"Hebrews" by John MacArthur

My weekly small group recently went through the book of Hebrews with the help of this study guide by John MacArthur.  He was a steady guide through a book that can seem a bit daunting at times.  Though Hebrews is one of my favorite books of the Bible, it requires an understanding of the Old Testament law and the Hebrew mindset of the day.  There are also passages in Hebrews that have stirred up much controversy as to their meaning.  It takes a dependable, Biblical guide to pass through these pages, and MacArthur is certainly up to the task.

The reading is split up into chapters that hit on major themes of the book.  Helpful background information is given at the beginning of each chapter.  Then, the scripture is there in the book as well as MacArthur's notes in the right and left margins.  This structure was very helpful.  While it is still necessary to have your Bible open as well to look up the many other passages to which MacArthur refers, having the scripture printed made referring to his notes much easier.  After the scripture, MacArthur gives questions to help you process the meaning of the text.  Though many of the questions are no-brainers, they serve their purpose well in opening up the doors of discussion in our group.  In the "Further Up and Further In" (alluding to Lewis' The Last Battle), MacArthur gives another reading of scripture relating to the common theme to digest.

The quality and quantity of the study was just right for our group.  There were some instances where I had hoped MacArthur would dig deeper into some difficult passages and really unpack them, but overall I feel MacArthur does a fine job of balancing the need for rich content while keeping it accessible to everyday people who don't have seminary educations.  One thing I wish MacArthur would have done was point us to other sources if we wanted to dig deeper into some of the more difficult passages and controversies.

I would definitely recommend this for small groups looking to go through a book of the Bible together.  There are many other books available besides Hebrews, and I can assume they are as good as this one.