As our church has been reading through the New Testament this summer, the format for the reading schedule has come from Biblica’s project The Books of the Bible. I have commented before on how this edition is made more for public reading and getting the reader into the full book of the Bible.
IVP has now come out with a set of group Bible studies that compliment this edition. Still in progress, the series is called “Connect Series.” IVP sent me a review copy of Paul’s Prison Letters by Christopher R. Smith. The copy was sent for review and I am not under obligation to write a positive review.
This series looks promising. For those in my church, this is a good “next step” after we finish our New Testament project this August.
In this volume on Paul’s letters, Smith has some background information on reading the Bible together. Then, he walks us through each of Paul’s letters in several sessions. For each letter, the first group session will feature simply reading that letter out loud. Subsequent sessions will break down certain sections and plunge a little more in-depth.
The focus is on the group reading the text together. There are some great exercises involved that are designed to help believers grow together.
This is a series worth considering if you are a pastor or small group leader. Getting people plunging directly into the Word of God is a vital need today. Our church’s journey this summer has been phenomenal. We are watching people grow as they learn the Word. Our small group sessions have been lively.
IVP’s series is a great companion to The Books of the Bible project.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 
Hi Dan, Thanks for the review! Just to clarify, the series is called Understanding the Books of the Bible in the IVP Connect line. You can see more on the entire set here: http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=5800
We’re glad to hear that your small group ministry is thriving!
Thanks for the clarification.