The Essential Bible Companion by John Walton, Mark Strauss, and Ted Cooper (Zondervan) is a superb resource. It’s concise, colorful, insightful, and inexpensive enough to put in the hands of your listeners. The two-page overview of the entire Bible is excellent.

For a more in-depth overview of the Bible’s message and story, make sure to consult The Temple and the Church’s Mission by G. K. Beale (IVP). For the storyline and theology of the Old Testament, Stephen G. Dempster’s Dominion and Dynasty is outstanding (IVP). Both of these volumes are in the New Studies in Biblical Theology series.

Vaughan Roberts provides a more brief treatment (160 pages) in his volume, God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible (IVP).

John Ortberg’s Old Testament Challenge (Zondervan) is a turn-key program which provides resources to help churches experience the Old Testament through sermons, small groups, and personal devotions.

If you want to involve your people in reading through the Bible in year, D. A. Carson has written a two-volume resource, For the Love of God (Crossway) which functions as a daily companion for a one-year reading plan. Wayne Cordeiro’s “Life Journal” works well, too, for those who read through the Bible in a year. You can get more information about it on his church’s website: www.enewhope.org.

Finally, Discover the Power of the Bible by R. N. Frost (Harvest House) offers a model of discipleship based on reading the Bible – what he calls “Bible discipleship.”

Please share any other resources which you have found helpful. Also, check the comments on my posts last week for some suggested resources.