Month: December 2016

Preaching Old Testament Narratives by Benjamin Walton

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Benjamin Walton has been teaching preaching for some time as well as having pastored himself in the past. He begins his book explaining the need of accuracy in preaching. He argues that most do not do so, even some who imagine they do.

He next distinguishes OT narrative from other biblical genres. I personally believe he misses on the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 and too narrowly limits OT narratives because of it.

He uses his own jargon. CUT (complete unit of thought) and THT (Take-Home Truth) are his two main emphases. He deals with what most every such volume would, even if he uses his own words.

On the plus side, the book really gives the nuts and bolts. It ever reminds us that our listeners deserve the word of God, not the word of man. It explains thoroughly everything it suggests.

On the negative side, he sometimes makes it sound like that anyone who doesn’t follow him down the line completely is off the mark. Again, his method can be too rigid at times.

This book will be the greatest asset to those with less experience in faithfully giving out the text. It could, though, be a help to anyone.
 

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

 

 

Genesis by Meredith Kline

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Meredith Kline is someone I’ve not really read much, but was intrigued as I have read several things mentioning the insight and even uniqueness of his writings. This volume turns out to be a posthumous work where his grandson, Jonathan Kline, found this manuscript in his grandfather’s things and lovingly edited it for publication.

Though this book is clearly not written as a major commentary, it is a pithy help on Genesis that reflects the mature judgments of an influential scholar in the twilight of his career. Unlike some modern commentaries, this book is not dry. Even better, he is not afraid to see Christ and His glorious Gospel revealed on the pages of Genesis. For that matter, he even sees Moses as the author, which is unfortunately too uncommon in our day.

I couldn’t personally agree with all his thoughts on the covenant, nor a few of his thoughts in Genesis 1, but if you prefer a volume that spurs thinking rather than trying to do it all for you, you might want to look up this little jewel.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Bishop J. C. Ryle’s Autobiography

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J.C. Ryle’s Autobiography has been rescued from oblivion by Banner of Truth in this gorgeous volume edited by Andrew Atherstone. The editing, copious footnotes, and information relentlessly dug out for this edition suggest to me that it was a labor of love for Mr. Atherstone.  In fact, Banner of Truth has taken on the role of preserving Ryle’s fine writings for our generation. In addition to his set on the Gospels, BOT has at least 8 other titles of his in print currently.

Iain Murray already provided us with an outstanding biography earlier this year and mentioned he had access to the autobiography as he wrote. I assumed this would be a nice extra volume, almost a collectible, since we already had that other volume, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Ryle wrote in an ideal style for autobiography and gave us tremendous insight into himself. When he would reflect, he would see that in certain points of his life he took a course that was not the best. He even criticized himself for a disposition that might have turned off some that he pastored. You might say he was “raw” before being raw was the rage.

Though the autobiography was written in mid-life, it is still outstanding. Atherstone added 7 appendices that shared things like the family Bible, some of his earliest tracts, and even his last will and testament. In the book you will get good biography and information of historical importance that brings Ryle to life.

If I had to choose, I’d probably pick the Murray biography of Ryle. Since we are not forced to make that hard choice, grab them both. This book, as said before, is stunning and of quality binding, and it is an easy, thoughtful, and enjoyable read. I highly recommend it!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Ministry Mantras by Briggs and Hyatt

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J.R. Briggs and Bob Hyatt present a discussion and encouragement for ministry that uses key statements as the angle to get us to have clear focus on ministry. While it might strike you as only slogans that appeal to our distracted generation, or even clichés that sound cute, the book does manage to push us in ministry.

Some of the mantras were just a reminder of what we should know, but others were quite profound. The one “Leadership is purposefully choosing whom you will disappoint”, especially when it was demonstrated that Jesus practised this in His ministry, is an example.

The mantras are categorized as either leadership, vision, motivation,ministry, pastoral care, leadership development, opportunities, success, spirituality, expectations, community, formation, conflict, outreach, and stewardship, though there is clearly overlap. Some you have heard, but many you have not.

Only occasionally did they give the impression that if your ministry doesn’t look like theirs it’s substandard. Overall, I enjoyed reading this volume. To my mind, you could either read this straight through as a regular book like I did, or you might read one mantra a day to spread out the challenge. Either way, it is a solid effort.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Dictionary of Daily Life–A Great 4-Volume Set

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book-4-set

Finally, this wonderful set is complete in four volumes. It took years to put together and the volumes have been released over the course of a couple years or so, but now this fun resource edited by the outstanding scholars Edwin Yamauchi and Marvin Wilson is available to us.

Why secure this set compared to so many others on the market? It’s really two things: 1) the unique approach, and 2) the valuable, scholarly, and well-written entries.

This dictionary did not limit itself to Bible words only, but to subjects as they occur to us. The value there is making accessible Bible times in a way that overcomes our cultural biases. Think of something that you would really like to know and I suspect you will find an entry on it.

You may read a line that you disagree with, but there’s enough depth to really wrestle with the subject. Bibliographies will chart you a course for further study, though I doubt you will need it.

This set isn’t designed as a visual resource as is the current rage, but the text here will teach what you are really looking for.

This set is in paperback (it can hold its own with its big hardback competitors too) and so its retail price is much more in line with what an individual student might pay. Those other sets only end up in libraries.

I guarantee you will enjoy and learn from this set!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Since I individually reviewed every volume except volume 3, here’s a review of it:

Volume 3 upholds the high standards we have found in the previous releases. The design is exactly the same, and fortunately so are the fine results.

Highlights in this volume include marriage,  libraries and books, laws and crimes, medicine and physicians and even unique subjects like nursing and wet nurses.

This book, just as the whole set, is a treat and an amazing resource!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Historical Books

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This attractive volume by scholars Philip Satterthwaite and Gordon McConville is part of the four-volume set on Exploring the Old Testament published by IVP. This book has been widely used since its publication a few years ago and now there is a new release of this volume in paperback while the hardback edition is still available.

Much like its companion volumes it aims at serious beginning students, though anyone will find it useful. Because undergraduate students are a big part of the intended audience, there’s some discussion of scholarly trends that pastors will not find interesting. Still, because of the useful layout, those irrelevant sections are easily passed over.

Personally, I found too much coverage in the Introduction on the historicity, or the lack thereof, among some scholarship of these books. Though this book usually came to the right conclusion, most of us who preach the Word are not concerned with that dubious scholarship.

The chapters on the books themselves were much more interesting and valuable. Structure, outline, and theology were all well presented. This volume had the most meaningful charts in these series too from my point of view.

This volume is enlightening and I recommend it. For that matter, the whole set (there’s two more volumes that cover the New Testament as well) would be a boon to any student.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Inductive Bible Study by Fuhr and Kostenberger

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This book is ideal for pastors, teachers, or students to get a grasp of studying the Bible either for personal study or sermon preparation. Though it covers some of the classroom jargon, it is written on an accessible level to help any of us. The well-respected authors rightfully admit there is both science and art at play in digging out the real meaning of Scripture. Then they proceed to help us learn the science side while confessing what the science side cannot provide. To my mind, they are highly successful in what they set out to do.

Inductive Bible study is simply hermeneutics with an evidence-based approach rather than a deductive, or assumption-based, approach. With so many bad habits out there, this is critically needed information. If you grab a handful of these type books, you’ll see that the authors often create their own design and, at times, terminology to present the rules of Bible interpretation. Some use a spiral, etc., but the author’s approach here is one of the best I’ve seen to practically understand the concepts.

They present the inductive approach as observation, interpretation, and application. The chart on page 45 shows the 5 steps of observation and each step gets a chapter. All are well done and the one on “determining literary units” provided a special and often-overlooked balance. Interpretation has 5 steps as well and application has three.  The chapter on determining word meanings should be read by everyone. Be sure to read to the end as I really appreciated how they concluded the subject. The charts throughout the book were outstanding as well.

This book is likely the best one out there for pastors and students today.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Dictionary of Daily Life: Volume 4

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book-dictionary

This is the final volume of an unique set. Editors Edwin Yamauchi and Marvin Wilson continue the high quality of work, here  covering O-Z, that we found in the previous volumes. Many scholars joined forces to provide us with this special resource. The setup that even includes a few pictures at the end matches the previous volumes. Together these volumes make an attractive paperback set.

The feature that makes this a special set is what it chooses to cover. It does not limit itself to specific Bible words, but addresses daily life issues in the way we think of them.  That means that things like sanitation, spectacles, trade, and viticulture get covered. There are also things that you would expect like slavery, taxation, and threshing and winnowing, but at more detail than you would imagine. Touchy subjects like prostitution and same-sex relations are well covered too. Those articles were solidly scholarly and conservative.

The best compliment I can pay this volume is that I never failed to learn more than I knew of information worth knowing. I recommend this volume and wish more such sets were modeled after it..

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Biblical Theology by John Goldingay

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biblical-theology

John Goldingay, who has already produced a three-volume theology of the Old Testament and another on Isaiah’s theology among many other works, has now broadened his sights to the theology of the entire Bible. Because of his stature in the scholarly world, I predict this will become an influential volume.

As for me, I picked it up with a fair amount of skepticism. As a staunch conservative,   I find Mr. Goldingay sometimes on the other side side of the tracks. (There is a debate out there about whether he is really an evangelical or not). For the record, I found several sentences that were subversive to my eyes in this book. I thought I should pick one such statement for this review to prove my point. On page 74 in an explanation of Jesus as the I AM he says, “… The New Testament’s references to ‘worship’ of Jesus need not imply that he is seen as divine.” Are you kidding? To be fair, in the next paragraph, he returns to a more orthodox description, yet he has some such statements along the way. He is clearly a provocative writer, but where he succeeds as a writer may also be where he fails. As a provocateur he should stop short of inciting cardiac arrest in his readers!

Not that I am the standard, but I found myself disagreeing with many of his conclusions  along the way too. I only mention that because of what I want to say next.

This book threw away the mold of traditional theologies. I had never noticed before just how close a script all such volumes had in the past. From differing theological perspectives, they all present the same way. Here’s the Doctrine of God and off they go …1, 2, 3. Goldingay, for the better or worse, wrote his own script. That approach makes for creative new Approaches to study, even if you are a conservative like me who says often as you go, “O, you’re wrong again there, Mr. Goldingay.”

If you are as conservative as me, this is not going to be your first choice for a theology on your shelf. But if you are like me, you are going to make it one of a handful you always consult just to help you think outside the box. He simply made me think about things that I had never thought of before. I like that! I’ll make my own conclusions anyway, thank you. So I unashamedly give 4 out of 5 stars and recommend a book that I thought I might not.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Exploring the OT: A Guide to the Psalms and Wisdom Literature

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book-exp-wisdom

Ernest Lucas provides a helpful introduction to the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament in this fine volume. It is, perhaps, the best of the four volumes that make up this series on Exploring the Old Testament. Together with the corresponding volumes covering the Pentateuch, the historical books, and the prophets, these books make for a solid Introduction the the whole Old Testament.

The strength of this volume is far and away the skill at which he describes the special elements of studying the Wisdom literature of the OT, particularly for those who might never have studied it before. He guides the student through poetry, parallelism, and how wisdom was used in ancient culture. He also spends a fair amount of ink explaining classifications of psalms. He provides a fine general introduction to each of the 5 books of Wisdom literature as well.

The only negative is too much respect was given at times to some scholars too far off the reservation. For example, in his fascinating review of psalm classification I wish he had considered more conservative scholars as well. Still, even that part was instructive. The psalms he chose to explain in depth could be argued if his premise was that they were the most important. For example, where were the Pilgrim Psalms? Overall, the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses.

I recommend this volume for your studies of the Wisdom literature of the OT.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.