In this book about one of the practical distinctives of that work, Dever and his former student Greg Gilbert offer a theological and practical guide emphasizing the centrality of expositional preaching -- sermons intentionally rooted in a specific Bible text.Dever and Gilbert clearly explain how God exercises His divine power through the Word, making it the basis of any relationship we have with Him. Thus, preaching directly from Scripture should be at the center of church life. Toward that goal, the authors give practical advice on how pastors can decide what texts to preach on, how to prepare and outline their sermons, and how to deliver and review those presentations.Pastors will especially appreciate the book’s final section: transcripts of past sermons from Dever and Gilbert augmented by insightful conversations between them about how each sermon was planned and whether or not is was effectively implemented.

    We've all heard sermons that sound more like a lecture, filling the head but not the heart. And we've all heard sermons tailored to produce an emotional experience, filling the heart but not the head. But biblical preaching both informs minds and engages hearts--giving it the power to transform lives. By the Spirit's grace, biblical preaching brings truth home from the heart of the preacher to the heart of the hearer.Joel Beeke--a pastor and professor of preaching with over four decades of experience--explores the fundamental principles of Reformed experiential preaching, examining sermons by preachers from the past and bridging the historical gap by showing pastors what the preaching of God's life-transforming truth looks like today.

    Dr. Traina’s Methodical Bible Study was not intended to be the last word in inductive Bible study; but since its first publication in 1952, it has become a foundational text in this field. Christian colleges and seminaries have made it required reading for beginning Bible students, while many churches have used it for their lay Bible study groups. Dr. Traina summarizes its success in this comment: "If the truths of the Bible already resided in man, there would be no need for the Bible and this manual would be superfluous. But the fact is the Bible is an objective body of literature which exists because man needs to know certain truths which he himself cannot know. There are two main approaches open to the Bible student. One is deduction, which begins with generalizations and moves for their support to the particulars. By its very nature deduction tends to be subjective and prejudicial. Its opposite, induction, is objective and impartial; for it demands that one first examine the particulars of the Scriptures and that one’s conclusions be based on those particulars. Such an approach is sound because, being objective, it corresponds to the objective nature of the Scriptures." This book fills the need for a simple, practical textbook in hermeneutics. It encourages the serious Bible student to practice the best kind of hermeneutic, which allows the Word of God to speak for itself.

    DeYoung wrote to his congregation, outlining seven reasons why he preferred the English Standard Version (ESV) and proposed its adoption. His letter forms the basis of this brief booklet.Is your church considering switching translations? Would you like to learn more about the ESV? If so, this is a booklet you'll want to read.Publisher's Overview:DeYoung shares seven reasons why he encouraged his church to switch Bible translations to the ESV. A few years into his current pastoral role, Kevin DeYoung was faced with a church that needed to replace its well-worn pew Bibles. DeYoung wrote to his congregation, outlining seven reasons why he preferred the English Standard Version (ESV) and was proposing its adoption. Among his top reasons for switching to the ESV DeYoung noted its essentially literal translation philosophy, avoidance of over- and under-translation, consistency in translating important Greek and Hebrew words, and retention of important literary features. DeYoung’s letter has been newly edited and put into booklet form. Sold individually or in packs of ten, Why Our Church Switched to the ESV is an excellent tool for pastors or lay leaders seeking to learn more about the English Standard Version. ....Author's Introduction at TheGospelCoalition.org:Several years ago our church switched to the ESV. To help with this transition I wrote a lengthy paper for the congregation. Last year Crossway asked if they could turn that paper into a short booklet. You can read more about the pamphlet on the Crossway blog.The previous link explains how you can download the book for free. You can also access the PDF here.We are blessed with many fine English translations. But I have been a reader of the ESV since it first came out and I am very happy our church made the switch.

    The selections range from the terse epigrams of the Journal through the famous -Diary of the Seducer- and the -Banquet- scene, in which Soren Kierkegaard reveals his great lyric and dramatic gifts, on to the philosophical and psychological works of his maturity. These are climaxed by the beautiful and moving religious discourses which accompany them; finally, there is the biting satire of his Attack upon -Christendom.-This is emphatically not a collection of -snippets, - but the cream of Kierkegaard, each selection interesting and intelligible in itself, and all ranking among his most important work. They are so arranged as to convey an idea of his remarkable intellectual development.Contents: A comprehensive anthology from the following works: Either/Or Fear and Trembling Stages on Life's Way Works of Love Concluding Unscientific Postscript Attack upon -Christendom- The Sickness Unto Death Philosophical Fragments and others

    For frankness, directness, intensity and intimacy, they are unrivaled in all of Scripture. Somehow the psalmists seem to have anticipated all our awe, desires and frustrations. No wonder Christians have used the Psalms in worship from the earliest times to the present. Yet the Psalms cause us difficulties when we look at them closely. Their poetry is unfamiliar in form. Many images they use are foreign to us today. And the psalmists sometimes express thoughts that seem unworthy of Scripture. Tremper Longman gives us the kind of help we need to overcome the distance between the psalmists' world and ours. He explains the various kinds of psalms, the way they were used in Hebrew worship and their relationship to the rest of the Old Testament. Then he looks at how Christians can appropriate their message and insights today. Turning to the art of Old Testament poetry, he explains the use of parallelism and imagery. Step-by-step suggestions for interpretating the psalms on our own are followed by exercises for further study and reflection. Also included is a helpful guide to commentaries on the Psalms. Here is a book for all those who long to better understand these mirrors of the soul.

    As Christians, we are called to speak not only with effectiveness but also in a way that honors God and embodies Christian virtue. In An Essential Guide to Public Speaking, communications expert Quentin J. Schultze encourages readers to become servant speakers who faithfully serve their audiences as neighbors. Besides providing a biblical perspective on public speaking, this accessible book also covers such practical topics as overcoming common challenges, the importance of listening, and the art of preparing and delivering well-crafted speeches. Filled with helpful sidebars, checklists, and tips, this is a book for any person who wishes to improve his or her public speaking skills.

    The result is an all-new and updated American dictionary, the crowning achievement in the Oxford line of American dictionaries and thesauruses." "To provide unprecedented clarity, the entries are organized around core meanings, reflecting the way people think about words and eliminating the clutter and confusion of a traditional dictionary entry. Each entry plainly shows the major meaning or meanings of the word, plus any related senses, arranged in intuitive constellations of connected meanings. Definitions are supplemented by illustrative, in-context examples of actual usage." This new edition of The New Oxford American Dictionary includes a guide to the pronunciations on every page spread, a new etymology essay, completely updated and revised maps, and more than a thousand new entries, covering everything new in our language from low-carb to warblog and beyond.

    The privileged face, on the one hand, the seduction of denial or, on the other, the temptation of despair. These prayers of wisdom and prophetic power remind us that when things go wrong, when we are afraid, and when we feel prodded by those who lack voice, there is a conversation we can have--a conversation situated amid the promises and commands of God.From the Circuit Rider review: This is a beautiful collection of poetic and prophetic prayers, words to be prayed with, mulled over, pondered, savored--and challenged by. For in this little text, we glimpse a side of Brueggemann we may not have known through his rich Scripture studies alone. Here, he draws on not only his extensive years of study and teaching of the Psalms and the prophets, but his own faith immersion in the church year and in the liturgies of the church. (Click here to read the entire review.)

    Prophets, apostles and Jesus himself took up this image from David, reshaping it, developing it and applying it to their own situations and needs. Kenneth Bailey uses his celebrated insights into Middle Eastern culture and especially his familiarity with Middle Eastern shepherding customs to bring new light and life to our understanding of this central image of the Christian faith.With each of nine major Old and New Testament passages, Bailey reveals the literary artistry of the Biblical writers and summarizes their key theological features. His work is also enriched by his unique access to very early Middle Eastern commentaries on these passages, bringing fresh understanding from within the mindset of these ancient worlds. The Good Shepherd invites us to experience a rich, biblical feast of ethical, theological and artistic delights.

    They are front-loaded with all manner of vital topics--such as God's work of creating the world and mankind; what it means to be human; why our present experience is so different from what we find in Genesis 2; how we come to know God and to be sure of his love. Collins employs a literary-theological method informed by contemporary discourse analysis in order to read passages as coherent wholes. He shows how later biblical and inter-testamental writers have used Genesis 1-4 and reflects on how these chapters shape a Christian worldview today.

    But it is questionable whether it is being obeyed to a comparable degree," says Douglas Moo in the preface to his commentary on James. "All this suggests that the message of James is one that we all need to hear--and obey. No profound theologian, James' genius lied in his profound moral earnestness; in his powerfully simple call for repentance, for action, for a consistent Christian lifestyle. His words need to thrust through our theological debates, our personal preconceptions, our spiritual malaise and set us back on the road to a biblical, invigorating, transforming Christianity." The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries have long been a trusted resource for Bible study. Written by some of the world's most distinguished evangelical scholars, these twenty volumes offer clear, reliable, and relevant explanations of every book in the New Testament. These Tyndale volumes are designed to help readers understand what the Bible actually says and what it means. The introduction to each volume gives a concise but thorough description of the authorship, date, and historical background of the biblical book under consideration. The commentary itself examines the text section by section, drawing out its main themes. It also comments on individual verses and deals with problems of interpretation. The aim throughout is to get at the true meaning of the Bible and to make its message plain to readers today. The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series.

    SmithThe poems in Scriptorium are primarily concerned with questions of religious authority. The medieval scriptorium, the central image of the collection, stands for that authority but also for its subversion; it is both a place where religious ideas are codified in writing and a place where an individual scribe might, with a sly movement of the pen, express unorthodox religious thoughts and experiences. In addition to exploring the ways language is used, or abused, to claim religious authority, Scriptorium also addresses the authority of the vernacular in various time periods and places, particularly in the Appalachian slang of the author's East Tennessee upbringing. Throughout Scriptorium, the historical mingles with the personal: poems about medieval art, theology, and verse share space with poems that chronicle personal struggles with faith and doubt.

    More than moral lessons or a prophetic timetable, this commentary explores both the familiar and unfamiliar in its study of Daniel--and ultimately points us to Christ.

    A Bible in English threatened the power of the monarch and the Church. Early translators like Tyndale, whose work greatly influenced the King James, were hunted down and executed, but the demand for English Bibles continued to grow. Indeed it was the popularity of the Geneva Bible, with its anti-royalist content, that eventually forced James I to sanction his own, pro-monarchy, translation. Errors in early editions--one declared that "thou shalt commit adultery"--and Puritan preferences for the Geneva Bible initially hampered acceptance of the King James, but it went on to become the definitive English-language Bible. This fascinating history of a literary and religious masterpiece explores the forces that led to the decision to create an authorized translation, the method of translation and printing, and the central role this version of the Bible played in the development of modern English. McGrath's history of the King James Bible’s creation and influence is a worthy tribute to a great work and a joy to read.