Have you ever wanted to quickly find a Bible verse on a specific topic? Maybe your child comes to you wanting to know what the Bible has to say about faith, salvation, or prayer. If you have The Ultimate Topical Bible Guide at your fingertips, then you will never be at a loss to answer these questions. More than 200 topics and 31,000 verses are covered in this 300+ page book. All verses are from the King James Version of the Bible. This book is part of the Bible Basics series, which "is intended to help new Christians become familiar with Scriptures, and to help the seasoned Christians deepen their knowledge of God's Word, find strength and direction for daily living, and share their faith with others."
The book begins with a Contents at a Glance page followed by an alphabetical listing of major topics. Then 38 of the most popular topics and subtopics in the Bible are listed in the Table of Contents. These topics cover salvation, Jesus Christ, giving, obedience to God, etc. Anywhere from 7 to 18 subtopics are listed under each topic. A listing of Bible verses then supports each of these subtopics. An abbreviation page is included giving the abbreviations used for the books of the Bible. Let me give you an example to make this clearer:
Topic: Salvation
- Subtopic: All men are sinners
- Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God
- Eccl. 7:20 Not a just man on earth, that .... sinneth not
- Isa. 64:6 All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags
- Rom. 3:10 There is none righteous, no not one
This pattern continues for the rest of the 38 topics and hundreds of subtopics. I believe that this layout makes if very simple for the reader to find the verse he is looking for.
The next section of The Ultimate Topical Bible Guide lists even more verses for the 38 topics in their entirety and not abbreviated as they were in the main section of the book. Some of the verses are repeats from the main section, but many are not. This Condensed Word Basics section "will provide you with a quick & easy-to-use means of reviewing the key sections of Word Basics (and) can also serve as a very handy witnessing tool." This section would also be a wonderful source for memory verses. Another memory verse list is included on page 314. The final part of the book is the Index with all topics and subtopics arranged alphabetically. In addition, it includes topics that are not listed anywhere else in the book, such as anger.
Now, I have a concordance--a very big one--and I would find it difficult to carry it around with me. However, The Ultimate Topical Bible Guide is small (5" x 7"), making it easy to carry along with your Bible or to store in your car or book bag. It also is the right size for children and a lot less intimidating than that huge concordance! The alphabetical lists of topics will make it easier for the children to find what they are looking for. I personally don't like the King James Version and we don't use it in my home, so I wish they offered the book with the verses in different translations. However, for $9.95, I think that I can overlook all of the "thees" and "thous" and use the book to its fullest!
Product review by Kris Price, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, October 2006
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