96 books like Life Application Study Bible

The MacArthur Study Bible presents some of the clearest exposition I have seen. It is the first commentary I use when developing Bible studies or sermons. The commentary was written by John MacArthur and his students at the seminary. I have been using it for 15 years of pastoral ministry and even if I have disagreed with an interpretation, I could see why it was reached and what hermeneutic they used. There are also very helpful charts and maps. The book introductions are helpful, especially if you preach or teach verse by verse and begin at the beginning of a book. There are helpful chronologies of the patriarchs, judges, kings, and profits.

The Thomas Nelson Study Bible is my second favorite commentary to use. It shares many similarities with The MacArthur Study Bible. There are helpful charts and maps. The commentary is clear and understandable. The cross-references are helpful as are the other study tools. The images and charts are done wonderfully. There are over 1,000 articles and notes spread through the commentary, which provide a greater understanding of certain passages and topics. Again there are also book introductions and the outlines can be very helpful. The word studies, the Strong’s numbers in case you want to do further study. The indexes and concordances at the back are helpful and easy to use. One point to consider is while John MacArthur’s commentary is Calvinistic, The Thomas Nelson Study Bible doesn’t seem to lean toward Calvinism or Arminianism, probably to reach multiple denominations.

This commentary was developed by the faculty at the Moody Bible Institute. It is also easy to understand and provides comprehensive exposition of all passages and most verses. It should be noted that frequently there is commentary on a passage, or collection of verses, versus commentary on individual verses. This is helpful to understand the flow and context of a passage, but it can leave you recognizing you need to look elsewhere when you don’t feel like there is enough explanation of individual verses. There are also helpful maps and charts and bibliographies for further reading and study.

his commentary, like the previous ones, is also easy to understand. It contains extensive notes, charts, maps, and articles. The cross-references are useful. This commentary was the winner of the ECPA book of the year award. Like The Thomas Nelson Study Bible this study Bible also seems to avoid denominational leanings, holding to more general interpretations allowing it to be used by a wider range of readers and teachers.

Davis beautifully shows how understanding the agrarian background of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament helps us recognize the radicality (and modern relevancy) of its vision for Earth. I was especially taken by her chapter on the Book of Leviticus, which usually gets “reduced” to a debate about same-gender-loving relationships.

In Davis’s hands, Leviticus’s guidelines about land and human bodies become amazingly applicable to modern ethics of eating and land use in an era of climate crisis. It really helped me appreciate that the habits we develop (even if they are experienced as rules) can actually change our minds and hearts. 

This is the companion book to The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Here is where the pastor in Dr. Maxwell emerges because he shows his readers the depth of leadership lessons and stories in the Bible.

Consider doing what I did…Make a flash card with the name of the leadership law on one side and the biblical character and the sentence that accompanies that leadership law on the other. Further, these daily readings will help you grow spiritually as you navigate your leadership journey.

This is an old and rare book. The short stories within are fantastical tales told in allegories to the Bible. Every page brought to me this wondrous world of words, capturing my attention, and keeping me spellbound throughout the pages. Using descriptions and settings that reminded me of Arthurian legend and Germanic folklore and Viking tales, this is one of the first vintage fantasy books I've ever read.

As its title implies, this book is accessible to the entire family and would be a great resource for Sunday school teachers who want to provide their students with a larger understanding of the life and times of peoples in ancient Palestine and Rome. The book is broken down into easy-to-find categories such as "The Home," "Warfare," and "Travel and Communication," to name a few. There are stunning photographs on every page with detailed and clear explanations. The back of the book has timelines of the Bible and a map of Palestine in New Testament times with highlights of key events in the New Testament. There is also an alphabetical index that makes it easy to find information on specific topics.

The true identity of Diana Tutton remains uncertain. She published three idiosyncratic novels in England in the 1950s, all of which have now fallen into obscurity. Of those, Guard Your Daughters is the best: it describes a loving family dedicated to protecting the children’s mother, whose poor health has led to an insular, overly sheltered lifestyle for her many daughters. Each of the girls is distinct and vividly drawn by Tutton, who has a keen eye for the traditions, tensions, and excitement of siblings in their teenage years. Over the course of the novel, the sisters gradually forge more connections with the outside world and discover not only their own larger desires but also the hidden truth of their family life.

This is the most sensible, persuasive commentary on the Book of Exodus that a contemporary reader could want.

Prager’s pages on the Ten Commandments alone are brilliant and revelatory. But he excels throughout in addressing modern anxieties about a book over 3000 years old and its many insights into human striving. When you’re through with this one, move on to his Genesis!