Using Infographics in Preaching

I found this post on how to use infographics to support your preaching series to be interesting.

Reading

Although the following infographic and poster were created with younger readers in mind, similar strategies could be employed by more seasoned readers in studying the biblical text. You can download a PDF of this poster here.

Free Logos Book for February: Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry

The free Logos Book for February is Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry by Michael Lawrence. You can also enter to win the entire 11-volume 9Marks series. Go the Logos' Free Book of Month page here to enter and download your free book today!

Free Audio Book: When Helping Hurts

Christianaudio.com is offering When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert as their free download for the month of February. To read more about the book and to get your free audio download go here.

When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert is the free audiobook of the month for February. Seldom has a book come out on such a specific topic that has mass appeal and widespread application. When Helping Hurts is just that kind of book. The central point is to provide proven strategies that challenge Christians to help the poor empower themselves. - See more at: http://christianaudio.com/free/?utm_source=HomePage&utm_medium=InternalBanner&utm_campaign=CAFreeBook#sthash.RLKJDpoZ.dpuf

When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert - See more at: http://christianaudio.com/free/?utm_source=HomePage&utm_medium=InternalBanner&utm_campaign=CAFreeBook#sthash.RLKJDpoZ.dpuf

When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert - See more at: http://christianaudio.com/free/?utm_source=HomePage&utm_medium=InternalBanner&utm_campaign=CAFreeBook#sthash.RLKJDpoZ.dpuf

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. 

Jack Barentsen
Emerging Leadership in the Pauline Mission: A Social Identity Perspective on Local Leadership Development in Corinth and Ephesus
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8423
Reviewed by Jan G. van der Watt

Lukas Bormann
Der Brief des Paulus an die Kolosser
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9083
Reviewed by Thomas Bergholz

Eryl W. Davies
Biblical Criticism: A Guide for the Perplexed
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9338
Reviewed by Richard N. Soulen

J. Albert Harrill
Paul the Apostle: His Life and Legacy in Their Roman Context
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8815
Reviewed by James Harrison
Reviewed by Ross P. Ponder

David Lyle Jeffrey
Luke
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8984
Reviewed by Robert L. Brawley

Ernst Jenni
Studien zur Sprachwelt des Alten Testaments, Bd. 3
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8580
Reviewed by Markus Zehnder

Eugene E. Lemcio
Navigating Revelation: Charts for the Voyage
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8573
Reviewed by Alexander E. Stewart

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor
Keys to Galatians: Collected Essays
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8816
Reviewed by Frank J. Matera

Jerry L. Sumney, ed.
Reading Paul’s Letter to the Romans
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8696
Reviewed by Panayotis Coutsoumpos
Reviewed by John K. Goodrich

Kay Weißflog
Zeichen und Sinnbilder: Die Kinder der Propheten Jesaja und Hosea
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8953
Reviewed by Mark W. Hamilton

Paul's Missionary Journey Tube Map

This is pretty neat. You can access the original here.

 

HT: James McGrath

Bible Exposition and Discipleship

Dave Miller has some good thoughts on how Bible exposition and discipleship work together here.

Review of By the River Chebar

Daniel I. Block. By the River Chebar: Historical, Literary, and Theological Studies in the Book of Ezekiel. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2013.

Anyone who has recently undertaken a serious study of Ezekiel has probably looked at Dan Block’s two-volume commentary. It is one of, if not the best, treatments of this enigmatic book. With that in mind, I was excited to read and review By the River Chebar. This work is a compilation of articles written by Block that reflects his longstanding interest in Ezekiel (p. xi). The articles include “a general essay on preaching the message of Ezekiel, a synthetic essay on the theology of the book; a series on more specific theological topics, and two literary studies focused on specific texts that frame the first half of the book (chs. 1 and 24)” (p. xi). (A companion volume entitled Beyond the River Chebar covers chapters 25–40.) These nine essays were written between 1988 and 2010.

Those familiar with, and appreciative of, Block’s work will not be disappointed here. The scholarship represented by these essays is first-rate. It is well-researched, the writing is clear, and the arguments are cogent. One will also find a number of helpful figures, tables, and lists. But this work also contains a refreshing pastoral and spiritual element. This is most evident in the first essay which relates to the preaching of Ezekiel, but it is also sprinkled throughout the other essays as well (e.g., “The God Ezekiel Wants Us to Meet,” pp. 44–72). The preaching essay should be required reading for those planning to preach through the book. It was one of my favorites. I also especially enjoyed “The Theology of Ezekiel,” “The Prophet of the Spirit.” and “Beyond the Grave: Ezekiel’s Vision of Death and Afterlife.”

Although By the River Chebar is a more selective reference than a commentary on Ezekiel, it is a good supplementary resource for those who want to dig deeper. To borrow a line from a well-known Christian hymn, “Shall we gather at the river?” The answer in this case is “yes.”

Thanks to the folks at Wipf & Stock for providing the book used in this unbiased review.

Lessons Related to Ministry from Romans 1:11–15

Recently as I was preparing to teach Romans, it struck me that the introduction contained some important principles related to ministry. Here is a list that I observed.

• Ministry is about people (“I long to see you,” v. 11)
• Ministry is about giving (“that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,” v. 11)
• Ministry should be mutually encouraging (“ that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith,” v. 12)
• Ministry does not always go as planned (“I have often intended to come to you [but thus far have been prevented], v. 13)
• Ministry is like reaping a harvest (“that I may reap some harvest,” v. 13)
• Ministry often includes both believers and unbelievers (“among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles,” v. 13)
• Ministry should be ethnically inclusive (“I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish, v. 14) 
• Ministry is about the proclamation of the gospel (“I am eager to preach the gospel,” v. 15)

Lecture by Richard Bauckham

The video below was recorded at The Lanier Theological Library. Here is a description of the video.

"In the theology of early Judaism there is “one God” who has “one people.” The Gospel of John takes the remarkable step of including Jesus the divine Son in the unity of the one God. The goal of Jesus’ mission is to include humans within the open unity of the divine love. From the intimate personal communion of the Father and the Son with believers derives the loving unity of the people of God. Thus the revelation of loving intimacy “within” God at the end of the Gospel’s Prologue leads to Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his people in chapter 17."

The Future of Libraries

I thought this infographic was interesting.

Please include attribution to Open-Site.org with this graphic.

Ray Clendenen’s Old Testament Bibliography

You can access Ray Clendenen’s recently revised 385-page Old Testament bibliography here. Note: you have to have an account with academia.edu to access it but if you don't already have an account,signing up is free.

HT: Rusty Osborne

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.
 
Wendy J. Cotter
The Christ of the Miracle Stories: Portrait through Encounter
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7857
Reviewed by Teresa Okure

Zev Garber, ed.
The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7963
Reviewed by J. Edward Wright

Jaco Gericke
The Hebrew Bible and Philosophy of Religion
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8714
Reviewed by Steven Dunn

Christine Hayes
Introduction to the Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8717
Reviewed by James Bos

Jens Kamlah, ed.
Temple Building and Temple Cult: Architecture and Cultic Paraphernalia of Temples in the Levant (2.–1. Mill. B.C.E.). Proceedings of a Conference on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Institute of Biblical Archaeology at the University of Tübingen (28th–30th of May 2010)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8753
Reviewed by Jeffrey L. Morrow

Hanna Liss and Manfred Oeming, eds.
Literary Construction of Identity in the Ancient World: Proceedings of the Conference Literary Fiction and the Construction of Identity in Ancient Literatures: Options and Limits of Modern Literary Approaches in the Exegesis of Ancient Texts, Heidelberg, July 10–13, 2006
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7655
Reviewed by Jean-François Racine

Melvin K. H. Peters, ed.
XIV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies: Helsinki, 2010
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9117
Reviewed by Sean Adams

Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger and Elisabeth Birnbaum
Das Buch Kohelet
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8497
Reviewed by Detlef Dieckmann

Peter Spitaler, ed.
Celebrating Paul: Festschrift in Honor of Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, O.P., and Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J.
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8468
Reviewed by Nijay K. Gupta

Jonathan Stökl
Prophecy in the Ancient Near East: A Philological and Sociological Comparison
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=9153
Reviewed by J. H. Price

Jozef Tino
King and Temple in Chronicles: A Contextual Approach to Their Relations
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7467
Reviewed by César Melgar

Pastor or Professor?

David Murray lists 21 reasons to choose the pastorate over professorship here. There are some very good points made here but I am not sure that professors have to lose as much as is suggested. That being said, these thoughts are worth pondering.

Also, lest one think that David is against the teaching ministry, he identifies 10 benefits of being a professor here.

Landing the Theological Airplane

Marc Cortez uses the analogy of landing an airplane as a helpful reminder of reaching theological conclusions and taking theological stands here.

Video Sermons Infographic

Dunn on the Oral Gospel Tradition

The Eerdword blog (the blog for Eerdmans) has posted an interview with James Dunn related to the oral gospel tradition.

Free Daniel and Romans Commentaries

You can download a free 84-page PDF copy of the Daniel and Romans commentaries from the forthcoming Moody Bible Commentary (release date: Feb. 1, 2014). The Daniel commentary is written by Michael Rydelnik and Romans is written by Michael Vanlaningham. You can get the PDF here.

SBL Job Report

The Society of Biblical Literature has released its "second Jobs Report, tracking employment listing data in biblical, religious, and theological studies from 2011 through 2012. This report, which you can view and download from this link, adds to the report released in November 2012 on data from 2001 through 2010."

Teaching the Bible

The Atlantic Monthly recently posted an interview with the historian Eric Foner entitled, "You Have to Know History to Actually Teach It." At the end of the interview Foner states in response to the qiuuestion, "Do you have other specific advice for what teachers can do to more effectively instruct history students?"

"The first thing I would say is that we have to get away from the idea that any old person can teach history. A lot of the history teachers in this country are actually athletic coaches. I mention this in class, and students always say, 'Oh yeah, Coach Smith, he taught my history course.' Why? Well, Coach Smith is the football coach, and in the spring he's not doing much, and they say, 'Well, put him in the history course, he can do that.'

"They wouldn't put him in a French course, or a physics course. The number-one thing is, you have to know history to actually teach it. That seems like an obvious point, but sometimes it's ignored in schools. Even more than that, I think it's important that people who are teaching history do have training in history. A lot of times people have education degrees, which have not actually provided them with a lot of training in the subject. They know a lot about methodology. [That’s] important, but as I say, the key thing is really to love the subject, to be able to convey that to your students, and if you can do that, I think you'll be a great teacher."

I think that what Foner states about history could also be stated about teaching the Bible. To borrow and modify Foner's words, we have to get away from the idea that any old person can teach Bible. For one to teach the Bible they have to first know the Bible. I am not trying to be elitist here. Nor am I arguing that people must have Bible college and/or seminary training order to qualify. (In fact, some of these institutions major on teaching about the Bible and not the Bible itself.) I am also not arguing that one must know the Bible perfectly in order to teach it. If that were the case, then no one would qualify. What I am asserting is that not everyone is qualified to teach it. I take seriously Ephesians 4:11 that teaching is the gifting and responsibility of some and not all. My admonition is simple. If you teach the Bible then know it and if you know the Bible then teach it.

Crazy Pastoral Stunts

See this Huffington Post article entitled, "12 Craziest Stunts Pulled By Pastors." I just have to shake my head. Yes, the world may be watching but is also must be laughing. I also wonder how these stunts relate to a passage like 2 Timothy 4:5. 

G. K. Beale Books on Sale

The Westminster Bookstore is offering some good deals on G. K. Beale books. You can buy a 4-volume set consisting of Temple and the Church's Mission: Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God, We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry, The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New Challenges to Biblical Authority, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New for $64 (52% off) here. And since this is over $49 you score free shipping as well.

You can also order individual volumes at 40-50% off. Here are some options.


Temple and the Church's Mission: Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God at $15 (50% 0ff) here.

We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry at $13 (50% off) here.


The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New Challenges to Biblical Authority at $11 (50% off) here.


A New Testament Biblical Theology at $30.24 (45% off) here.

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (ed. with D. A. Carson) at $32.99 (45% off) here.

Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Exegesis and Interpretation at $10.79 (40% off) here.

Daniel Infographic

Readers might be interested in this infographic introducing the Book of Daniel.

New Website: Biblical Studies Online

The new Biblical Studies Online website looks interesting. It seems that they have a little bit of everything. Check it out here.

HT: Mark Goodacre

Cover-to-Cover Contest

I don't mention very many contests or promotions on this blog but readers might be interested in this one by Moody Publishers. Five people will win a library package—more than 80 books over the course of 2014! Not only that but everyone who enters can choose a free e-book download from four of Moody Publishers' best titles in 2013.Check it out here.