Rest and War Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video: A Field Guide for the Spiritual Life

Myself and wife loved this book.

Not as easy to understand and read as I thought it would be from reviews

I got this for my brother who is a Veteran, and he really loved this book.He recommended it to my fiance who is also a veteran. So will probably order another book.I have not read it so I can't comment more on the Bible Study Guide but it is highly recommended.

First this little study guide looks like a normal study guide but it contains really everything you need. Open the front cover and you are sent to was website to get a login which will be your access to the study's videos. There are 6 videos that correspond to the 6 weeks of this study. Each video is about 20 minutes in length. The first thing I would do if you are leading this study is jump to the back of the study guide to the leaders guide. It's got some great reminders and helps for you as your prepare and lead the group. I like that it has a section on how to structure the discussion time. It gives an hour and 1/2 or 2 hours suggestion. The watch section says 15 minutes which is already too short since the videos are 20 minutes so you'll have to cut out about 5 minutes from another section. I personally would only give a 5 min welcome or just straight into the share and you'll make up time in that section. I also liked the reminders in the group dynamics section especially to specially ask a question to a quiet member. The guide is structured in the way it encourages you to walkthrough the study together... Share, Read, Watch, Discuss, Respond and Pray. Which is nice. The bible verses are found in the study guide which makes it friendly to new and newer bible users. Then when you have completed the group study there is a personal study section for each member to go through before you meet again. The sections in the personal study are Connect, Reflect, Worship and Deeper. The videos itself have good content are are visually interesting. The study guide is great for guiding the small group through this study. Having good spiritual discussion and not being tied down to something for too long. I like that it's 6 weeks long and it'll spur great discussion about Jesus, the devil and your own spiritual life and battle.

I like that this study guide includes an access code for watching the accompanying videos online. The process of registering and watching the videos was easy to set up. This certainly adds to the small group Bible study experience. At the beginning of the book it mentions that it is strongly suggested that each group member also have a copy of the "Rest & War" book. I don't own a copy of the book but From what I could see from the study guide and videos, I don't think the overall experience would be much different. I suspect that much of what is in this study guide is quoting highlights from the book. Each of the six studies Ito two parts. The first is material that the group goes over together. This begins with a page of "welcome" that introduces the study. This is usually done through the author sharing an illustration. This is followed by a "share" section that asks participants if they have anything to share about the previous week's study and then has a couple questions for group members to share their responses to with the group. Next, there's a "read" section that has a Scripture passage that one group member volunteers to read to the group. Scripture is quoted from the NIV. There is an observation question given after the Scripture passage to help learners catch important details in the passage. The next section in the group experience part of the study is entitled "watch." This includes 6 to 8 quotes from the video followed by blank space. Presumably this space is not to waste paper but rather for participants to add notes of their own. This is followed by a "discuss" section which include 6 or so discussion questions that encourage students to interact with the material. This is followed by a "respond" section which helps students to layout concrete steps of how to implement what they have learned into their lives. This is an area where study materials often fall short so I was excited to see this here. The final section is called "pray." This asks group member to share prayer requests and pray together.The second half of each of the six studies is for "personal study." This material is well laid out and continues to challenge individuals to interact with the previous week's group study. This includes sections entitled: connect, reflect, worship and deeper. I like the idea of keeping students engaged throughout the week and the material seems to provide a good way to do that.It would be pointed out that overall, the material presented is stuff that is foundational to a Christian life. It is always good to look at truths like this again but some may find these studies don't present much that they have not heard before.The videos are interesting. The author is a good speaker but for video material, I think he talks with his hands way too much. This was distracting to me and I'm guessing that others would feel the same way. I felt like I was watching and bad actor in a play. Maybe it was natural but it did not come across that way. It was bad enough that he was standing in a Texas desert, the hands thing was too over the top.

This is worth the purchase alone, but the kindle I ended up purchasing also gets 5 stars. [Excerpts include Proverbs 12:24 "The hand of the diligent will rule."This is something of a study guide in part, in that it gives instruction to intended groups of 6 people or fewer with an assigned leader.That said, this is still a valuable tool for an individual.I was offered this through Vine and decided to go through it because I'm in my own struggles against "superior" numbers of evil people. I know some are also in the fight against corporations, government, and other entities not necessarily evil, but "Love of Money" type all the same.What I like most about literature and study on this level is how we are not meant to be stationary victims. Temptation and struggles come in many forms, and what I liked in many respects is the enticement element we often find in fighting villains. Oftentimes, in retrospect, I believe many of us have found that what began the fight was an enticement from the other person of contemplation, of a false offering, of a fraudulent scope, and at that moment we made an ill decision based in parts on hope or something worse, and now are fighting against "the salesman" which is represented in part of the study as when Satan tempted Jesus Christ.I'm very happy with this study guide and highly recommend it in and of itself.

This is a fascinating book in a great package. It kept me engaged for a long time because it was so well-written.