Title: Genuine Faith: Thoughts on James
Author: Edward L. Cox
Major Themes: Bible Studies, Devotionals
Synopsis: A Bible study, suitable for individuals or groups, working step-by-step through the book of James.
Occasionally, authors will contact me and ask if I’ll review one of their books. Genuine Faith: Thoughts on James was one of those for me recently. I’ve always enjoyed Bible studies—especially ones that bring out new or long-forgotten thoughts from the passages—and when I saw this, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did; if you’re looking for a study on the book of James, this could be a good option for you!
Publisher’s description:
James is the most practical book in the New Testament. His blunt style of writing is concisely focused on results. His goal is to show us how to have genuine faith and walk the Christian life with endurance.
Award-winning author and scholar Ed Cox leads you through this short book, full of advice on how to control your tongue, pray effectively, and draw closer to God.
With study questions on each chapter, Genuine Faith is the perfect guide for individual devotions or a small group study of James.
My thoughts:
This isn’t a long Bible study, but the book of James is also not a long book! What I appreciated about this Bible study, as soon as I dived in, was the attention to the Scriptures and the way Cox brings in other verses from the Bible to help flesh out what James is saying. The book of James isn’t an island; it builds on what the rest of the Bible has to say. Each chapter in this book deals with a section of James, generally trying to follow the book thematically rather than sticking to the chapter divisions. I appreciated that! I also really appreciated the study questions at the end of each chapter; they helped me think through what the text was actually saying and helped to make it more applicable.
The only negative for me was the font chosen for the book—I found it difficult to read. Otherwise, I felt like the writing and editing were both done professionally.
If you’re looking for a Bible study of the book of James, I’d recommend you check this out. Cox seems to have a pretty balanced view on the whole faith and works debate, and I found it helpful to see his commentary on what James is trying to say—and to see how the rest of the Bible backs up James’ insistence that faith must be accompanied by works. I used this Bible study by myself, but it would also work well for a small group setting—some of the study questions, especially, would be great for initiating discussions.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 10 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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