Book Series Review: "Life Changing Studies with an Open Bible" Mini-Series
Wendell, Dan and Mike Winkler have written excellent material for many different uses. So many congregations are using their material that it seems pointless to write a review here, but I want to focus on the “mini-series” titles they have written.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the material, these three faithful Gospel preachers have written a series entitled “Life Changing Studies with an Open Bible.” They wanted to write a series of books that would take students through the entire New Testament within a period of four years. Their works on the New Testament books are filled with wonderful material and, Lord willing, I will review them on here in a future post (when I finish reading all of the books).
During those four years, though, there are Summers. Anyone who teaches during the Summer understands that it can be near impossible to have regular class attendance. So, through wisdom, these three men offer shorter, four-lesson, studies. They are designed to cover one month each, so that the material keeps moving and the class does not get slowed during the Summer months.
These books, I feel, are being overlooked by some, because they are not as long and because they do not cover a specific text. However, the lessons are just as good as those found within the “main” books.
These books also solve a common dilemma for Bible school teachers. Many teachers want to cover “topical” studies, but finding material that is rich and deep is extremely difficult. Many who write books about topics (as opposed to writing about a certain text) seem to want to publish “fluff” instead of serious Bible study material. These books solve that problem. The lessons are filled to the brim with verses to be read, extra points to be studied and other material. Also, the “Exercises You Will Enjoy” at the conclusion of each lesson are very adaptable to a classroom setting. To be frank, you should have great difficultly covering each lesson in just one week’s time!
If you are a preacher, you will also find wonderful outlines just waiting to be used. If you are planning on preaching a series about any of the topics covered, you will want to have these books handy.
The books in this mini-series are (author in parenthesis):
- Leadership: The Crisis of Our Time (Wendell)
- Heaven: My Father’s House (Dan)
- Attitudes: The Heart of God’s Child (Mike)
- Giving: The Lord’s Unrecorded Beatitude (Wendell)
- Prayer: Kneeling at the Throne of God’s Grace (Dan)
- Marriage: The Bud of Which Heaven is the Blossom (Mike)
- The Holy Spirit: Questions Often Asked (Wendell)
- Angels: The Ministers of Heaven (Dan)
- Peace, Be Still: Living a Quiet and Peaceable Life (Mike)
- How to Live Right in a World So Wrong: A Study of Decisions (Wendell)
- A “1 Corinthians 13” Christian: A Study of Love (Dan)
- Raising Our Children to be Champions: A Study of Parenting (Mike)
You may order the books for just $3.99 each by visiting Freed-Hardeman University’s bookstore, or by calling Winkler Publications at 1-888-986-4242. You will love your decision to own and read these books.
