These challenging essays explore questions that make you think about Jesus. What was he like, both human as well as divine? How did he feel? What choices did he make and what did he do - and in what context? Did he know God was his Father? Why was he baptized?

Primed with research, stories, and questions, the checklist at the end of each week's reading will give you or your group concrete methods to pursue your understanding about God-with-us.

"It makes me wonder ..." comes up more than once. For that reason, among many others, I recommend it to thoughtful explorers of their faith - or those who want to know what Christianity and following Jesus is all about.

"Quest 52" is a year-long look at the person of Jesus using a set of 52 devotions including daily readings for throughout the year. The book divides itself four groups of 13 studies based on four different themes:

1. The Person of Jesus
2. The Power of Jesus
3. The Preaching of Jesus
4. The Passion of Jesus

Each of the 52 studies consists of an extended essay (ca. 10 pages), 5 daily devotional exercises, and a collection of “bonus material” available on-line. These include videos and PDFs of helpful resources.

The book stands out for a variety of reasons. it is fully grounded in scripture. Scripture permeates both the essays, the daily devotions, and the bonus material. The reader will find himself or herself seeing Jesus in the Old and New Testament. This reader was also appreciative of the interactive nature of the study. The reader is guided as he or she takes a journey through the person and work of Christ - though the author does provide some explicit lessons, the reader is provided questions and material to work through on their own. Finally, the author recognizes that different people learn in different ways. There are plenty of opportunities for the reader to practice visual, aural, and tactile learning styles during each week's study.

The book could be used as a stand-alone study by an individual or as the basis of a small group or classroom study. The resulting volume is well worth the five-stars I am awarding it.
______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

Quest 52 is a year long, weekly journey the=rough the life of Jesus as presented in Scripture. Each week starts with a key readings from the Bible, followed by a thoughtful commentary and key points on the passages by Moore. The readings walk through who Jesus is, his power, his character, his message and his mission. The commentary provided by Moore is accessible, encouraging and practical. A small criticism is that although the commentary is good, sometimes there is a disconnect between the concept being explored, and what the chapter title is purporting the commentary to provide.

Overall, there is much to like about this book and its purpose. I can see that it will be a valuable read for people who are new to faith in Jesus Christ or those who want to become familiar with his life, identity and teaching. These aims are vital as recent survey work by Ligonior indicates that 78% of those who identify as Evangelical Christians in the US hold heretical/false beliefs about Jesus! If the reader pays attention, these incorrect beliefs will be straightened out. I like the way Moore directs the reader to find the reference passages in their own Bible thus assisting the reader to become more familiar with the Bible. I also like the way the author coaches the reader in developing the formation habits of reading and meditating on Scripture. As such I can see this book being very useful as part of a church discipleship process.

Quest 52 is a brand new resource by pastor/teacher Dr. Mark E. Moore. Quest 52: A 15-Minute-a-Day Yearlong Pursuit of Jesus. is set up in a very similar format to his previous Core 52. Each week begins with an essay where Moore approaches the scriptural theme for the week. His essays are person able and geared towards a non-academic audience. At the end of each essay, a page titled :This Week provides daily assignments. These assignments include a reflection question, reading additional related scriptures, mediating on specific scriptures, discussion questions, and an action step. The assignments are labeled day 1-5 to so that any day of the week could be used for the small group discussion. Additional resources are available at the companion website Quest52.com.which includes a brief video lesson. As Dr. Moore was previously a professor at Ozark Christian College he has also included audio Life of Christ lectures and downloadable background studies as well.

Quest 52 is a great resource for anyone who is seeking a new study for the new year. It also has great potential for a small group study or a church wide study as well. While useful as a follow-up to his previous Core 52, this resource does stand on its own as well.

In Core 52 Mark Moore gave us a year's study of fifty-two core verses from the Bible. Now, in Quest 52, he has given us a year's study of Jesus the Christ. The weekly studies are divided into four sections focusing on the person, power, preaching, and passion of Jesus. Each week includes reading the focus verses and Mark's related essay, studying related verses from the Old Testament and the letters of the New Testament, discussion questions, and next steps for practical application. Additional resources are available online as they were for Core 52.

I highly recommend both Core 52 and Quest 52 for both personal and group study. My husband and I enjoy doing them as a couple. We find Mark's essays often help us see verses in a new way, through a new lens. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Quest 52 from WaterBrook via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Quest 52 is billed as a year long study devotional designed to help the reading come into a better understanding of Christ Jesus; as such, it specifically targets Christians and assumes that is their ultimately goal. The book is extremely well organized with one (1) chapter for each week of the year. The chapters are grouped into for sections: The Person of Jesus, The Power of Jesus, The Preaching of Jesus and The Passion of Jesus. These sections are further divided into three (3) topics each (Person: Beginning, Person: Purpose, Person: Relationships; Power: Wonders, Power: Signs, Power: Claims; Preaching: Teaching, Preaching: Stories, Preaching: Training; Passion: Preparation, Passion: Suffering, Passion: Victory). Each chapter is assigned a Biblical Concept and applicable Gospel readings before opening with a brief personal story leading into a more in depth discussion of the idea. The Chapter closes with a summary of Key Points and related activities for five (5) days within the week, associated to Eyes, Ears, Heart and Voice. Further resources are included with a url to online material that was not ready at the time of this review (I did view some examples and found them to be pretty good). Over all, this book would be a good source for individual reflection and/or group discussion.

I have been looking at a number of weekly devotionals, and the longer they run, the harder it is for each section to stay relevant. I found the author does a fantastic job in the beginning, were I picked up a lot to think about; however, he does stretch a little towards the end. Even when I did not completely buy into what the author was saying, there was enough to make it all worth it. The author does have a habit of making statements that are not supported by the available evidence or scholastic consensus, and that reinforces the need to take nothing here at face value, it is still a very good place to start. For example, the Author makes a statement that no prayer ever addressed God as Father before … perhaps I misunderstood the intent, but that doesn’t appear to be accurate since the Avinu Malkenu (Our Father, Our King) provides some evidence of the Jewish liturgical roots of the Lord’s Prayer; just as Jesus did with much of His teaching, he took something familiar to his audience and made it uniquely His. Then there is his attempt to medically diagnose how crucified victims actually died and more specifically how Jesus died (ruptured heart … while poetic that can’t be diagnosed purely by the fact that blood and water came out of this pierced side). It was enough to make me fairly cautious of some of the specifics the author includes in his discussions.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#Quest52 #NetGalley.

I haven't yet finished Quest 52 by Mark Moore since it takes a year to get through, but he uses a unique process to bring you closer to Christ. This study is one that I'm sure you'll find easy to use and will learn a lot. There are many Bible studies out there, but I think you'll find that this one is thought-provoking and he has made hard things easier to understand. Great one-year study.

“Chasing after Jesus is the journey of a lifetime. In Jesus’s own words, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it’ (Matthew 13:45-46). Jesus is that pearl of great price. He is worth every effort to obtain him and every sacrifice required along the way. This is the quest – to chase after him, the pearl of great price.”

If you also enjoyed Core 52, you will love the newest book by Mark E. Moore. Just like Core 52, you will be embarking on a deep dive into your Bible. The author includes essays, information, and other resources, but best of all, he has you in your Bible looking up passages, and other scripture that connects to the weekly message. Core 52 focused on building your Bible IQ, while Quest 52 focuses on the life of Jesus. I love that it is a year long study, that takes about fifteen minutes per day to complete.

Quest 52 is a book that highlights 52 events in Jesus’s life. For each event, there are five days of activities to go along with it. On day 1, you are given a passage from the Bible to read. Then, you read the essay for that day in the book. I like that he includes a list of key points at the end of essay. On day 2, you look back to the Old Testament to help you gain a better understanding of the event for that week. Day 3 has you look at the letters in the New Testament, to see how this event is expressed in the letters. On day 4, you are encouraged to discuss what you are learning with others. Finally, on day 5, you take the next step forward in following Jesus’ path. There are additional resources, including videos, topical studies, and audio lectures at http://www.Quest52.com. The 52 weeks are split into four sections: The Person of Jesus, The Power of Jesus, The Preaching of Jesus, and the Passion of Jesus. Some examples of weekly titles are “Is God Jesus/”, “Does Jesus Care About My Pain?”, “How Can We Share Our Faith Effectively?”, and “Was Jesus Political?”

If you are looking to study the life of Jesus and draw closer to him, Quest 52 would be a great read for you! I plan to go back and go through this slowly, and really soak in the scripture in order to gain a deeper understanding of Jesus.

I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook and Multnomah, through Net Galley, in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.