THE VINE'S EXPOSITORY BIBLE - The Emphasis Is On "EXPOSITORY!"

I read a story one time, about a minister who was engaged in conversation with a good friend.  His friend was asking him about his sermons, and the minister replied,

          “Well, I study all week for my sermon.  And when I get into the pulpit, the sermon I prepared is a good sermon.  Then I start preaching, and it doesn’t sound anything like what I prepared . . . but it’s a better sermon.  Now, if you want to hear a really good sermon, walk home with me of a Sunday evening, and I’ll tell you what I should have said.”

That . . . in a nutshell . . . is what you have in your hands when you open THE VINE’S EXPOSITORY BIBLE.  You have over 60 years of blood, sweat and tears in the service of the Lord, distilled and distributed throughout the text of the Old and New Testaments.  The New King James Version enables the reader to engage the Biblical text without the sometimes confusing language of the KJV, while still remaining faithful to the Authorized Version. 

To this text Pastor Dr. Jerry Vines brings his magnum opus;  24 years worth of expository messages, from every book of the Bible, delivered from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida.  Pastor Vines introduces each book, providing an explanation of the authorship, date, outline, and major themes of the book.  Then as the reader progresses through the Bible, Paster Vines provides numerous helps (I consider them “gems,” personally!):  Expository Messages (“PRESENTING THE MESSAGE”), word studies (“DISCERNING THE MEANING,”) application (“APPLYING THE MESSAGE”), and personal application and growth (“LIVING THE MESSAGE.”) 

This may seem “complicated” in this review, but in actuality it is practically seamless.  These “gems” are strategically placed throughout the text, so that God’s Word remains central.  The helps are actually in the right place; no flipping back and forth, no myriad cross references to distract you.  It’s the closest thing to “total immersion” in Scripture reading that I’ve come across in a study Bible. 

The maps are full-color, and the one on Jesus’ Ministry is especially interesting, with “text ballons” showing where various incidents in Jesus’ ministry took place, geographically.  Also included is a very nice (not exhaustive, but nice) concordance, and the Expository Bible Index, which will help the reader find all of the “gems” that are scattered throughout the VINE’S EXPOSITORY BIBLE.

If I don’t meet Pastor Dr. Jerry Vines in this life, I’ll certainly be looking him up in the next.  I mean, after over 60 years in the ministry, the man is working on his PhD at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  For fun.  I want to meet this man!

5 golden stars for a true expository Bible

THE VINE’S EXPOSITORY BIBLE

Thomas Nelson

Bibles / New King James Version / Reference

ISBN 9760-718-09851-3

1965 pages

$44.99 (Hardback with dust jacket)