In every River class, you will be encouraged to open your Bible and read what you find there. As discussion follows, you will often find that participants are reading from various translations. The leader of the class might make mention of what translation is typically used in River classes (New American Standard) and why translations like that one are preferred. Leland Ryken’s book, the Word of God in English, is a solid introduction into what makes a good English translation and makes the case for what is called an “essentially literal translation” for personal use and study.
You can find Ryken’s book through the following booksellers:
Although the subtitle of Dale Ralph Davis’ book is “How to Preach From Old Testament Narrative Texts,” the benefit of this little book is not so much how to preach a narrative text but how to read and understand it. In The Word Became Fresh, Davis doesn’t tell the reader what a particular Old Testament narrative text means, but models (with lots of “labs” in reading passages) how to make sense of such passages. Seeing as two-thirds of the Bible is narrative, to learn to read such passages is not only at the heart of what The River champions but it is the focus of Davis’ book.
You can find Davis’ book through the following booksellers:
It’s easy, when reading the Gospels, to simply be impressed with Jesus’ miracles. And it is common to think that why Jesus did such amazing things was to prove that He was God. But what if there is more to His miracles than that? Brian Onken walks the reader through a dozen different miracles found in the Gospels with a simple question in mind: What is Jesus revealing about Himself in doing this miracle? Driven by the same intention that undergirds all of The River’s classes, this book will encourage you to read the Gospels for yourself, helping you to see what is really there.
You can find Onken’s book through the following booksellers: