Inspired Imperfection: How the Bible's Problems Enhance Its Divine Authority


Gregory A. Boyd - 2020
    Boyd adds another counterintuitive and provocative thesis to his corpus. While conservative scholars and pastors have struggled for years to show that the Bible is without errors, Boyd considers this a fool's errand. Instead, he says, we should embrace the mistakes and contradictions in Scripture, for they show that God chose to use fallible humans to communicate timeless truths. Just as God ultimately came to save humanity in the form of a human, God chose to impart truth through the imperfect medium of human writing. Instead of the Bible's imperfections being a reason to attack its veracity, these "problems" actually support the trustworthiness of Christian Scripture. Inspired Imperfection is required reading for anyone who's questioned the Bible because of its contradictions.

The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms


Gordon J. Wenham - 2013
    To help readers get more out of the Psalms, renowned Old Testament scholar Gordon Wenham highlights its foundational place for all Christian worship and spiritual formation. This compilation of eight lectures delivered between 1997 and 2010 teaches the practices of singing, reading, and praying the Psalms, paying special attention to the Psalter's canonical structure, messianic focus, and ethical goal. In drawing on his extensive academic and scholarly experience, Wenham has crafted a guide for discovering afresh the manifold wonders of this beautiful and surprisingly complex portion of the Bible.

Reflections on the Psalms


C.S. Lewis - 1958
    He points out that the Psalms are poems, intended to be sung, not doctrinal treatises or sermons. Proceeding with his characteristic grace, he guides readers through both the form and the meaning of these beloved passages in the Bible.

The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament


Edmund P. Clowney - 1989
    Clowney takes a fascinating walk through the Old Testament, revealing Christ in places where he is usually overlooked.

The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments


Thomas R. Schreiner - 2013
    He traces the storyline of the scriptures from the standpoint of biblical theology, examining the overarching message that is conveyed throughout. Schreiner emphasizes three interrelated and unified themes that stand out in the biblical narrative: God as Lord, human beings as those who are made in God's image, and the land or place in which God's rule is exercised. The goal of God's kingdom is to see the king in his beauty and to be enraptured in his glory.

Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament


Christopher J.H. Wright - 1992
    Today the debate over who Jesus is rages on. Has the Bible bound Christians to a narrow and mistaken notion of Jesus? Should we listen to other gospels, other sayings of Jesus, that enlarge and correct a mistaken story? Is the real Jesus entangled in a web of the church's Scripture, awaiting liberation from our childhood faith so he might speak to our contemporary pluralistic world? To answer these questions we need to know what story Jesus claimed for himself. Christopher Wright is convinced that Jesus' own story is rooted in the story of Israel. In this book he traces the life of Christ as it is illuminated by the Old Testament. And he describes God's design for Israel as it is fulfilled in the story of Jesus.

Prepare Him Room: A Daily Advent Devotional


Susie Larson - 2021
    But in the hurriedness of December, sometimes we find ourselves sacrificing a sacred pace for hustle, leaving us feeling more stressed than blessed. What if you approached this Advent more open to the things of God? What if you decided to be expectant that God would move in your midst? What if you made room for the true joy found in the coming of our King? Prepare Him Room invites you to give God sacred space in your holiday season as you ponder the miracle of Christ within you and respond to His work in your life. As you begin your Christmas preparations this year, journey through Luke's account of Jesus' birth, life, death, and ultimate resurrection. God invites you to be still and let Jesus radically transform you this holy season. Let earth receive her King!

How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour


Gordon D. Fee - 2001
    Helps people read the Bible as a whole; and even when the whole is narrowed to whole books, helps readers to see how each book fits into the grand Story of the Bible.

Glory Hunger: God, the Gospel, and Our Quest for Something More


J.R. Vassar - 2015
    To a certain extent, this is natural and good, evidencing our God-given desire for meaning and purpose. However, our longing for significance can easily twist into an insatiable craving for approval, recognition, and praise--and, if left unchecked, this craving will enslave us. In Glory Hunger, pastor JR Vassar challenges Christians to reevaluate their priorities when it comes to leaving a legacy, pointing to the gospel as the key to freedom from the bondage of narcissism and insecurity. Addressing cultural obsessions such as physical beauty and the goal of cultivating a "perfect" digital reputation via social media, this book will help readers refocus on what really matters: living a life marked by the passionate pursuit of God's glory above all else.

Joy at the End of The Tether: The Inscrutable Wisdom of Ecclesiastes


Douglas Wilson - 1999
    Douglas Wilson's fresh, lucid treatment of this wonderful book, enables us to see that its message is not a confused riddle but an incisive indictment of "the wisdom of this world." We learn that what we can "modernity" is simply a term for men sinning in old ways with new toys and tools. There is truly nothing new "under the sun;" man's problems today are exactly what they have been since the Fall. And the answer to man's problem is just as old, yet forever new - "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

The Truth about Lies: The Unlikely Role of Temptation in Who You Will Become


Tim Chaddick - 2015
    But what if, in God's purposes, temptation is not merely an obstacle to overcome but an opportunity to flourish in faith?

The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2–3 and the Human Origins Debate


John H. Walton - 2010
    But for most moderns, taking it at face value is incongruous. And even for many thinking Christians today who want to take seriously the authority of Scripture, insisting on a "literal" understanding of Genesis 2–3 looks painfully like a "tear here" strip between faith and science. How can Christians of good faith move forward? Who were the historical Adam and Eve? What if we’ve been reading Genesis and its claims regarding material origins wrong? In what cultural context was this couple, this garden, this tree, this serpent portrayed? Following his groundbreaking The Lost World of Genesis One, John Walton explores the ancient Near Eastern context of Genesis 2–3, creating space for a faithful reading of Scripture along with full engagement with science for a new way forward in the human origins debate. As a bonus, an illuminating excursus by NT Wright places Adam in the implied narrative of Paul’s theology. The Lost World of Adam and Eve will be required reading for anyone seeking to understand this foundational text historically and theologically, and wondering how to view it alongside contemporary understandings of human origins.

What Do We Do with the Bible?


Richard Rohr - 2018
    . . the list goes on. Still, we believe the Bible has something important to say. How can we read it in a contemplative and intelligent way?

Iron Sharpens Iron: Leading Bible-Oriented Small Groups That Thrive


Orlando Saer - 2010
    They provide relaxed and informal settings which facilitate growth in grace and understanding. Orlando Saer provides a realistic and practical guide for anyone leading or wanting to lead such a group. This book will give you the tools you need as a leader to see your group thrive.

Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Exegesis and Interpretation


G.K. Beale - 2012
    G. K. Beale, coeditor of the bestselling "Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament," focuses on the "how to" of interpreting the New Testament use of the Old Testament, providing students and pastors with many of the insights and categories necessary for them to do their own exegesis. Brief enough to be accessible yet thorough enough to be useful, this handbook will be a trusted guide for all students of the Bible. "This handbook provides readers with a wonderful overview of key issues in and tools for the study of the use of the Old Testament in the New. I expect it to become a standard textbook for courses on the subject and the first book to which newcomers will be directed to help them navigate through these sometimes complex waters."--Roy E. Ciampa, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary