Nancy Guthrie

First sentence: If you think about it, Acts is kind of a funny name for a book, isn't it? It immediately raises the question, "Whose acts? what acts?"

Saved is a commentary for the book of Acts by Nancy Guthrie. It is more detailed than a general, broad overview. It is not thorough, however. IF by thorough you mean it covers (in a commentary style, method) verse by verse, chapter by chapter. There are seventeen chapters that cover twenty-eight chapters of Acts.

It definitely provides a good, show more basic overview or outline of the book of Acts. You do pick up on recurring themes and significant, key passages. The 'lens' through which Acts is viewed is SALVATION and what it means to be saved, to live saved, to walk that 'saved' life. Salvation has a "now what?" element to it. Salvation changes, transforms, etc.

This blends devotional elements into the commentary, HOWEVER, it isn't a traditional devotional OR a traditional commentary. If you are looking for something less-blended, and more strictly one or the other, this might disappoint. show less

The Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament series is a series of Bible Studies that I am a big fan of. We took our Sunday School through the first book, The Promised One: Seeing Jesus in Genesis, a few months back and I was excited to see this new one, The Word of the Lord: Seeing Jesus in the Prophets, come about. As I read the introduction I was struck by one quote, a point that applies as much or more to me than anyone else. Being April I, of course, have abandoned my efforts to read through show more the entirety of the Bible, yet again. While I have no struggles with Genesis and Exodus and only relatively get bogged down in Leviticus, Numbers, and Chronicles, I am forever struggling when it comes time to study the Prophets. Guthrie was speaking of me, and maybe you, when she wrote, “Many of us would say that the Bible is the most important book in our lives, and yet there are parts of it we’ve been content to not really know about. But we want that to change.” But we want that to change! And hopefully this is a resource that will be successful in seeing this problem vanish from the lives of many.

What sets this study apart, and this series as a whole, from other Old Testament studies is the concerted effort to find Christ in the text. Guthrie does not resort to allegorizing or finding a type in every bush, but she guides the reader to every place that Christ would be found. She shows the readers predictions Jesus fulfilled, problems he solves, people in whom Jesus was prefigured, and patterns that Jesus superseded.

This is a guided tour of the Old Testament prophets with eyes set on the person and work of Christ. Guthrie guides the reader through Jonah to see “the compassion of Jesus, who ran toward those under judgment rather than away from them”; Hosea where we “see Jesus as our faithful bridegroom”; Micah where the person and work of Christ is shown in a clever, court-room scenario to be the answer to Micah’s “What does the Lord require?”; Isaiah where Christ reveals himself prophetically as suffering servant and divine king and coming conqueror; Habbakuk where Christ’s imputed righteousness is foreshadowed and shown to be needed; Jeremiah where the new covenant is promised; Daniel where the Son of Man is prophesied to be king eternal; Ezekiel where the presence of God is promised in a city called “The Lord is There”; and in Malachi as THE one who makes it possible for those who are united to him to stand when he appears.

Guthrie leads the reader through multiple reasons we struggle with the prophets and multiple reasons we would, should and could benefit greatly from and enjoy the study of the prophets. This book is set up just like the rest in the excellent series with a personal Bible study before a teaching chapter with discussion questions at the end of each teaching chapter. It is perfect for small group or personal Bible study and, after enjoying the teaching chapters, I am looking much forward to going through the Bible study sections in depth and maybe even taking a group through this wonderful resource.


I received a review copy of this book from the publisher. show less

As we approach Easter, Christians everywhere remember Christ’s sufferings on the old, rugged cross and the triumph of his resurrection. Indeed, the symbol of the cross is one of the few near universal Christian symbols. Protestants, Catholics and those who view themselves as neither, still cling to the cross. The gospel depends on it, Jesus’ earthly life is shaped by it, the Four Gospels almost speak of nothing else. Salvation depends on it, and sanctification is fed by it. And with show more Paul, we all should seek to boast in nothing but the cross or our Lord Jesus Christ.

For this reason I was thrilled at the opportunity to review a book like Nancy Guthrie’s Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter. I assumed it would be a good read since it is a compilation of several prominent church leaders, contemporary (Tim Keller, John Piper, Ligon Duncan, Phil Ryken and John MacArthur) and from years past (Augustine, Luther, Calvin, J.C. Ryle and Charles Spurgeon). Yet, the book excelled far beyond my expectations, high though they were.

Nancy Guthrie did a phenomenal editing job in piecing together various meditations on the Cross into a wonderfully unified book. And the selections she chose were truly the best of the best that these authors had to offer. Finding each of these was an amazing accomplishment in its own right.

Here’s a small sampling of the topics covered in this small volume. Martin Luther challenges us to find a proper view of self in light of the Cross. Alistair Begg ponders the innocent Christ being crushed by God. C.J. Mahaney unpacks the weightiness of the cup that Jesus chose to drink completely for us. R. Kent Hughes shows the Biblical theological background to the symbolism inherent in Jesus’ betrayal in the garden at Gethsemane. Spurgeon marvels that the Lord of the Universe allowed sinners to spit in his face, and he chillingly shows that we too have tragically spit in his face. J.C. Ryle wants us to find ourselves in the Sufferings of Christ. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on Christ’s destruction of the Devil. John Calvin points out the connection between the Passover Lamb and Christ as shown in the blood and water flowing from his side. Jonathan Edwards shows Christ’s sacrifice as not merely satisfying God’s wrath, but accruing merit in that it was a sweet smelling, acceptable offering to God. Tim Keller explains how resurrection power should transform our lives.

In all of this, our focus should not be on the human authors Nancy compiles. Rather each are gifted with the ability and graced with the desire to show forth Christ in all His beauty and glory. And such a feast, an extended meditation on our Savior, Jesus Christ, is appropriate not merely for Easter and Passion Week, but all the year, and all the days of our life, long.

I encourage you to pick up a copy of this fantastic book, start it this Easter and let the message of the Cross grip your heart in the weeks following. This will surely be a devotional book I’ll pick up again and again.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Crossway Books for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

An expanded version of this review is available at CrossFocusedReviews.com, where you can find book excerpts, giveaways, promotional offers, audio reviews and more. show less

What Guthrie does here is walk through the book of Acts and layout an already historical narrative in another walkthrough fashion. If you're familiar with doing a good Bible study there isn't going to be anything super hard-hitting but if you're just getting into Bible study or want to walk with someone through Acts, this is a great little book to do it with. Guthrie pulls in references to the Old Testament either directly referenced or indirectly alluded to and that's where the biggest show more strength of the book comes in. Acts is a good starting place for someone getting into Bible study as it can be read like the Gospels in historic narrative, but we can't forget its place in the whole story of God and that includes important points of Old Testament prophecy fulfilment and allusions. There are a few personal stories that I didn't really want more of (kind of like a receipt where you just want to know the process) but they are not distracting and don't happen too often, mostly at the beginning of chapters. So this could make a good gift for a new Christian or even a family Bible study walkthrough of Acts. Final Grade - A show less