A Bereavement Ministry Resource

Dealing with grief is a reality that must be faced in every kind of ministry. It can also one of the more difficult pastoral skills to develop and I know that I have often felt woefully

inadequate in seeking to mediate comfort. So I was delighted to receive a copy of Larry J. Michael's book, A Necessary Grief: Essential Tools for Leadership in Bereavement Ministry. Although other responsibilities have prevented me from a careful reading, what I have seen seems quite helpful. There are numerous lists (e.g., questions children might ask at the death of a loved one, p. 167) and helpful appendices (e.g. funeral planning checklist, pp. 153-55). You can check out the book and read a 32-page excerpt 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. 

Peter Bing and Regina Höschele
Aristaenetus, Erotic Letters
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9887
Reviewed by Richard I. Pervo

David E. Briones
Paul’s Financial Policy: A Socio-theological Approach
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9732
Reviewed by Julien M. Ogereau

Brandon D. Crowe
The Obedient Son: Deuteronomy and Christology in the Gospel of Matthew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8581
Reviewed by Don Garlington

Philip R. Davies
On the Origins of Judaism
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8176
Reviewed by Daniel Boyarin

Patricia Dutcher-Walls
Reading the Historical Books: A Student’s Guide to Engaging the Biblical Text
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9834
Reviewed by Iain Provan

J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays
Living God’s Word: Discovering Our Place in the Great Story of Scripture
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8993
Reviewed by James W. Thompson

Jörg Frey and Angela Standhartinger, eds.
Neues Testament und frührabbinisches Judentum
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9540
Reviewed by Judith M. Lieu

Joel B. Green and Tim Meadowcroft, eds.
Ears That Hear: Explorations in Theological Interpretation of the Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9320
Reviewed by Craig L. Blomberg

Martin Hengel
Between Jesus and Paul: Studies in the Earliest History of Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9428
Reviewed by Timothy P. Henderson

Pieter W. van der Horst
Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9793
Reviewed by Matthew J. Grey

Alexander Kyrychenko
The Roman Army and the Expansion of the Gospel: The Role of the Centurion in Luke-Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9795
Reviewed by James M. Morgan

Clemens Leonhard and Hermut Lohr, eds.
Literature or Liturgy?
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9841
Reviewed by Thomas Bergholz

Jared L. Miller
Royal Hittite Instructions and Related Administrative Texts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9443
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore

Birger Olsson
A Commentary on the Letters of John: An Intra-Jewish Approach
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9367
Reviewed by Daniel R. Streett

Stanley E. Porter and Cynthia Long Westfall, eds.
The Church, Then and Now
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8795
Reviewed by Nijay Gupta

Rafael Rodríguez
Oral Tradition and the New Testament: A Guide for the Perplexed
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9734
Reviewed by Werner H. Kelber

Michael Tuval
From Jerusalem Priest to Roman Jew: On Josephus and the Paradigms of Ancient Judaism
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9539
Reviewed by Jonathan Klawans

David R. Wallace
Election of the Lesser Son: Paul’s Lament-Midrash in Romans 9–11
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=10007
Reviewed by A. Chadwick Thornhill

Matt Waters
Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 BCE
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9751
Reviewed by Jason Silverman

Ola Wikander
Drought, Death, and the Sun in Ugarit and Ancient Israel: A Philological and Comparative Study
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9860
Reviewed by Laura Quick

Lucas on Proverbs

Ernest Lucas, the author of the forthcoming commentary on Proverbs in the Two Horizons series discusses the book here.

Revelation's Interpretive Challenges

Ian Paul has an interesting and helpful post here on some of the interpretive challenges presented by the way language is used in Revelation.

Upcoming Lectures at the Lanier Theological Library

If you live in or around the Houston area you might be interested in some upcoming lectures at the Lanier Theological Library. 

9/12/15 – Lynn Cohick
September 12 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
“We are the Circumcision:” Philippians 3 and the Christian Life"

10/30/15 – Lecture by Peter Williams
October 30 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
"Does the Bible Support Slavery?"

2/6/16 – Lecture by Michael Bird
February 6, 2016 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
"An Invasive Story: Paul’s Theology between Messianic Event and Salvation-History"

Reading Josephus

Philip Jenkins has a helpful introduction to reading Josephus here.