Thanks for the advice.
I do read the Bible, but admittedly, I have not spent hundreds of hours analyzing each book for the purposes of a formal presentation. The information gathered from the sites will be used in conjunction with the Bible for a group presentation within a limited time schedule.
A very brief summation of each of the 66 books is all that time will allow. If a reliable Christian source has already digested and provided this information, I would feel comfortable utilizing the source and passing this along to the others.
The MacArthur Study Bible has at the beginning of each book these “summaries”:
Title,
Author and Date,
Background and Setting,
Historical and Theological Themes, and
Interpretive Challenges.
It then contains an outline of the book.
There are many useful charts too, such as a chart overlaying the prophets with their time period along with who they were prophesying to and under which kings.
I found the chart of “The Progress of Revelation” to be helpful. This lists all the books in the order of their appx. writing date. It was interesting to learn that Galatians was the first Epistle written by Paul. Couple that with the fact that it is the only book that Paul doesn’t personally say how thankful he is for them, but instead goes right into rebuking them, one could make the case that we can see personal growth displayed in Paul’s life as the other books are written, making sure that he acknowledges how thankful he is for the brethren in the churches.
ESV online study Bible has some similar options:
http://www.esvstudybible.org/search
For example: Click on the book of Matthew, look to the right for “Enjoy this free preview of the ESV Study Bible notes.” and just under that click on “Introduction to Matthew”
This is just a sample. I believe the online version can be purchased or you can get it free with a purchase of a hard copy.
Enjoy your quest for Truth!
Halley’s is certainly worth reading. Each chapter of each book, OT and NT, are summarized, in digest form, and explained in light of history. When I study a book of the Bible, I go to Halley’s to enlighten me on the various historical persona and events involved. He was a Christian, and evidently a gifted scholar.