Video Teaching on Nehemiah and Exodus

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Jeremy Rasnic has now posted the video of two January Bible Studies I have done. All seven sessions of a study through Nehemiah a few years ago (at FBC Columbus, MS) is available and the first and last sessions of a study through Exodus done this past January at Poplar Heights Baptist Church in Jackson, TN is available. Jeremy, whose business did the work of recording, lighting and editing, is selling the complete Exodus study.

Nehemiah is, I believe, the account of a great reformation among the people of God as they returned to the word of God. In the seventh Exodus session I was particularly struck with Moses and Aaron as positive and negative examples of pastoral ministry in and around the golden calf incident. Perhaps some of these will be useful to you.

The Spy Who Came in From the Sea

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The Spy Who Came in From the Sea, by Peggy Nolan

(Pineapple Press, 1999), pb., 129 pp.

Ages 8+

This book was a disappointment.It is based on a great idea but fails to deliver in several ways.

First, the idea and setting of the book is great. I did not previously know that during World War II German spies had been dropped off by U-boats on American beaches in New York and Florida for sabotage missions (you can see an official description of this story at the FBI site). This book is built around the landing of one of the spies in Florida.The story is fictional but incorporates some of the facts of the real case.In the story a boy happens to see the spy come ashore and tries to alert authorities.However, due to his tendency to exaggerate no one believes him, except two friends.He and these friends then do their sleuthing alone, risking danger and eventually expose the spy and avert real danger.This is great stuff for story-telling and fun history to learn about.

However, as I noted above, the book itself was disappointing.The writing is only fair.With this sort of material I hoped for a powerhouse!Instead this book limps along.But it is the overall values of the story that made it not a fit for us.Since we found the book in the Veritas Press catalogue we had certain expectations of the book.However, my boys readily picked up that this book did not represent “us” in ways that other books that we have read do.In general this book had the feel of a typical kids’ book one might find today. The book was filled with language we do not approve of- not outright profanity, but “gosh,” “darn,’ and words like that. The mother is quite flighty and there is a lack of strong adult characters.The main character is a real braggart and while this is eventually shown to be negative, it was more than we would want.Then the dating scene is more prominent in this book than in our family.The 14-year-old main character is pursuing girl friends, dances, and his first kiss.He is proud to have reserved his first kiss for someone special.That is alien to my boys for whom dating is a non-issue, kissing is something married people do, etc.Now, those reading this review may think we are the weird ones, and that is fine. My aim is for you to know where this book is coming from.

There are many better books on the World War II era and we would not particularly recommend this one.

It Began with a Parachute

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It Began With a Parachute, by William R. Rang
(Inheritance Publications, 2000), pb., 93 pp.
Ages 6+

This story takes place in occupied Holland during World War II. Twelve year old Bert takes it upon himself to help an Allied airman who is shot down near his town and in the process discovers that his parents are deeply involved in the Dutch resistance. This is a well told story of courage, suffering, perseverance, hope and faith.

While this book is not as nuanced or rich as one of Douglas Bond’s it has many of the basic staple characteristics, including a strong father who leads his family through difficult times showing how to stand for and risk oneself for what is right. The interaction of the main family, their connection to other involved families and the contrast with the traitors provides good pictures as you read to your children. Also, the faith of the main characters is no mere side issue but an essential element of life.

This book also provides a compelling picture of what it was like to live under Nazi occupation, with the intimidation, the shortages and the yearning for deliverance. It also shows how people had to make difficult choices between capitulating, doing nothing or taking the enormous risk of opposing the evil around them.

We all enjoyed this book and commend it to you.

Summer Reading, History

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In a previous post I commended the Greek New Testament as part of one’s summer reading. Here I want to commend the reading of history. Reading history has so many benefits for people in general and for pastors in particular. It is useful to broaden our horizons and our awareness of the story of humanity. It is also helpful to understand what has gone on before us and around us as we seek to understand and interpret our own existence. In order to remain brief, I will illustrate from two books in my recent reading.

John S. D. Eisenhower’s General Ike: A Personal Reminiscence was a fun book to me. The author is the son of the famous general and U.S. President and provides some glimpses of his father’s life from a son’s perspective. Let me highlight just two illustrations which arose in my mind from this book. First, it was interesting to hear of how a young Ike was mentored by Gen. Fox Conner in Panama after WWI. These were uneventful years compared to what was to come. However, Ike himself would later say these were his formative years as an older officer took the time to invest in him, encourage him in reading the classics, and to deepen his mind. Today few of us know about Gen. Conner, but he shaped the key figure in the European theatre of WWII and an American President. Regardless of what you think of Eisenhower, Conner had a significant impact on history by investing in a younger man. Isn’t this the point of discipleship? I was encouraged to invest in the young men around men (not least my own sons).Second, it was fascinating to learn how devastated Ike was when the plans to invade Europe in 1942 were scuttled. We know D-Day eventually occurred in June 1944, but Ike and Gen. George Marshall worked hard on plans for an invasion in 1942 and lobbied strenuously for this plan. When it was scuttled, Ike wrote that this was the darkest day of his life. His son, looking back, noticed how this decision actually catapulted his father’s career. Ike would not have been the Allied (or even US) commander in the 1942 invasion. However, by the time 1944 rolled around President Roosevelt felt he could not spare Gen. Marshall in Washington so Ike was given the lead command. So, what he thought was his darkest day was actually a blessing, setting in motion opportunities he had not dreamed of. He had said at one point he would be stuck at desk jobs with no advancement.

Now again, whatever you think of Eisenhower, the illustration is clear. The book did not seek to make this point, but God has told us how life works- whether other people recognize it or not! Often times what we interpret as a setback God will use as a blessing.

Lastly, I have only begun reading Barry Strauss’ new book, The Spartacus War, but the opening is an example of brilliant writing. After reading the first page of the “Introduction” I sat the book down and said to myself, “That’s good writing!” Click here and you can read that first page. Reading good writing is not only enjoyable but it also helps teach you to communicate well. As preachers we need to read good writing to enhance our own ability to communicate this great truth as clearly and faithfully as possible.

These are just a couple of examples from my own experience of benefiting from reading history. I hope you will benefit as well.

Self-reliant, High-Pressure Evangelism Illustrated

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If you have read Mark Dever’s good little book on evangelism, then you have seen an excerpt from C. S. Lovett’s Evangelism Made Easy used to illustrate the overly pragmatic approach to evangelism which relies on psychological pressure and aims simply at “decisions.” Now Tim Challies has more quotes along with the illustrations from Lovett’s book. You can’t spoof stuff like this! Check this out and be reminded why our thoughts of evangelism have been skewed so.

May this urge us on in proper evangelism, where we “renounce disgraceful and underhanded ways, … refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Cor 4:2-3).

BibleArc.com

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As part of my class on Paul’s letters one of the daily assignments always is to trace the argument of a paragraph in Paul’s letters.Tom Schreiner has a helpful discussion of this in his little book Interpreting the Pauline Epistles, and some readers may have heard John Piper talk about “arcing.”

I have just recently learned about a new website devoted to helping people learn this method of “arcing,” which is essentially diagramming at a paragraph level.It is a graphic portrayal of the logical connections between the different assertions in a text.This is a very helpful tool in paying close attention to the text and seeking to understand the authors intended flow of thought.

This site, BibleArc.com, provides video tutorials on this method.If you have some familiarity with the approach I would recommend you go straight to the examples page where you can see someone walk through a text applying the method.Here you can also see how the software at the site works.I was really impressed.

This is a very helpful tool, which will take time but will render rich rewards.

Lastly, here is John Piper discussing why this approach is valuable:

Summer Reading, Greek

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Greek students often ask what they can do over the summer to maintain the Greek they have learned and to really begin to use it. Pastors who have been out of school for a while often ask about tools to help revive their Greek skills. For both groups, and anyone interested in reading the Greek New Testament, I heartily recommend The UBS Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition.

This edition makes reading the Greek New Testament very accessible. I heartily commend it. It is a good way to make Greek a part of your summer reading.

Theology in Verse

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My friend Justin Wainscott has started a blog called, Theology in Verse and I encourage you to check it out.He has posted on a number of topics, quite often posting poems and hymns several of them his own.He recently posted his hymn, Jesus Christ our Priestly Savior, which he wrote after hearing D. A. Carson, at the Ryan Center Conference, comment on the lack of good hymns about the priestly work of Christ.I also like his “How Slow and Dull of Heart We Are.”

Good stuff!

Missions with Children

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This past Sunday night the children at our church shared with the rest of the congregation what they have been learning on Sunday nights over the last year. On Sunday nights the adults have a prayer meeting. The children then also pray, work on scripture memory and are systematically working through the countries of the world, learning where they are, what life is like there (particularly access to the gospel) and how they can pray for each nation. Over this past year they covered Africa and learned all the countries of Africa using some catchy songs arranged by region. The children sang these songs and college students who worked with the children read of key prayer requests for each region. They also sang a portion of Psalm 119 which they had learned. We concluded by praying for some of those requests.

It was a moving evening hearing all they had learned and being reminded of the needs in other places. To me the most moving part was hearing the children sing, “How Sweet and Awful.” My wife, who organizes our children’s ministry, taught them this powerful hymn and it summarizes well the missions emphasis. One of the parents caught a portion of the singing on video (I could not figure out how to embed it here).

Here are the words of the hymn:
How sweet and awful is the place
With Christ within the doors,
While everlasting love displays
The choicest of her stores.

While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to admire the feast,
Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
“Lord, why was I a guest?”
“Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there’s room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?”
‘Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly drew us in;
Else we had still refused to taste,
And perished in our sin.
Pity the nations, O our God,
Constrain the earth to come;
Send Thy victorious Word abroad,
And bring the strangers home.
We long to see Thy churches full,
That all the chosen race
May, with one voice and heart and soul,
Sing Thy redeeming grace
– Isaac Watts
(Note: All these photos and the videos were taken by Sarah Ellsworth)

Humility & Hope in Psalm 49

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As part of the Psalms Project We recently had the privilege of hosting Michael Morgan as he displayed a small portion of his incredible, personal collection of old and rare Bibles and psalters.

One of the rare psalters was:
William Tattersall’s collection, A Metrical Paraphrase of the Psalms, Originally Written by the Rev. James Merrick, Divided into Stanzas and Adapted to the Purposes of Public and Private Devotion (London: Thomas Paine, 1789).

Apparently this one never made it into common use and is recognized as not being very good for singing. I don’t know anything about that conclusion, but I was gripped by the rendering of Psalm 49, particularly these two verses:

10. Yet Man, with erring pride elate,
And high in pow’r, in honour great,
Shares with the Brute an equal doom,
And sleeps forgotten in the tomb.

15. My Soul, amidst your happy train,
The wish’d redemption shall obtain,
By God adopted, Death shall brave,
And mock the disappointed Grave.

I need to be reminded of my smallness and mortality so as to be delivered from pride and to be reminded of the hope of the gospel so as to be delivered from despair. This Psalm accomplishes these purposes well.