Seven Arrows

I greatly enjoyed reading Seven Arrows by Matt Rogers and Donny Mathis.  Matt and Donny both serve as elders of The Church at Cherrydale in Greenville, SC.  Donny also serves as Christian Studies professor at North Greenville University.

The book seeks to give practical tools to help all levels of Bible readers improve in their scriptural study.

The content in the book is great.  The 7 arrows that they teach serve as a great guide that is a supremely helpful process of studying the Word.

While the content is great, I love and trust the authors more.  These are faithful men who desire to equip Christians and to advance the gospel.  I am honored to be considered a brother and friend to these fine fellas.

Book Overview

Polished sermons and prepared Bible studies can inadvertently cause the average Christian to feel inadequate and ill-equipped to study the Scriptures themselves. The result is an ever-increasing level of Biblical illiteracy in most churches and an over-dependence on preachers and sermons.

Seven Arrows is written to aid all of God’s people in the task of reading, understanding, and applying God’s Word. Using seven simple arrows Rogers and Mathis provide a clear, orderly, and memorable guide for studying any passage of Scripture.

New Christians, maturing believers, disciple-makers, and pastors will find in this book a practical tool to produce Biblically saturated lives and churches.

Favorite Quotes

  1. What they do with their Bible will shape the trajectory of their lives (14).
  2. Our mission, in contrast, is not simply to gain knowledge about the Bible but to be transformed by it (21).
  3. Context is king (34).
  4. Commentaries are exceedingly helpful, but they are not inerrant and will never be a substitute for actually reading, studying, struggling with, and mediating upon the biblical text (68).
  5. You are not the point of the Bible – God is (93).
  6. This reality will make Bible reading both joyous and painful.  Around every turn you are going to be reminded of the glory and majesty of God, AND you will also be reminded of the depth of your sin (123).
  7. The work of God’s Spirit is the only force capable of bringing a believer to the point of humility and brokenness required to submit to the authority of God’s word (147).
  8. The word of God should not be read or obeyed in isolation (163).
  9. A steady diet of the word of God will provide a consistent reminder about your need for prayer (181).
  10. The best plan is pointless if you do not actually make time to sit down and meet with God each day (202).