Cream of blog 1.25.12
January 25, 2012
Here are some links worth reading and thoughts worth thinking…
- Sobering words from John Piper: 15 things to consider about abortion.
- From Reformed Theological Seminary: Tinker, tailor, soldier…pastor: how two Cold War foes became pastoral friends.
- Two hundred million girls are “missing.” A new documentary, It’s a Girl! The Three Deadliest Words in the World, explores the systematic gendercide taking place in India, China, and other areas of South Asia. Watch the trailer.
- Tim Challies releases the second in a series of helpful, visual graphics explaining basic frameworks of systematic theology. This is one is a visual graphic of the attributes of God. The first in the series was on the ordo salutis.
- Chris Koelle, artist and member of Downtown PCA in Greenville, South Carolina (pastored by my friend Brian Habig), has been creating a graphic novel adaptation of the Revelation. It is delivered through an app called “The Book of Revelation App” for iPad and iPhone. Here is Tim Challies’ interview with Chris.
Cream of blog 12.15.11
December 15, 2011
Scotty Smith, with “An Advent Prayer for Our Children and Grandchildren”
Gene Edward Veith shares a brother’s sharp view on whose job it is to “keep Christ in Christmas.”
The Resurgence tempts you to consider the lesson we can learn about God’s law from kids and forbidden marshmallows.
Bible reading plans
January 21, 2011
It’s not too late to start a Bible-reading plan. In fact, it’s never too late. Here is a post from Justin Taylor with almost the entire catalog of options. Check it out.
Happy 400th, King James Version!
January 17, 2011
On this day in 1604, King James appointed 54 scholars to produce a new English translation of the Bible. The result 7 years later: the KJV. The more accurate and official name is the “Authorized Version.” I prefer to call it the AV simply because I had giving such a wicked fool of a monarch as James I such good press!
The AV gets a lot of bad press. The archaic “thee” and “ye” pronoun forms are…well, archaic. The English language has changed over the last 400 years, and thus some of the expressions are odd. But no one should deny the sheer beauty of the language. I still contend that it is easier to memorize than many of the contemporary translations. Although I use the ESV in daily reading and in my preaching and teaching ministry, the AV is an old, dear friend, not an enemy. It was the version of my earliest Bible memorization. As long as I retain the faculties of memory, Ephesians 4:32 will come up in my mind as “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” The newer versions just don’t stick like that. A friend and I are currently memorizing the entirety of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and I keep running across the same phenomenon in efforts to memorize chapter one.
Allen Yeh has written a short tribute to the AV at Scriptorium Daily. It’s worth reading.
Bible reading plan
January 13, 2011
Many folks start a through-the-year Bible reading plan in January. It’s a good practice. There are all kinds of methods available, and the best one is the one you will actually use. Here’s a new method which takes you through the entire Bible in a thematic sort of way. I am interested in what you think of it as you use it.
Preview of Crossway ESV Bible Atlas
June 17, 2010
You can take a virtual look at the new Crossway ESV Bible Atlas, by John D. Currid and David P. Barrett. It is due for release on June 30. If you are a map geek (I’m one) and want to know more about biblical history and the geography of the Ancient Near East, this looks like a must purchase. It would also be good for a church library purchase.
Capitalizing on recent advances in satellite imaging and geographic information systems, the Crossway ESV Bible Atlas offers Bible readers a comprehensive, up-to-date resource that blends technical sophistication with readability, visual appeal, and historical and biblical accuracy.
All the key methods of presenting Bible geography and history are here, including more than 175 full-color maps, 70 photographs, 3-D re-creations of biblical objects and sites, indexes, timelines, and 65,000 words of narrative description. The atlas uniquely features regional maps detailing biblically significant areas such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, Italy, and Greece. It also includes a CD with searchable indexes and digital maps, and a removable, 16.5 x 22-inch map of Palestine.
Biblical history at a glance
January 5, 2010
Justin Taylor has posted two entries worth clicking: one is a chart outline of biblical history and the other is a brief summary of the main divisions of biblical history. Both are taken from Dr. Graeme Goldsworthy’s excellent book According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. (Joe and I taught a class on that book in 2008-09.) Printing these two entries and sticking them inside the Bible you are reading would be a good idea.
New courses from Third Millennium Ministries
December 29, 2009
Third Millennium Ministries has announced the completion of two new courses in their work to provide free seminary-level educational curriculum.
The Apostles’ Creed (click here for download information and list of instructors)
There are many denominations, divisions and theological disputes in the modern church. But despite these types of disunity, there is a common core of belief that all faithful Christians have affirmed throughout history. And for almost two millennia, this core of belief has been summarized in the Apostles’ Creed. This series explains the history and use of the Apostles’ Creed, as well as the details and significance of each of its articles of faith. The Apostles’ Creed is the first series in the Basic Christian Doctrine Course, and it aims to:
- Introduce viewers to the history and value of the Apostles’ Creed.
- Explain each of the doctrines listed in the Apostles’ Creed.
- Demonstrate the relevance of these doctrines to the modern church.
Building Biblical Theology (click here for download information and list of instructors)
Faithful Christians have always recognized the importance of the progress of biblical history, especially as it relates to humanity’s fall into sin and to God’s redemptive work. The discipline of biblical theology arose as a means to study this progress in responsible ways. Much like systematic theology, biblical theology organizes theological ideas in ways that increase our understanding of Scripture. But whereas systematic theology organizes its ideas according topics, biblical theology organizes its findings in historical periods or epochs. Used rightly, biblical theology is a powerful and helpful tool for interpreting and applying the Bible. Building Biblical Theology is the third series in the course Introduction to Theological Studies, and it aims to:
- Explain the history and justification of biblical theology.
- Describe the method and uses of biblical theology.
Read it again in 2010
December 29, 2009
READ THE BIBLE FROM COVER TO COVER IN 2010. You can start at Genesis and go right through to Revelation if you like. My favorite plan involves reading three chapters a day (and five on the Lord’s Day). In this plan you read a different genre of Scripture each day of the week (wisdom literature, Pentateuch, OT histories, prophets, gospels, epistles). The variation has helped me push through the low seasons that come during the year, and it helps me see the interconnectedness of all of God’s Word. I first came across this scheme about twenty years ago when Dr. Douglas Kelly included it as an appendix in his book If God Already Knows, Why Pray? I have passed it along to many others through the years.
Sundays: read five chapters in the Psalms. When done, read through Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
Mondays: read three chapters in Genesis. When done, read through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Tuesdays: read three chapters in Joshua. When done, read through Judges, Ruth, 1& 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings.
Wednesdays: read three chapters in Job. When done, read through 1 & 2 Chroniclers, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
Thursdays: read three chapters in Isaiah. When done, read through Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Fridays: read three chapters In Matthew. When done, read through Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.
Saturdays: read three chapters in Romans. When done, read through 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation.
FURTHER ADVICE
- Set a distinct time of day and place for your reading, as free as possible from distractions. Turn off that electronic device that bosses you around.
- Use a good, readable translation. I recommend, in the following order: English Standard Version, New King James Version, New International Version, King James Version, and New American Standard. But the best translation of the Scriptures is one you are actually reading! I don’t recommend a study Bible. All those extra notes and comments can be distracting, and you might need an orthopedic specialist if you haul around an ESV Study Bible for 365 consecutive days.
- When you forget or fall behind, don’t give up. All is not lost. The devil would like you to give up once you’ve fallen behind. Pick back up right where you were. You can double up to catch up, but you don’t have to. So what if you finish in February 2011?
- Pray every day before you read, and after you read.
- Ask a friend or loved one to join you in the venture. Keep each other accountable.
Creeds, confessions, catechisms
November 10, 2009
Sunday morning I was teaching the first meeting of a new members’ class. We discussed the value of creeds (such as the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed) and confessions (such as the Westminster Confession of Faith) and catechisms (such as the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms or the Heidelberg Catechism). This discussion took place as I was emphasizing one of our non-negotiable commitments as a church–that the Bible is entirely true. But if we believe the Bible is true, then why have these summations of biblical doctrine? Do they not undermine the authority and sufficiency of the Bible? Remember a couple of things:
- A biblical creed or confession is like the small booklet you get when you want to get a driver’s license (my firstborn is taking the test today). To take the test you are not required to go the courthouse and study all the traffic and liability laws. The booklet helps you. Now the difference, of course, is obvious. Once you get your driver’s license, you never want to go read the state codes. But in living as followers of Christ, the Bible is always more engaging and interesting than the credal summaries. The skeletal structure provided by creeds and confessions needs the muscles and flesh and blood of living, active faith.
- Creeds, confessions and catechisms make it plain for all to see what it is that we believe and what points of biblical teaching we believe are most important. I told the class, “If you read the Westminster Confession of Faith, you have the basic sketch of the theology that I’m going to preach and teach. Don’t expect me to surprise you.” I preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, and the creeds and confessions fill in what I mean when I say “Jesus Christ.” John Mark Reynolds makes a great point on this in a recent post from Scriptorium Daily:
Yesterday I was asked about the value of Creeds like those of Nicaea. My interlocutor was insistent, “What if I love Jesus? What is the point of a Creed? Doesn’t it get in the way of my love for the Lord?”
The problem with this idea is that even in daily life it is easy to love the “wrong” person. Too often I build up a Fantasy Hope and then love not the wife I actually have, but a wife that exists only in my head.
This is such a bad thing that I must be thankful for anything, however painful, that jars me back to reality.
I want to love Hope not my false ideas about her! If I say I love Hope, but my ideas about her do not correspond to the Hope next to me, then my love has been misplaced.
This is even easier to do when it comes to God, since my motivations for fooling myself are so much greater.
The Creed, which is based on Sacred Scriptures, tells us which Jesus to love. When you love the God pointed out in the Nicaean Creed, you know you have found the right God. Your love is hopeful and not in vain. You are not worshipping the Jesus of Your Head or the God of the Movies instead of the God of the Bible!
The Creed is so harsh and exclusive, because if you make the error they are anathematizing you for worshiping a different God. If you say you love Jesus, but you end up loving Jesus of Hacienda Heights (I once met, name tag and all, the Jesus of Disneyland), that is not going to cut it.
Of course meeting the right Jesus is not enough, you have to love Him and accept Him as your Lord and Redeemer, but at least if you are Creedal, that you are talking to the right God.
If on the other hand, you are trust Jesus of Hacienda Heights, you are doomed no matter how sincere you might be. If you worship a Jesus who is not fully God, did not come in the flesh, or a Jesus who has one nature, then you might know someone like Jesus, but you don’t know the Lord.
That is a bad idea.
