Daniel Saunders

This commentary in the Good Book Companies 'For You' series is a good evangelical preaching/lay reader commentary. It comes unashamedly from an 'evangelical' perspective and shows evidence of being familiar with recent scholarship. I found lots of helpful points for explaining and applying the text, and would recommend if you didn't have another good preaching commentary. The only complaint about this commentary is the way it's structured. Each chapter of the book is split into two halves, each dealing with successive pericopes. I'm not sure why they were considered 'half chapters' rather than chapters, as there was rarely significant interaction between the pericopes.

This 'reading' of Ephesians and Colossians is paradigm-shifting and until some of this work is worked into a full commentary on these letters, it's essential reading for any serious work on the letters.

I've just finished preaching through Nehemiah, and Greg's commentary was invaluable. The greatest strength of this book is Greg's instant reading of the book with 'the people of God' as the main character/hero, rather than Ezra, Nehemiah or the other 'voices' we hear. For preaching this lead to nuanced, relevant application rather than focussing in on leadership or project management. Highly recommended.

I've just finished preaching through Malachi and found Peter Adam's commentary a great help. As with the Bible Speaks Today series, it's not going to give you much help on difficult Hebrew exegetical questions. For example the commentary on 2:15-16, which are incredibly difficult verses translate, have no mention of these difficulties. Adam's just gives his translation and comments accordingly. However, this is very useful in working out the 'big idea' of the passage and showing how it testifies to Christ.

A great preaching commentary. It reads as if based on a series of sermons (which I understand Woodhouse preached to the students of Moore Theological College whilst he was principal). Though dips into the hebrew to aid more serious exegesis. At times the leadership theme is frustrating, especially when you're looking for inspiration in preaching. However, it was an invaluable aid when I was preaching through this book. Bring on the second volume!