I am pleased to announce that I have continued writing Bible studies as part of my Markum Bible Studies series. It’s been a while since my last book, In the Beginning, an in-depth overview of the first book of the Bible, Genesis. My next book, Called Out: Israel’s Journey from Slavery to Promise, will pick up where the Genesis study left off.
Called Out will focus on the rest of Torah (Exodus-Deuteronomy) as well as the book of Joshua. The more modern Christians read through the first five books of Scripture, we tend to lose momentum through the Torah. Let’s be honest – for most people trying to read the Bible…
Genesis is great,
Exodus starts strong but begins to lose most people’s interest,
Leviticus is kind of gross,
Numbers reads like a dictionary,
and Deuteronomy feels redundant of the slowest parts of the first four.
But it doesn’t have to feel that way! These opening books of the Bible were considered the most sacred to the Jews of Jesus’ time, but 21st-century Christians barely understand any of it. What if we could make the Torah come alive? What if the Books of the Law had significant purpose for Old Testament Israel, foreshadowing the coming of our Messiah? What if we could visualize these often bizarre stories like the nation of Israel did as they lived them, and we could see some things they could not have understood at the time? What if these precious books of the Old Covenant could help us better grasp the New Covenant we now have in Christ?
We will dig deep into this, and much more as we explore Called Out: Israel’s Journey from Slavery to Promise. Expected release date of September 1, 2025.
I am also pleased to announce the future of these studies, with the next several releases already anticipated. I intend to help Christians and curious seekers to better understand the overarching story of Scripture more than ever. These are by no means exhaustive, verse-by-verse studies. Many other great minds have done this several times over, finely combing through each verse of each chapter of each book of the Bible. What I have set out to do with these studies is to give a more elevated view so the learner can grasp the bigger picture of how the whole Bible is one, cohesive unit of God’s redemptive work, working together to reveal God’s work of salvation in humanity. My next several studies will include:
- Kings & Kingdoms: The Five Ages of Israel in the Old Testament.
- Poet & Prophets: Understanding the Heart of God.
- Our Fourfold Tradition: One Gospel from Four Perspectives.
- Sent: The Movement Begins.
- When in Romans: The Doctrine of the Early Church.
- Dear Church: Paul’s Letters.
- Echoes of the Apostles: A Study of the General Epistles.
- The Last Amen: Revelation and the Fulfillment of Scripture.
With the In the Beginning and Called Out resources, this makes a total of 10, 8-week Bible studies walking through the entire narrative of Scripture. Anyone who uses this entire Bible education system will be far more knowledgeable of God’s Word, and I believe, more deeply in love with the Bible’s Author.
I do have a few other studies that follow this 8-week system, and I will continue producing more deep-dive studies on various books, segments of Scripture, or characters to supplement these 10 studies – such as the study on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Philippians. I hope to eventually build one for each of the four Gospel accounts, David, Nehemiah, Moses, and more.
In the meantime, be on the lookout for the Called Out study coming soon. I am blessed to provide these resources for your ministry, leadership, and life.
Blessings,
Pastor John