Preaching the Farewell Discourse

The B&H blog has a nice interview with L. Scott Kellum related to his book, Preaching the Farewell Discourse. You can access the interview here and get a 12-page PDF of a semantic structural analysis of the passage here.

Free Theology Books for Kindle

Matt Capps has a helpful list of free theology books that are available for Kindle. You can see Matt's post here.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below. 

Rainer Albertz and Rüdiger Schmitt
Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8992
Reviewed by Raz Kletter

James Bollhagen
Ecclesiastes
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8300
Reviewed by Bálint Károly Zabán

Peter W. Flint, Jean Duhaime, and Kyung S. Baek, eds.
Celebrating the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Canadian Collection
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9005
Reviewed by David M. Maas

Edith M. Humphrey
Scripture and Tradition: What the Bible Really Says
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9185
Reviewed by Nijay Gupta

Didier Lafleur
La Famille 13 dans l’evangile de Marc
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9042
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus

Mark Leuchter and Jeremy M. Hutton, eds.
Levites and Priests in Biblical History and Tradition
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8383
Reviewed by Ralph K. Hawkins

Ellen A. Robbins
The Storyteller and the Garden of Eden
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8660
Reviewed by Gert T. M. Prinsloo

Gunnar Samuelsson
Crucifixion in Antiquity: An Inquiry into the Background and Significance of the New Testament Terminology of Crucifixion
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9718
Reviewed by John Granger Cook

Zoltán S. Schwáb
Toward an Interpretation of the Book of Proverbs: Selfishness and Secularity Reconsidered
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9358
Reviewed by David Penchansky

Jakob Wöhrle
Fremdlinge im eigenen Land: Zur Entstehung und Intention der priesterlichen Passagen der Vätergeschichte
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8839
Reviewed by Marc Vervenne

10 Kinds of Pastors to Be Concerned About

Scott Postma has some challenging but insightful words in his post: "10 Pastors I'm Concerned About." You can read it here.

A Training Manual for Demons

Jared Moore has a Screwtape Letters-like post that is worth reading here. In the post, Jared mentions 20 ways to lead God's people astray. One might not agree with all 20 points but I think Jared nails it more often than not. In any case, here is his list but you really must read the entire post.

1. Christianize popular ideas.
2. Put heresy in a Christian song with Christian lingo and a good beat.
3. Appeal to adolescence.
4. Put heresy in a song with some sentimentality.
5. Create an atmosphere that makes people feel good.
6. Appeal to the sinful nature.
7. Tell amazing stories.
8. Appeal to the idolatry of your hearers.
9. Speak in non-absolutes.
10. Dress it up in new clothes.
11. Major on specific Bible verses while intentionally ignoring those that contradict your interpretation.
12. Change definitions.
13. Accustom your hearers to statements you tout as facts that cannot be proven.
14. Appear cool, sweet, hip, or simply different from other pastors.
15. Pray like you’re a priest in the pulpit.
16. Get everyone to like your personality.
17. Create a CANON within the Canon.
18. Grow the crowd numerically.
19. Speak of previous heretics as martyrs.
20. Increase giving and baptisms.

Morning of the Rolling Stone

Starting a Mid-Week Sermon Feedback Meeting

Eric McKiddie argues that pastors really should consider starting a mid-week sermon feedback meeting. You can read his thoughts here.