Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Bargains!

For book lovers like me, and for those wishing to build their libraries, here are two great bargains you do not want to pass up (unless you already own them)! The first is "The Book of Isaiah" a three volume commentary on Isaiah by none other than the renowned Hebrew scholar Edward J. Young. In all honesty, this commentary is probably the definitive work on Isaiah and it is on sale for only $17.99 at CBD, marked down from its original price of $90.00.

The other bargain that one would do well to take advantage of is "Explore the Book: A Survey and Study of Each Book from Genesis to Revelation" by J. Sidlow Baxter. It is on sale for $34.99 at CBD while originally $89.99.

Monday, January 29, 2007

What to expect?

Our first meeting for the Mathew bible study will be a twofold introduction. First, I will introduce the synoptic problem. A subject matter we should at the very least be aware of. Second, I will introduce the book of Matthew. Should you desire to come prepared for these introductions I strongly recommend you read the first two chapters of "An Introduction To The New Testament" by D.A. Carson, Douglas Moo, and Leon Morris. This will only take a few hours to read at the very most.

In the following week and a half I will be posting some further thoughts and points of interest for the synoptic problem and Matthew itself.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Lessons we would all do well to learn

As some of you may know, Albert Mohler was hospitalized for a good two weeks due to pulmonary emboli in both lungs. Praise the Lord that he is now out of the hospital and well on his way to recovery. Upon reflection, Albert Mohler is now sharing with the world wide web his lessons learned through his crisis of life. I was particularly struck by the eighth lesson and thought how often I do that myself. Please read the entire article, it is well worth the read and only takes a few moments.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Update concerning suggested reading for Matthew bible study

For those concerned, if you wish to read any of these articles I have suggested, but have no means of obtaining them, please let me know, and I will get a copy of them to you. They are valuable to read. Also, it should go without saying, but make an effort to have read Matthew through entirely at least once before this February 7th.

It would be ideal for you to read it through once each week we have the bible study. At that rate, by the end of the study you would have read it through at least 28x! Imagine the potential for increase in knowledge of God's word and His son Jesus Christ! Imagine the potential for us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Bible Study Suggested Reading

Carson, D.A., Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris. An Introduction To The New Testament.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.

See especially the first two chapters. I recommend reading these first two chapters before anything else.

Periodicals

Black, David Alan. “The Historical Origins of the Gospels.” Faith and Mission. (Fall
2000): 21-42.

Ellis, E. Earle. “Reading the Gospels as History.” Criswell Theological Review. (Fall
1998): 3-15. I actually found this article on the internet at the following address - http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NTeSources/NTArticles/CTR-NT/Ellis-GospelsHistory-CTR.htm

Guelich, Robert A. “The Gospels: Portraits of Jesus and His Ministry.” Journal of the
Evangelical Society. (June 1981): 117-125.

Hagner, Donald A. “Interpreting the Gospels: The Landscape and the Quest.” Journal of
the Evangelical Society. (March 1981): 23-37.

Johnson, S. Lewis Jr. “The Argument of Matthew.” Bibliotheca Sacra. (April-June
1956): 143-153.

Commentaries

Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew. The New American Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery,
vol. 22. Nashville, Broadman Press, 1982.

Carson, D.A. Matthew. The Expositors Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol.
8. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to Matthew. The Pillar New Testament
Commentary, ed. D.A. Carson. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Baptism

Over at Between Two Worlds is an interview with Thomas Schreiner concerning Baptism. It is well worth the read and only takes a few minutes. Check it out now!

Matthew by unaminous decision...well, at least by me!

For all those who have been holding their breath concerning which book of the bible we will study next for our Wednesday night bible study, you can finally exhale and breathe a little more easily. Matthew is the book of choice. Also of choice is we will have the bible study every Wednesday night now as opposed to every other Wednesday night.

I will sometime in the next 48hrs post suggested books, articles to be reading in preparation for this bible study. It is assumed that you will of course be reading Matthew as much as you can in the next few weeks in preparation.

The first bible study for Matthew will be February 7.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Prayer

I would ask for your prayers as I will be preaching this Sunday, January 14th, at Wayside Gospel Chapel. I will be speaking from Matthew 18:1-6. Thank you much!

Monday, January 8, 2007

What's This fuss over TV all about anyways? PT. 4

This is the fourth concerning the dangers of TV, specifically, its contribution to truth decay in a postmodern world. All that follows is taken from an appendix in Douglas Groothuis book, "Truth Decay." I heartily recommend you purchasing this book and reading it in its entirety. It is well worth the read.

Pathologies of Velocity: No Time for Truth

Fourth, the increasingly rapid pace of television's images make careful evaluation impossible and undesirable for the viewer, thus rendering determinations of truth and falsity difficult if not impossible. With sophisticated video technologies, scenes change at hypervelocities and become the visual equivalent of caffeine or amphetamines. The human mind was not designed by its Creator to accommodate to these visual speeds, and so the sensorium suffers from the pathologies of velocity. This means that one simply absorbs hundreds and thousands of rapidly changing images, with little notion of what they mean or whether they correspond to any reality outside of themselves...

Habituation to such imposed velocities tends to make people intellectually impatient and easily bored with anything that is slow moving and undramatic - such as reading books (particularly thoughtful ones), experiencing nature in the raw and engaging face-to-face conversations with fellow human beings. Hence, the apprehension of difficult and demanding truths suffers and withers. The pace of television's agenda disallows edification, understanding and reflection...the overstuffed and over-stimulated soul becomes out-of-sync with God, nature, others and itself.

On the other hand, the godly art of truthfulness requires a sense of pacing one's senses and thoughts according to the subject matter before one.

Before God, one must shut up, listen and be willing to revolutionize one's life accordingly (see Eccles. 5:1-7). God's word - "be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10) - simply cannot be experienced through television, where stillness and silence are only technical mistakes called "dead air." Television thus becomes a strategic weapon in the arsenal of postmodernist cynicism and apathy.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Verse of the Day