Friday, September 28, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Demon to Demon
While I
have been a fan of C.S. Lewis and his books for a sometime, believe it or not I
have never read “The Screwtape Letters” until now. I have to admit that it took
a little bit for me to get into the book but once I was about a quarter of the
way through the book it defiantly kept my attention. Each letter is about three
pages long which makes it easy to grab and read a letter if you only have a few
minutes.
There
were many insights I found and some things that made me pause and think long
and hard about, things that hit a little too close to home.
The
book is not too hard to read but remember it was written by Lewis and he was
not an American living in 2012 so some of the words and sayings might not
connect but the overall flavor of the book should have its impact on you.
Well
worth reading.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Some Helpful Resources
This is some information that will be helpful when I post my next video in the series on “Bible Software and Me”.
In Part four of how I use Bible software to study and prepare sermons I will be moving into background research and commentary research. Below is a list of resources that I use and have found helpful. You may have some of your own favorites.
The first step is to look at background material and only after you have read through that material should you move on to commentary work.
I will be explaining exactly how I proceed in the next video.
Background Resources
Background Commentaries
IVP Background Commentary on the New Testament
IVP Background Commentary on the Old Testament
New Manners and Customs of the Bible
New Testament Background Commentary: A New Dictionary of words, phrases, and situations in Bible order
Background Dictionaries
Dictionary of the Latter New Testament
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
Dictionary of New Testament Background
Dictionary of Paul and his Letters
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Zondervan Pictorial Bible Encyclopedia
I separate my commentaries into three (3) types.
The first types are those that are, what I call language commentaries. The second types are what I call Expository Commentaries and the third types I call application / devotional commentaries.
Commentaries
Language Commentaries
The United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series
The United Bible Societies' Old Testament Handbook Series
Word Biblical Commentary
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament
Word Pictures in the New Testament
Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament
A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament
A Textual Guide to the Greek New Testament
Expository Commentaries
The Expositor's Bible Commentary
The Expositor’s Bible
The College Press NIV
The College Press NIV
MacArthur’s NT Commentaries Collection
The New American Commentary Series
Lenski's Commentary on the New Testament
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
The Pulpit Commentary
Baker’s New Testament Commentary
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
Application / Devotional Commentaries
The Preacher's Commentary
Holman New Testament Commentary
The Bible Speaks Today: New Testament
Tyndale Commentaries
N.T. Wright’s “For Everyone” series
I don’t usually read every commentary in every type. I usually will read three from each type for a total of 9.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Bible Software and Me (Part 3)
Here are the next few steps in how I use bible software to study the bible and prepare sermons. I had a problem with the video so it's in three parts.
The audio was horrible for the first video so I added some text boxes to help understand what I was doing. The other two videos work find. I hope these are helpful. If I get a chance I will redo the first video.
The audio was horrible for the first video so I added some text boxes to help understand what I was doing. The other two videos work find. I hope these are helpful. If I get a chance I will redo the first video.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
The Trinity Doctrine
Crucial Questions # 10 “What is the Trinity?” By Dr. R.C. Sproul
This is now the second “Crucial Questions” booklet I have had the pleasure of reviewing. The first one I reviewed was on the subject of “Baptism” and can find my review of that one HERE.
I found this booklet on the “Trinity” really quite enjoyable to read. For the most part the booklet is easy to understand although there were a few sections that dealt with philosophy that were a bit difficult to follow and some may find these sections hard to understand but I think over all anyone reading the booklet will be helped.
I found that this booklet was unlike other books I’ve read on the subject. Most of the books I’ve read deal mainly with the text of scripture but this one while having a section on the biblical text dealt mostly with Church history (councils) as well as philosophy and word studies (understanding the meaning of different words used to describe Christ’s nature or the Trinity).
In chapter one the author discusses some objections to the Trinity which he revisits in the last chapter. I found Dr. Sproul’s response to the objection that Christianity is based on a contradiction because we believe in the Trinity to be excellent. He says on page 2:
Apparently this professor of philosophy was not familiar with the law of non-contradiction. That law states, “A cannot be A and non-A at the same time and in the same relationship.” When we confess our faith in the Trinity, we affirm that God is one in essence and three in person. Thus, God is one in A and three in B. If we said that He is one in essence and three in essence, that would be a contradiction. If we said He is one in person and three in person, that also would be a contradiction. But as mysterious as the Trinity is, perhaps even above and beyond our capacity to understand it in its fullness, the historic formula is not a contradiction.
An excellent response in my opinion.
There is also an overview of what some people see as an evolution of religion and how monotheism is just one step in that evolution. Christians deny this evolutionary thought and Dr. Sproul brings that out.
There was one statement in the booklet that did puzzle me a bit but because it really wasn’t related to the Trinity It didn’t bother me. He says on page 59:
… much of the New Testament was written in the Greek language.
I wasn’t sure if he meant that the New Testament writers sometimes use transliterated Aramaic words (Transliterated into Greek) or something else but as I said it doesn’t have much at all to do with the subject.
So in the end I found this booklet by Dr. R.C. Sproul on the Trinity to be enjoyable to read and very informative. I think anyone looking for a brief overview of the doctrine of the Trinity would do well to pick this up.
Friday, July 27, 2012
I don’t need to go to “church”??
“Why church matters” by Joshua Harris is a 140 page
book made up of 7 chapters addressing the issue of the local church and why
becoming a passionate, committed, member of the local body is important.In chapter 1 the author speaks about his past experiences going to church and how he felt about it at one time. He also begins to discuss what the rest of the book will be about and uses the idea of a relationship to relate how many people flirt with the church but are not committed or passionate about the local church. He speaks about people dating the church and encourages people instead to “marry the church”.
In chapter 2 he relates how he felt at his own weeding and how he feels about his bride walking down the aisle and then relates that to how Christ feels about his bride, the church. He also states the goal of the book on page 21 where he says “My goal in this book is to help you get connected and committed to a solid local church.”
He also makes some comments on denominations and how different denominations can be “united” by holding to the major things (doctrines) that really matter and having an attitude of grace on those things that don’t matter but of course there are different denominations because they don’t see things the same and/or hold certain doctrines to be essential while others see them as secondary and nonessential. The good news here is he doesn’t really get too involved with this and so we can simply read through this section without paying too much attention to it.
I do like what he says on page 30 concerning the love Jesus has for the church. He says “If Jesus loves the church, you and I should, too.” I agree and there is way too much church bashing going on by those in the church. Really good point, I though.
In chapter 3 he discuss the attitude many have today about going to a local church. Many people feel that they can be Christians and worship God on their own and never be part of a local body. It’s as if they think the local church was invented by men and not a God ordained institution. The author shows that this is simply wrong and unbiblical. On page 40 he says this “The longer I’m a Christian the more aware I become that I cannot live the Christian life on my own.”
In chapter 4 he deals with passion and commitment and tells the story of a man he knows who is a Christian but this man loves his Jeep and even joined a “Jeep club”. He tells how this man spent all his time thinking about and doing things with his Jeep and the Jeep club. The author points out that the things we talk about and are consumed with are the things we have passion for and are committed to. He urges us to have passion and commitment for the local church and then goes on to give suggestions on how to cultivate this.
Chapter 5 is all about what to look for in a local church. For example he says to seek out a church “…where God’s word is faithfully taught…” and another question to ask is “Is this a church that is willing to kick me out?” and of course that question has to do with leadership holding people accountable and not allowing open sin to go unchecked.
Chapter 6 was an interesting chapter dealing with how to make Sunday the best day of the week. On page 94 he says “My premise in this chapter is that you and I are very likely to be missing out on God’s best for the day (Sunday) unless we learn to build our week around Sunday, and not the other way around.”He goes on to suggest some ways in which we might prepare to worship and enjoy Sunday. One suggestion he gives is to turn the TV off on Saturday night and to read the scriptures and pray so we prepare our hearts and our minds for the following day. I liked this suggestion and will give serious consideration to it.
Chapter 7 is simply the concluding thoughts of the author and his wrapping up the book.
In the end I enjoyed reading this book. It’s small and easy to read. I spent one afternoon reading it. There are some issues related to worship and doctrine that I didn’t agree with or that weren’t given a very full discussion but this isn’t a book that is really dealing with those subjects so I found it easy to read through and not get bogged down with those issues. He simply doesn’t spend a lot of time talking about those other things.
So, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who has had a bad experience with a local church and now doesn’t attend or to the person who simply thinks they don’t need the local church and can go it alone. I also think that anyone who is already attending a local church can gain some wonderful insights or maybe a renewed respect and appreciation for the local church.
A great book reminding us “why church matters”.
Disclosure of Material: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah
Publishing Group for this review, which requires an honest, though not
necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am
disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16,
Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in
Advertising.”
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Learning to living out who we are in Christ
After you believe by N. T. Wright
The book is 307 pages long made up of eight chapters. The subtitle to the book is “Why Christian character matters” which is the overriding theme of the book.
Wright tells us what the book is all about on page 4. He says the book is about “character” but it also helps to answer the question of “what now?” “Ok, I’m saved longing to go to heaven when I die; I tell people about Jesus and keep my nose clean but is that it?” On page 2 there’s a discussion of a man named James who asks the question which basically is “Isn’t there anything else that happens after you believe and before you finally die and go to heaven?” This is a great question because many have seen heaven as what we are waiting for and while we wait we might tell a few people about Jesus but that’s really all we have to do.
This is a great book to challenge our thinking and to help us walk between legalism on one hand (Christianity is all about rules and laws) and a free antinomianism on the other (What matters is being genuine and true to yourself). Why does Christian character or virtue matter and how does that prepare us for glory to come? On page 70 Wright says “…you have to grasp that Christian virtue isn’t about you – your happiness, your fulfillment, your self-realization, it’s about God and God’s kingdom…”
Another great quote from the book is found on page 146 where Wright is speaking about living out who we are in Christ and how at first it can seem hard and awkward but over time we begin to have a second nature about the way we act and live which is in line with Christ. He explains it by giving an illustration. “… I remember a piano teacher pointing out to me that the reason I was having trouble with a piece of music I’d taught myself to play was that I’d paid no attention to the fingering which the composer himself had suggested. When I first tried the ‘proper’ fingering, after months of stumbling through the piece in my own sweet way, I felt very strange, I could hardly concentrate on the feeling in the music because I was so bothered by the odd feeling in my fingers. But, again gradually, not only did I get used to the new fingering, but the piece began to sing in a way it hadn’t before. That’s what it’s like when someone seriously begins to ‘put on’ the things Paul is talking about.” It seems to me that Wright is saying something like “Laws and rules are not what Christianity is all about but becoming like Christ, real and genuine people who are fully human”. The rules and laws are there to guide but are not the point.
There’s a lot to the book that will help, inspire, and challenge you to live out who you are in Christ. I would suggest everyone pick it up.
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