

Students raised in Christian homes are often (and hopefully) surrounded by the stories of the Bible. Yet, there comes a time when each needs to move beyond listening/reading the stories to reading scripture directly. This series - Journey Through the Bible - is designed to provide just enough structure and guidance that the student not only benefits from the actual Bible reading but has the opportunity to dig into and understand the reading as well as to seek ways to apply it to his life. A three-year series, each course is divided into three units, each with 40 Bible reading-based lessons. Over the course of the three years; reading on average four chapters a day, the student will read through the Bible. The courses are based on the New King James Version (the most widely read translation in a version that is easier to read); while it is possible to use other translations, some questions use the particular language and phrases of the NKJV.

Each course includes both a Student Exercises Workbook and a Textbook. The Workbook lists the Bible reading expected for the day along with ten questions from that reading that the student is to answer. Occasionally, an outside resource like a dictionary will be necessary to answer a question. Also included in the one-page-per-day workbook exercises are three questions that come from the Textbook. The Answer Key provides all answers for the workbook questions. The Textbook provides short lessons (usually less than one page) designed to help the student understand what she is reading - to bring clarity to the reading rather than teach a particular theological perspective. Textbook lessons coordinate with the reading passages rather than the workbook lessons which means there might be more than one workbook lesson per textbook lesson. In the textbook, notable vocabulary words are shown in bold. Likewise, thought questions end most lessons and are designed to help students think about the reading in a more critical manner and to apply it to their own lives. A separate Test Packet provides one test for every twenty lessons in the course and covers material from both the Textbook and the Workbook.

To give you an idea of how these course components work together consider Lesson 105 which covers I Chronicles 19-21. Textual content is one and a half columns concluding with a single thought question. This coordinates to a single workbook page for the same reading passage. However, by comparison, the next reading passage (I Chronicles 22-29) and textbook lesson correlates to three workbook lessons, 106-108, and the student is encouraged to re-read the textbook lesson alongside each workbook lesson.

If you're ready to have your students dig deeper into the Scriptures and learn how to study for themselves, this course is an excellent starting point and will give you basic structure, provide overall biblical coverage, and require your child to read completely through the Bible. Workbooks, 168 pgs, pb; Textbooks, 136-158 pgs, pb ~ Janice