Reformation Day Gift

As I mentioned earlier, it is Reformaiton Day.  Here is a pretty sweet gift from Ligonier.

Happy Reformation Day

Forget halloween… it’s reformation day!  If you’re living in Chile or Slovenia, feel free to take the day off (it is a national holiday).  The rest of you - go read the 95 Theses.  You can also buy the 95 Theses for .95 cents.

Bible Review: ESV Study Bible

Have you ever been in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where all you see is water everywhere you look? Have you ever driven in North Dakota where you actually see the rolling hills? In both instances, you realize that you are only able to see a fraction of the beauty that you could otherwise see from high above in the air. However, in most cases, you must be content with the fraction that you are able to see and praise God for the beauty you can behold. The same is true for the ESV Study Bible. There is so much in this study Bible that one does not know where to begin.

Contributors

With an editorial oversight committee including Wayne Grudem, J.I. Packer, and Thomas Schreiner, you know that you are getting quality study notes. The study note contributors come from institutions such as Union Theological College in Belfast, Regent College, Covenant Theological Seminary, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Westminster Seminary California.

In addition to the editors and the theological institutions, you have theologians like John Polhill, Ray Van Neste, Paul D. Wegner, and Gordon J. Wenham among those contributing to the study notes. As if these study notes were not enough, there are forty-four articles written by even more scholars that appear after the Bible itself. Some of the writers of these articles include Gregg R. Allison, Daniel R. Heimbach, Mark Dever, Darrell L. Bock, and Ron Rhodes.

Contents

A quick perusal of the table of contents pages shows how in depth this study Bible really is. The Old Testament begins with “The Theology of…” and then gives a timeline of the OT. Before each genre found in the OT, there is an introduction that explains how to read the next portion of scripture along with various themes found therein.

In between the testaments, there is a rather lengthy (18 pages) “Background to the New Testament.” The New Testament is introduced with the theology and the timeline of found in the Old Testament. Also included, is a great article on the date of the crucifixion of Christ. As before the various genres in the Old Testament, there is an introduction to the reading of the gospels and Acts and the Epistles. The Scriptures themselves are in a single column with a center-column cross-reference system. The single column is offset by the double column study notes at the bottom of each page.

Some of the articles after the text of the Bible itself include Biblical ethics, Biblical doctrine, the Bible and world religions, archaeology and the Bible, and the reliability of the Bible manuscripts. The color maps throughout the Bible are a nice added touch usually reserved for what is commonly called “The Book of Maps” at the end of the Bible. Finally, the concordance has been expanded for this study Bible.

Critique

Alright, with all that is right with this study Bible, there has to be something wrong, right? While I am sure there are more notable reviewers who have criticized various components of the ESV Study Bible, this particular reviewer is not one of them. However, I did notice a couple of things.

First, with over 2,750 pages, this Bible is best used at your desk. It is hardly a Bible that can be carried everywhere you go as some do with other study Bibles. Second, I would have liked to have seen an introduction to reading apocalyptic literature especially with the book of Revelation since this book has been at the center of much debate and discussion in recent decades.

Recommendation

The love affair with the ESV will not only continue, but, I believe, will escalate with the publication of this study Bible which has become (almost by default and certainly by design) the premier study Bible available to Christians today. A tip of the cap goes to Justin Taylor (project director and managing editor) and Lane T. Dennis (executive editor) for their work in producing this magnificent Bible.

I think it goes without saying that I would recommend this resource to any Christian unhesitatingly. The ESV Study Bible takes a backseat to no other study Bible available on the market. However, I would not recommend this Bible as an everyday Bible. What I mean is that when you are reading the Bible for daily devotion and personal edification the study notes end up becoming more of a hindrance than a help. It is too big to carry with you to church or in the car or to the coffee shop on a regular basis.  I think it would be best suited as a desk reference Bible more than a “nightstand” Bible.

What more can be said than already has been said? I would like to submit that by reading through this particular study Bible a Christian would receive an introduction to the seminary educations found in the institutions represented by those who contributed.

I Feel the Need for Speed

At the advice of my pal Phil Gons, I have installed WP Super Cache at GTS. Hope that will speed things up a bit around here.

Seminary’s Un-mined Treasure Part II: It’s Students

About a month ago, Kari wrote a post talking about the need to mine the treasure that is the faculty at your seminary.  I have also written on this topic and shared tips on how to mine this treasure.  Kari’s post actually got me to thinking in a different direction:  our fellow students are our colleagues in both school and ministry and therefore, we should look to them as well as the professors.

I have just recently come out of a season of much change and trouble.  I have learned must about who I am in Christ and how much I still have to grow, but I have also learned that another resource we as seminary students have at our disposal is one another.

Personal Learnings

To give some quick personal background since my last post here at GtS, my family has moved (in the middle of the semester), I started elementary greek in seminary, I have basically gone head first into a children’s ministry with not much prior experience, and have had to deal with some major family issues with parents and such.  With that as the background of the past month and a half, I have come to realize that I need to prioritize all that I am doing and have actually began the process of shedding some of my smaller responsibilities.  I have also learned to rely upon my fellow students for advice, encouragement, and direction.

To Know or Not to Know

It is so easy to go through seminary and never get to know your fellow students.  I cannot count the number of times I have run into someone off campus and had no idea what there name was or how I knew them.  Most of the time I would eventually figure out that I had a class with the person but still had no idea who they were.

We are quick to say a meaningless “hello” or “How are you doing?” where we really do not expect an answer.  I think it would be worth our while to get to know at least one new person in a class each semester.  Perhaps it could be someone you sit next to or someone who you got notes from or it could just be a guy you have had a couple of other classes with.  In any case, taking them to coffee or lunch just to hang out and get to know them better will do wonders for you and for them.

Praying

Another area to get to know people is asking them how you can pray for them.  Inevitably, they will have a prayer concern that you can lift up on their behalf to God.  There have been a couple of guys that I have been moved by the Spirit to pray for on my campus.  They were usually someone sitting next to me in the cafe or in the study lounge of which I had never met prior to that day. In all cases, whenever I see these people on campus, I remember that I prayed for that person and I say another quick “generic” prayer for them.

Selfishly, I want as many people praying for me as possible.  Your fellow students cannot pray specifically for you if you do not make your need known.  Knowing that I have had numerous people praying for me in a specific manner (including the writers here at GtS!) has been a great ministry to my soul.  There were a few days that knowing others were praying for me motivated me to get out of bed or go to class or just keep plugging away despite spiritual, emotional and physical exhaustion.  Just having someone ask me how I was doing meant the world to me.

Personal Exhortation

I do not write the things I write because I am smarter than everybody else nor do I have it all figured out.  More often than not, I am sharing what I have learned through my personal experiences-most of the time through failing.  Many seminary students want to “network” with the professors because they are the men of influence here and now.  I would exhort everyone to “network” and focus on the student body.  They are the future of your denomination whether they are pastors, music leaders, professors, or denominational leaders.

Laying a foundation with your fellow students and ministers of the gospel today through prayer and fellowship will be huge in the years to come.  I have already learned that from experience this semester.  I can only imagine how this will impact any future ministry.

Peering Into the Urban Slums

This is incredible.  I saw this on the Culture Making blog today.  Here’s how they describe the site: “Norwegian photojournalist Jonas Bendiksen has spent a good deal of time in Indian, Kenyan, Indonesian, and Venezuelan slums, and his website, The Places We Live, features dazzling 360-degree photos of homes and shanties, navigable and altogether immersive, along with audio recordings made by the inhabitants. Prepare yourself to gape, gasp, laugh, cry, and experience every emotion in between.”

If you’re not able to travel to a developing country and witness the urban slums firsthand, you can’t do much better than this.  The tug on your heart is powerful, and it gives renewed meaning both to the call of Jesus to serve those who are sick, in need of food and clothing (Matt. 25:31-46), and to James’ definition of religion (James 1:27).  1,000,000,000 (yes, that’s billion) of your neighbors on this earth live in urban slums.  Be sure to check out the places they live.

RSS Catch-up

Still catching up on old posts in my RSS feed reader. Was struck, as usual, by the profound words of Shelby who asks, “Is following Jesus enough?”

In all things be thankful

“… give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:18)

Today, as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow, the will of God is for us to be thankful in all things . To specifically give thanks freely to God. Thanking Him for pain that proves we are alive, for His discipline which shows He cares as a Father, for happy times that are unearned, for frustrations and for triumphs. For a million seemingly little things. Can you join with me in doing today what — if we have been captivated by Jesus — we will love doing forever?

Our destiny is to say these small words forever

Speaking of giving thanks, this reminder from Of First Importance is worth re-posting:

“I have often wondered, perhaps in part simply because the term is so rarely used today, what it might mean to ‘glorify’ God forever. It will undoubtedly mean a great many things, but one of them surely must be that we will continually thank him.

We will thank him for his graciousness and goodness to us, and for inviting us into conversation. Along this line, I would think that we anticipate our ‘chief and highest end’ every time we behold something beautiful and find that after we have exclaimed, ‘Ah, how wonderful!’ we are almost compelled to say ‘Thank you!’

Our destiny is to say these small words forever and so experience the gratitude that is the perfection of happiness.”

—Craig M. Gay, Dialogue, Catalogue & Monologue (Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 2008), 48-49.

How simple, true, and profound.

Seeing that giving thanks will be our forever practice and joy for all eternity, how do we practically do that, on a day to day basis here and now?

(Please chime in on this…)

A few thoughts on cultivating thankfulness as a lifestyle:

• Sit down and think . We will not be grateful automatically (this depravity thing holds us back from looking outside ourselves).
  • Is there anything “big” that I’m thankful for?
  • Anything relatively “small”?
  • How do those “small” things add up — a tall stack of God’s grace and undeserved kindness.
• Ask someone else, “What are you thankful for?”
  • Gratitude and joy are contagious (as are negativity and self-absorption).
• Tell God what you are thankful for.
  • Go ahead, He’s listening! (Eph. 3:12)
• Preach the Gospel to yourself every day.
  • Can you articulate the grace of God in Christ, who is the substitution for Your sins and the only way to God?
  • We never outgrow our need for the Gospel. (It is for us Christians to.)
• Tell someone why you are thankful for them .
  • We are each blind to our own fruit and daily need encouragement.
  • A hand-written note is a small item that can sustain a burdened soul through trying times. Take the time to show them you care, because you do. (see here )
  • God often puts different people on your heart to pray for and encourage - directly.
  • Call, write, even text others to affirm their being created in God’s image.
  • They might choose to return the favor, but who cares if they don’t. Be a free-grace-giver.
• Why are you/me/we generally un-thankful? (if you are not bent towards joy and gratitude, as a lifestyle or at this particular moment)
  • Remember that all problems are Gospel problems. They all stem from a lack of proper orientation to the Gospel. In other words, the gospel transforms our hearts, our thinking and our approach to absolutely everything.
• Repeat…

Any to add?

Where’s Ryan, redux

B/c I covered up his post with another, it’s worth re-answering the question, “Where’s Ryan?”

(Or, for the old faithful, “Where is Just A Guy?”)

Our faithful founder is alive and well and living near Canada

How I prepare to preach

C.J. Mahaney asks Mark Dever and John Piper what they do and how they would counsel others in sermon preparation. (It looks like the “how to” approach is not specifically what they emphasize in mentoring others. Thank God for good mentors like these men.)

[HT: JT]

Next Page »