When these books first came out, my daughter and I (age 7) were reading Acts together. We decided to use these guides as we read and found it a rich and rewarding experience. One of the things that I most appreciate about The Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study is that the four volumes are organized chronologically (the fifth volume is an answer key). As we read through the book of Acts, Meade guided us to read the Epistles in the context of early church history. It was very insightful to read the Epistles alongside Acts, and it helped to add depth to our understanding of God's Word. Doing so with these study guides helped us to pause and reflect in a way that we had not previously done.

As I was preparing to write this review, I was finishing up my reading in the Old Testament: Ezra-Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. I decided to use The Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study as a guide so that I could share a recent experience with it. Although I have read the Bible chronologically for a number of years, I found Meade's survey a helpful asset for a number of reasons. Just as before, I found myself pausing to reflect on things that I had simply read hastily in the past. The result was a much more meaningful interaction with God's Word.

Meade does an excellent job of communicating why it is important to study God's Word, taking adequate time to reflect and meditate. She shows how all of Scripture is really one big story about how God redeems a people for Himself through Christ. She lets Scripture speak for itself yet adds short commentary to bring clarity where appropriate while remaining faithful to the Biblical text. Additionally, she has a gift for making doctrinal concepts easier for young people to understand and does so masterfully in these books.

May God use this resource to help people of all ages give themselves to the reading of the word of God, and to meditation on it...

"not the simple reading of the word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts," as George Mueller has said: "for this is the first and great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day...to have my soul happy in the Lord" (as quoted by John Piper in When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy, pg. 119).

*Many thanks to Crossway for sending me a complimentary copy of these books in exchange for my honest opinion!

Starr Meade has put together a Bible study format that is perfect for Junior High to Early High School age students. Ideal for homeschoolers to use during their Bible study time, these booklets offer the students an overview of both the Old and New Testaments. There are four booklets and an answer key. The format is simple: in each new section, Starr brings the students up-to-date on what they are reading and then offers an area for the students to write out what they have learned from the Scriptures that are to be covered that day. She also offers background information as the students move through the text.

This format makes it easy for the students to explore God's Word for themselves. By taking the time to think over what they have read, writing down what they've learned and seeing how it all fits together, students will come to appreciate the Bible in a way they never have before.

Set up in a Genesis to Revelation format, students are encouraged to move through the Bible chronologically; however, the students can also just dive right in to wherever they are in their study of the Word and move from there. However the student and her parents choose to have her use these booklets, she will be learning to handle the meat of the Word on a day by day basis. What could be better?

DISCLAIMER: I received a free copy of these booklets from Crossway for purposes of review. I wasn't required to give a positive review, only a fair and honest one. My opinions are my own.

This set of books, entitled The Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study, A Survey of the Bible, is AMAZING!!! It is a set of five workbooks, two on the Old Testament, two on the New Testament, and the fifth book is an answer key.

The setup of the books is that it goes through each of the books of the Bible. At the beginning of most of the books, there is an introduction about the book, a summary of what is in the book, and a bit of historical or explanatory material about the book as a whole. Following that, it moves into segments of that book to read and then questions on that day's reading, questions to make you pay attention to what you're reading! Going through all 4 books you will end up reading the entire Bible.

I love this set of books. It is a great value (very inexpensive for what you get!) and I am planning on using them in our homeschooling. Actually, I think I'll use one set for myself, and purchase others for my children. There is not a lot of "application" per se in the textbooks, but it is a great tool for learning about what is in each of the books of the Bible, and the Holy Spirit can use this for personal application.

I would recommend these books to anyone!! Homeschooler or not, it's great material for everyone to use.

I was given a copy of these books for free from Crossway Books as a part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. Crossway's blog is found at www.Crossway.org/blog.

This study is a set of five books. Four workbooks and one answer key. It would easily work for a four year Bible curriculum for homeschool students. I counted the breakout of weeks for the first book and it could be divided into 39 lessons with 7 tests and 1 final chronological test. The appropriate age range for this study is 11 or 12-adult.

One of the questions one mom asked me about this study is whether or not it was practical. I think she wanted to make sure that it was practical, but not solely application. Here is Ms. Starr's response on pg. 12 to that concern: "Certainly the Bible is not just any book, and our goal is never just to know the information it holds. God requires us to let his Word affect our hearts; he requires us to change our attitudes and our lifestyles so that we think and do what the Bible tells us to. But surely we must begin by knowing what it says." From there, Ms. Starr examines how studying the Bible is similar to studying other books and how it is different.

I want to share an example of what I mean because it is hard to explain how this study is practical without being practical. "No one whom God chooses to bless deserves his blessings. To drive that point home, Scripture regularly shows us God choosing the most unlikely people to bless or to use. Jacob is a case in point. In the first place, he was the younger son, born after his twin brother..." p.46-47

Though this point isn't directly "practical", it is crucial to our understanding many stories in the Bible and getting to know God.

As I was reading through the study and perusing it, I realized that it would be good for me to use this curriculum as my Bible Study for the next year and read through the Bible. I love that about this study--that both parent and student could go through it together. It isn't too simplistic for an adult to be encouraged by going through it.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this study for review from Crossway Books.

My daughter has been using this program for several weeks. This 5-volume set (4 workbooks and an answer key) covers key passages through the entire Bible. Each section includes Scripture passages to look up and read and comprehension questions about the passage.

I love this series. I really like the organized format, which will result in solid Bible knowledge. The Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study: A Survey of the Bible has held Emily's interest, sparked some good conversations, and is already solidifying and putting into context many of the Bible stories she has previously learned.

The only thing I would change is the title–which I think is quite a mouthful and not easy to remember!

This course is designed for middle schoolers and early high schoolers. I think many children could handle it by the fourth or fifth grade.

Thank you to the Crossway Book Review Program for providing me with a free set of books to review.