McKnight on Jesus Studies

See this interesting article by Scot McKnight on historical Jesus studies in Christianity Today here. Make sure that you also check out the linked responses of N. T. Wright here, Craig Keener here, and Darrell Bock here.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews that may be of interest from a Bible Exposition perspective include:

Michael Bachmann
Anti-Judaism in Galatians? Exegetical Studies on a Polemical Letter and on Paul's Theology
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7235
Reviewed by Kevin McCruden

Michael F. Bird
Are You the One Who Is to Come? The Historical Jesus and the Messianic Question
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7239
Reviewed by Christopher W. Skinner

Mark J. Boda
A Severe Mercy: Sin and Its Remedy in the Old Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7269
Reviewed by Erhard S. Gerstenberger

Walter Brueggemann
Divine Presence amid Violence: Contextualizing the Book of Joshua
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7156
Reviewed by Gerrie Snyman

R. Crumb
The Book of Genesis Illustrated
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7316
Reviewed by David Petersen

Robert Daly, ed.
Apocalyptic Thought in Early Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7237
Reviewed by Martin Karrer

W. Edward Glenny
Finding Meaning in the Text: Translation Technique and Theology in the Septuagint of Amos
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7312
Reviewed by Francis Dalrymple-Hamilton

T. Muraoka
A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7273
Reviewed by Frederick Danker

James Reitman
Unlocking Wisdom: Forming Agents of God in the House of Mourning
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6823
Reviewed by Craig G. Bartholomew

Akira Satake
Die Offenbarung des Johannes: Redaktionell bearbeitet von Thomas Witulski
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7162
Reviewed by Russell Morton

Two Testaments, One Bible

I recently received the third edition of David Baker's Two Testaments, One Bible: The Theological Relationship Between the Testaments in the mail courtesy of the publisher InterVarsity. For readers unfamiliar with the this work, or previous editions, here is the publisher's description.

Do we need the Old Testament today? Is this collection of ancient writings still relevant in our postmodern and increasingly post-literary world? Isn't the New Testament a sufficient basis for the Christian faith? What does the Old Testament God of power and glory have to do with the New Testament God of love whom Jesus calls 'Father'? Are these two very different Testaments really one Bible?

In this thoroughly revised, updated and expanded edition of Two Testaments, One Bible, David L. Baker investigates the theological basis for the continued acceptance of the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, through a study of its relationship to the New Testament. He introduces the main issues, surveys the history of interpretation, and critically examines four major approaches. He then considers four key themes, which provide a framework for Christian interpretation of two Testaments in the context of one Bible: ‘typology,’ ‘promise and fulfilment,’ ‘continuity and discontinuity,’ and ‘covenant.’ He completes his study with a summary of the main conclusions and reflection on their implications for the use of the Bible today.

Table of Contents:

Preface
Abbreviations

PART 1: THE PROBLEM

1 Biblical Foundations
2 History of Biblical Interpretation

PART 2: FOUR MODERN SOLUTIONS

3 The New Testament as the Essential Bible
4 The Two Testaments as Equally Christian Scripture
5 The Old Testament as the Essential Bible
6 The Two Testaments as One Salvation History

PART 3: FOUR KEY THEMES

7 Typology
8 Promise and Fulfillment
9 Continuity and Discontinuity
10 Covenant

PART 4: CONCLUSION

11 The Theological Relationship between the Testaments

Bibliography
Index of Bible references
Index of authors
Index of subjects

Peter Flint's Dead Sea Scrolls Website

Peter Flint, the Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, has a nice website at deadseascrolls.org. I am not sure how long this site has been around but it is worth checking out.

Bibliotheca Sacra 1-10

Rob Bradshaw at BiblicalStudies.org.uk has announced that the first ten volumes of Bibliotheca Sacra are now available online. See here.

Online Bible Index for the Church Fathers

This looks to be a helpful resource for finding quotations on the Church Fathers.

HT: Mark Hoffman

James VanderKam's Dead Sea Scrolls Today

Those interested in a pretty good introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls might want to consider James Vanderkam's book Dead Sea Scrolls Today. Although some might consider it a little dated (1994), it is still worth looking at and I noticed that Westminster Bookstore has it as a 50% off clearance special ($9.50) here. You can buy a cheaper used copy at Amazon, but Westminster offers a better new price.

Mounce on Titus 1:6

See Bill Mounce's post on Titus 1:6. You might also want to access his position paper on eldership here.

While we are on the issue of the Pastorals some might be interested to know that Logos Bible software is currently offering I. Howard Marshall's ICC commentary at 75% off as part of their March Madness promotion (see here).

Diligent Preparation for Preaching

I was recently flipping through an older book by Andrew Blackwood entitled Preaching from Samuel. I was stunned and convicted to read the following paragraph.

"In order to master the twin books of Samuel the parish minister needs to map out a fairly extensive course of study at home. Ideally he would begin with the original Hebrew, and then work slowly. The present writer has done that in many parts of the twofold record. At one time he went rapidly through First Samuel in the Hebrew and the Greek, the Latin and the French, as well as the German. In the coming pages he will refer mainly to the American Revised Version, partly because of the division into paragraphs. He regrets that he has not had access to the forthcoming revision by present-day American scholars. That work should prove worthy of note for accuracy of translation and beauty of English prose" (Andrew Blackwood, Preaching from Samuel [New York: Abingdon, 1946], 13).

I wonder how many of us pursue our study of a text that we will be preaching with the same kind of diligence.

He is Risen!

Here is an empty post in remembrance of an empty tomb.

Messiah in the Temple Project

Leen Ritmeyer has posted here on the progress being made on the Messiah in the Temple project.

The Guidance of the Spirit

"The first Christians were most conscious of the guidance of the Holy Spirit when they met for common worship and common deliberation. No one who has experienced this unifying process can remain in doubt about the power of the Holy Spirit. So remarkable can the agreement of the Christian fellowship be that at a famous church meeting at Jerusalem [Acts 15:28] a momentous decision was recorded in these words: "it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.""

G. B. Caird, The Truth of the Gospel (London: Oxford University Press, 1950), 107.

Another Article on the Last Supper and Passover

I suppose it is inevitable this time of year, but Slate has an article asking whether the Last Supper was a Passover. See this previous post for a previous article that I referenced.

Ben Witherington on the Dogs of Philippians 3:2

See Ben Witherington's post on the dogs of Philippians 3:2 here.

Concerns Over Christian Seders

Interesting article in the Houston Chronicle entitled "Christian marking of Passover concerns some Jews."

The Archaeology of Christianity

Some might be interested in this slideshow on the archaeology of Christianity here.

Article on the Rise of Pentecostalism

See this article related to a Barna survey detailing the rise of Pentecostalism. Here are few bits from the article.

• 29 percent of those aged 26 to 44 are most likely to claim the Holy Spirit-filled identity compared to other age groups
• 26 percent of Protestants and 20 percent of Catholics identify as part of the charismatic or Pentecostal segment
• 56 percent of those aged 18 to 25 believe that the gifts, including speaking in tongues and healing, are active and valid today. But only7 percent in this group say they had ever spoken in tongues.
• 68 percent of those aged 18 to 25 believe that the third person of the Trinity is just “a symbol of God’s power or presence.”
• Young Charismatics are less likely to adopt their beliefs and practices based on deep, considered theological reflection.

Newsweek Article on Heaven

Some might be interested in this article in Newsweek on heaven.

The Pastor's Worst Enemy

See David Murray's post on the pastor's worst enemy.

Köstenberger on Timothy and Titus as Apostolic Delegates

Andreas Köstenberger has a post and link here on Timothy and Titus as apostolic delegates.

T. C. Smith on Acts 15

"Chapter 15 is one of the most important chapters in the book of Acts. Obviously, the purpose if Luke is to explain to Theophilus how the Gentiles came to recognized as the worthy acceptance by the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. In less than 700 words the author shows us how and agreement was reached by the church in Jerusalem that would be acceptable to the ultra-Judaistic party and the more liberal wing of the church in Antioch. We would like to know more about the events leading up to the council and the details about the meeting itself, yet in his concise report Luke has given us a masterful presentation."

T. C. Smith, "Acts," in The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 10: Acts-1 Corinthians, ed. Clifton J. Allen (Nashville: Broadman,1979), 90.

Extra-Biblical Evidence for a Millennial Kingdom

"The idea of a millennial kingdom is attested in at least three Jewish apocalyptic works basically contemporaneous with the New Testament:1 Enoch 93:3-17 (ca. 167 B.C.); 7:26-44/12:31-34 (ca. A.D. 90); and 4 Ezra2 Baruch 29:3-30:1/40:1-4/72:2-74:3 (ca. A.D. 100). Each of these writings envisions the following scenario: this age-temporary messianic kingdom-eternal age to come/kingdom of God. In each instance, the Messiah will come and form a transitional kingdom between this age and the age to come. Some ancient rabbis held to the same belief (Akiba, ca. A.D. 135; Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, ca. A.D. 90; Jehoshua, ca. A.D. 90)."

J. Daniel Hays, J. Scott Duvall, C. Marvin Pate, Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy and End Times (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 287.

Interview with David Allen on Text-Driven Preaching

Yesterday I introduced a forthcoming volume on expository preaching entitled Text-Driven Preaching. Today I have an interview with David Allen, one of the editors of the book, and also a table of contents for the book.

David Allen is the Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and an outstanding preacher in his own right.

-->

Question: How did Text-Driven Preaching come about?

The idea for the book came about as a result of the preaching lectures I delivered at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in January of 2004. Dr. David Black and I were talking and he suggested the possibility. I immediately agreed and we began to work on the project from there. Originally, Dr. Black and I had planned to serve as co-editors of the book, but due to pressing engagements, he had to drop out. Drs. Akin and Matthews and I teamed up to serve as co-editors.

Question: Why did you write Text-Driven Preaching?

We wrote the book because we see a dearth of genuine expository preaching in many pulpits today. Even among those who do or who attempt to do exposition, many do not know how best to go about the task. We wanted to write a book that would give something of the history, methodology and practice of expository preaching that would be practical for all interested pastors and students.

Question: What is the main thesis of the book?

The main thesis of the book is that all genuine preaching should be text-driven preaching for theological reasons. The Bible is the Word of God. We believe in verbal-plenary inspiration. Consequently, what better to preach on to the people in our churches than the very words of God himself? We believe that all sermons should stay true to the structure, the substance and the spirit of the text of Scripture. Topical preaching fails to do this. We do not believe that expository preaching confines the preacher to a strait-jacket of three points and a poem. Sermons may appear in a variety of forms, as long as they clearly expound the meaning of the text.

Question: Who should read this book?

We would hope every pastor and student who plans to preach or teach the Bible would read it.

Question: What do you hope to accomplish through this book?

We hope to foster genuine biblical preaching that handles the text accurately and creatively at the same time. We hope to encourage pastors to consider preaching through books of the Bible as a part of their preaching ministry. We hope to encourage pastors out there on the front lines to realize that the best thing they can do for their people in the long run is to feed them the Word of God week by week. Nothing short of that will build strong disciples and great churches. Here is the

Table of Contents:

Introduction – David L. Allen

Part I
1. Ancient Rhetoric, A Model for Text-driven Preachers – Paige Patterson
2. A History of Text-driven Preaching – Jim Shaddix
3. The Secret of Preaching with Power – Bill Bennett
4. The Disciplines of a Text-driven Preacher – Ned Matthews

Part II
5. Preparing a Text-driven Sermon – David L. Allen
6. Exegesis for the Text-driven Sermon – David Alan Black
7. Biblical Genres and the Text-driven Sermon – Robert Vogel
8. Biblical Theology and Preaching – James M. Hamilton Jr.
9. Communication Theory and Text-driven Preaching – Hershael W. York
10. Delivering a Text-driven Sermon – Adam B. Dooley and Jerry Vines
11. Applying a Text-driven Sermon – Daniel L. Akin

Conclusion – Ned L. Mathews

Text-Driven Preaching

    
Text-Driven Preaching: God's Word at the Heart of Every Sermon is a forthcoming volume (June 2010) devoted to expository preaching. Here is the publishers description,

Text-Driven Preaching features essays by Daniel L. Akin, Paige Patterson, David Alan Black, Jerry Vines, Hershael York, David L. Allen, Bill Bennett, Ned L. Mathews, Robert Vogel, and Jim Shaddix urging pastors to commit to presenting true expository preaching from the pulpit. Concerned over what some church leaders even consider to be expository preaching today, they agree, “This book rests firmly on the biblical and theological foundation for exposition: God has spoken.”Capturing the urgency and spirit of these writings in the book’s preface, co-editor Allen notes, “The church today is anemic spiritually for many reasons, but one of the major reasons has to be the loss of biblical content in so much of contemporary preaching. Pop psychology substitutes for the Word of God . . . in the headlong rush to be relevant, People magazine and popular television shows have replaced Scripture as sermonic resources.”

Tomorrow I will post an interview with David Allen, one of the editors of Text-Driven Preaching.
   

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre Online

Go here to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre online. Not as good as being in Jerusalem but pretty nifty.


HT: Trevin Wax