Core 52: A 15 Minute Daily Guide to Build Your Bible IQ in a Year by Mark E. Moore

The Synopsis:

In just fifteen minutes a day, you can master the 52 most important verses in the Bible in a year.
While there are lots of one-year Bible reading plans, few help you understand the words that you’re reading. What if we could introduce you to a Bible reading plan that would dramatically increase your mastery of the Bible in one year? Mark Moore coaches you through 52 of the Bible’s most important verses. These are the “core” of the Bible. Each verse clears the path to master and manage dozens of other verses that run along the same principle path. At the end of this journey, you will move from curiosity about the Bible to competence in the Bible. It is the quickest onramp to understanding the whole of God’s Word for your life.

I received this book from WaterBrook for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.

Review:

It has been my goal for the past few months to seek out more books that would help me grow in my faith, so when I saw this particular book, I jumped at it thinking: “this is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for!” And boy was I right!

My fiance and I had been trying to do a Bible study together over Facetime while he was stationed in North Carolina, but it was hard to find one that was a quick read but also went into deeper discussions to help us grow. So when we found Core 52, we decided to give it a shot, and it is so worth it!

The book is designed to focus on one topic a week (hence the 52 per year) so the longest part is probably reading the essay on day one (right at about 15-20 minutes if you read it aloud like I did). From there, you are challenged to memorize a scripture verse (2 verses if you take part in the “overachiever” challenges), answer questions that the author presents but also to develop your own questions, and read different passages that reflect the topic that you’re studying. If a particular topic catches your attention and you want to go deeper into that topic, the author also provides additional reading resources that you can use to study further, which I certainly took advantage of a few times.

From week one, my fiance and I were all-in as we discussed things that we had never thought about before, we texted each other during the day to encourage each other to memorize the verses, and for the first time in a while, we actually looked forward to reading something every single night.

Watch Mark Moore’s video of Chapter 1! Catch them all at www.Core52.org

Though we aren’t even close to finishing the book yet (because of my reviewing deadline of only 30 days since receiving the book and I didn’t want to speed through it to review it in time), I can easily say that Core 52 has been the breakthrough in Bible study that my fiance and I both needed. Though you’re not pushed to agree with everything the author writes, you are encouraged to think beyond just what you’ve been taught in church, or grew up learning, to develop your faith in a such a new and vigorous way.

I easily give Core 52 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for both new and experienced Christians, youth groups and adult studies, and single studies or group studies. I truly believe everyone will find something from Core 52!