1 & 2 Thessalonians/Philemon
Editors: Wightman Weese, et al.
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2653-5
For this review, I decided to mix things up a bit. My wife and I worked through this Bible study together, so some of my comments here are from her.
The Good: I really liked that the full text from the Life Application Study Bible was included in the book. That said, I found it distracting when a note referenced another note from Timothy (not included in this book). Without my study Bible handy, there was no way for me to look at the reference.
The study did not feel like it was leaning towards one specific doctrinal system, rather, it looked to delve into the text itself.
The Bad: There are two things that fall into “The Bad” category, although they are minor in the whole scheme of things. 1) The font is teeny-tiny. If I’m having a hard time reading it at 33, someone much older could be having a much harder time reading the text. 2) Before even opening up the book, my wife looked at the cover and said, “What does a shadow of a guy playing the trumpet have to do with the second coming of Christ?” To be quite honest, I don’t know. Update: Thanks to Brant for pointing out 1 Thessalonains 4:16 as the basis for the cover.
The Ugly: None.
Overall, I found the Bible study to be very well written and relevant to the text. It made my wife and I think about some of these issues from the text. I especially like that it didn’t feel like the Bible study was tied to a specific doctrinal system, so I would feel very comfortable using this in my congregation.
Disclaimer:
I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their blog network book review program. Providing me a free copy in no way guarantees a favorable review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
TheoNerd 
You wrote: Before even opening up the book, my wife looked at the cover and said, “What does a shadow of a guy playing the trumpet have to do with the second coming of Christ?” To be quite honest, I don’t know.
The answer:
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NRSV)
For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Thanks for pointing that out Brant. I went back and looked in the lesson for 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 to see if I missed anything in the lesson. We missed it because it wasn’t mentioned in the lesson.