It is the most precious book the world has ever known; yet it is undervalued. It is the most instructive book ever written; yet we can never know it well enough. This mini-guide to the Bible provides an entry point for those who know little about the ‘Book of books’; but it does so in such a way as to encourage those who know it better to explore it more fully.
Each title in this Banner Mini-Guides series will provide an outline of the Bible’s teaching on a particular subject. They will open up a key verse or portion of Scripture for study, while not neglecting other passages related to the theme under consideration, The goal is to whet your appetite and to encourage you to explore the subject in more detail: hence the suggestions for further reading which appear after the final chapter. However, the mini-guide will provide enough information to enlarge your understanding of the theme.
The mini guides are close to 100 pages in length, and retail for $8.00 Their affordable price and accessible length will enable them to be used in a wide variety of churches and with Christians with a wide variety of reading ability. It is our hope that both a fledgling believer and a seasoned saint could profit from these volumes.
All the mini guides have been arranged in a thirteen-chapter format so that they will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year, and be useful for Sunday school lessons or Bible class studies.
Life is not easy. Its many trials often leave us wondering how we can press on in a fallen world. When we receive fresh wounds before old ones heal, we often are tempted to despair. We share this experience with the ancient people of God, and we can also share in the profound comfort God offered them. In the final chapters of Isaiah, the prophet presents a significant set of encouragements for the people of God as they journey through a world filled with trials and sorrow.
In Strength for the Weary, Dr. Derek W.H. Thomas explores the final chapters of Isaiah, laying out the remarkable promises that God makes to His people. In these pages, there is consolation in the struggles of this life and encouragement for the road ahead. The God of Comfort has promised to be with His people always.
Christianity in the twenty-first century is a global phenomenon. But in the second century, its future was not at all certain.
Initially Christianity possessed little social or cultural influence and found itself fighting for its life. While apostolic tradition was emerging as a “rule of faith,” factions contested the nature of the gospel, and pagan philosophers found its claims scandalous. And while its pathway was tenuous, Christianity was forming structures of leadership and worship, and a core of apostolic texts was emerging as authoritative. But it was the challenges, obstacles, and transitions faced by Christians in the second century that, in many ways, would determine the future of the church for the next two millennia. It was a time when Christianity stood at a crossroads.
Michael Kruger’s introductory survey examines how Christianity took root in the second century, how it battled to stay true to the vision of the apostles, and how it developed in ways that would shape both the church and Western culture over the next two thousand years. Christianity at the Crossroads provides an accessible and informative look at the complex and foundational issues faced by an infant church still trying to determine its identity. The church’s response to the issues of heresy and orthodoxy, the development of the canon, and the transmission of the Christian Scriptures not only determined its survival, but determined the kind of church it would be for generations to come.
In fifteen days, Derek Thomas takes us through the Psalms of Ascent (120 to 134) with a simple aim: to present a Biblical view of discipleship. The writer suggests that taking a Psalm a day, we are provided with just over two weeks to get into spiritual shape! The idea is to read the Psalm, pray over it and take notes on it to see what God is teaching. Each chapter finishes with some questions to ‘stir the juices’ and recharge the batteries. In a world that has a penchant for ‘spirituality’, this book is very welcome. Spirituality, like everything else, needs to be evaluated in the light of the Scriptures, what God has written. This book portrays biblical spirituality as believers in the God of the Bible express it. Regarding the keeping of a journal. Donald Whitney has written, ‘A journal is one of the best places for charting your progress in the Spiritual Disciplines and for holding yourself accountable to your goals’.
For all the skepticism that abounds in our time, people still want to know what happens after death. Do you know with any certainty where your conscious, thinking, self–aware, communicative self will be? And does it matter, as long as you are in ‘heaven’? But the importance of ‘heaven’ does not consist only in it being the alternative to ‘hell’. It is not just an abstract future state into which we will slip, it is a physical reality which can give us joy and hope even now as we look toward it.
Derek Thomas examines how the Christian can and should think about heaven:
- We Die … Then what?
- Are You Ready?
- Falling Asleep
- The Trumpet Shall Sound
- The New Heaven and New Earth
- What Will Heaven be Like?
- Like the Angels
Much of what we know about theology—about justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification—comes directly from the writings of the Apostle Paul. If we removed Paul’s writings from Scripture, our understanding of these truths would be greatly impoverished. Paul’s inspired writings and the story of his life continue to be a precious gift to the church. Dr. Guy Prentiss Waters leads us on a doctrinally enriching and spiritually edifying journey from Paul’s life, conversion, and call to key themes in his theology.
One of the most controversial documents in the New Testament among modern scholarship today, 1 Timothy has been under close scrutiny from a literary and content perspective. From claims that the historic Paul did not author the letter, to the most pointed views that 1 Timothy is a misogynistic affront to women, there is no lack of excitement surrounding this ancient document. Incorporating the most recent advancements in New Testament scholarship, Jeon examines the letter from the perspective of its first-century audience. With meticulous precision, Jeon explains the rhetorical use of chiasms in the letter as the deliberate structuring device for its oral performance in the first century. Even more, Jeon shows how the use of chiasms in 1 Timothy impact its audience, shaping and informing their comprehension of the content and their intended response by the author. In refreshing fashion, Jeon’s analysis invites and enables a modern audience in the twenty-first century to inch closer to hearing the performance of 1 Timothy and experiencing the author’s presence from nearly two thousand years ago. “”In the third volume of this commentary, Jeon concludes a detailed analysis of the grammar, structure, and theology of 1 Timothy 5-6. Like its previous volumes, the careful reading by way of performative structure will benefit scholars of this remarkable letter and preachers alike.”” –Timothy Milinovich, Associate Professor of Theology, Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois Paul S. Jeon (PhD, Catholic University of America) is visiting professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary (DC), an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, and lead pastor of NewCity Church. He is also the author of several books.
1 Timothy is one of the more controversial documents in the New Testament. For years, critical scholars have rejected Pauline authorship, highlighted the apparent misogynistic quality of the text, and argued against any coherence in the letter. Jeon takes a fresh look at the letter, incorporating many recent advancements in NT scholarship. In detail he demonstrates the macro- and micro- chiastic arrangement of the entire letter and explains how the presumed first-century audience would have heard and responded to an oral performance of the letter. In doing so, Jeon offers a fresh challenge to more popular ways of (mis)understanding the letter and points a way forward for appropriating the letter both in academia and in the church.
1 Timothy is one of the more controversial documents in the New Testament. For years, critical scholars have rejected Pauline authorship, highlighted the apparent misogynistic quality of the text, and argued against any coherence in the letter. Jeon takes a fresh look at the letter, incorporating many recent advancements in NT scholarship. In detail he demonstrates the macro- and micro- chiastic arrangement of the entire letter and explains how the presumed first-century audience would have heard and responded to an oral performance of the letter. In doing so, Jeon offers a fresh challenge to more popular ways of (mis)understanding the letter and points a way forward for appropriating the letter both in academia and in the church.
Being Presbyterian involves multiple layers of identity and connection. As Christians, Presbyterians are “catholic,” sharing the common heritage of ancient Christianity with all believers, of all times, in all places. Presbyterians are Protestant by conviction sharing the rich spiritual heritage of the sixteenth century and the unique contributions of the Reformed Tradition. Historically, Presbyterians are also part of the evangelical movement, embracing the legacy of the eighteenth-century revivals (awakenings) in America and Britain. Each of these historic layers is equally important to Presbyterian identity and this book will seek to underscore that reality.
Many prominent Christians insist that the church must yield to contemporary evolutionary theory and therefore modify traditional biblical ideas about the creation of life. They argue that God used—albeit in an undetectable way—evolutionary mechanisms to produce all forms of life. Featuring two dozen highly credentialed scientists, philosophers, and theologians from Europe and North America, this volume contests this proposal, documenting evidential, logical, and theological problems with theistic evolution—making it the most comprehensive critique of theistic evolution yet produced.
Vern Poythress, one of today’s leading Reformed theologians, has made many vital contributions to evangelical scholarship―particularly a vision to glorify Christ as Lord over all areas of human life in order to redeem all realms of human thought.
In honor of his many years of faithful thinking and writing, twenty evangelical scholars have come together to produce a set of essays on topics of importance throughout his ministry: biblical exegesis, the doctrine of the Trinity, worldview, history, and ethics.
Although the doctrine of eternal generation has been affirmed by theologians of nearly every ecclesiastical tradition since the fourth century, it has fallen on hard times among evangelical theologians since the nineteenth century. The doctrine has been a structural element in two larger doctrinal complexes: Christology and the Trinity. The neglect of the doctrine of eternal generation represents a great loss for constructive evangelical Trinitarian theology.
Retrieving the doctrine of eternal generation for contemporary evangelical theology calls for a multifaceted approach. Retrieving Eternal Generation addresses (1) the hermeneutical logic and biblical bases of the doctrine of eternal generation; (2) key historical figures and moments in the development of the doctrine of eternal generation; and (3) the broad dogmatic significance of the doctrine of eternal generation for theology. The book addresses both the common modern objections to the doctrine of eternal generation and presents the productive import of the doctrine for twenty-first century evangelical theology. Contributors include Michael Allen, Lewis Ayres, D. A. Carson, Oliver Crisp, and more.
The holy has been defined existentially and sociologically, and churches too often allow their expectations regarding holiness to be prompted by existential aspirations or the social mores of the Christian community. Perhaps it is not surprising that many view holiness as accidental or expendable, even as a legalistic and conformist posture opposed to the freedom of the gospel. But sanctification is one of the gifts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, so we must think about the way in which he makes his redeemed holy as a grace.
Sanctification, the latest volume in the New Studies in Dogmatics series, patiently defines holiness in theological terms by tending to its connections with core Christian doctrines such as the character of God, the nature of creation, and the covenantal shape of life with God. It then considers the ways in which the gospel of Jesus not only prompt us to holy action but provides holiness as one of its blessings. Finally, it attends to the ways in which the gift of sanctification relates to various human instruments and means, so that we can appreciate its connection to human nature, creaturely responsibility, and the pedagogy of exemplars and of law. Sanctification offers a Christ-centered account of sanctification by viewing the doctrine within its wider canonical and creedal context, hoping to bring its distinctly Christian definition and thoroughly gracious character into greater relief.
New Studies in Dogmatics seeks to retrieve the riches of Christian doctrine for the sake of contemporary theological renewal. Following in the tradition of G. C. Berkouwer’s Studies in Dogmatics, this series will provide thoughtful, concise, and readable treatments of major theological topics, expressing the biblical, creedal, and confessional shape of Christian doctrine for a contemporary evangelical audience. The editors and contributors share a common conviction that the way forward in constructive systematic theology lies in building upon the foundations laid in the church’s historic understanding of the Word of God as professed in its creeds, councils, and confessions, and by its most trusted teachers.
The book of Ecclesiastes, part of the wisdom literature of the Bible, can be a perplexing maze to interpret and teach. Full of apparent contradictions and much-debated Hebrew, the theme focuses on the gritty realities of life ‘under the sun’. Richard Belcher approaches this book with the depth and care it needs, presenting solid guidance on the intricacies of interpretation – alongside continual comments on the practicalities of preaching.
Do I Love God? The Question That Must Be Answered is written for the purpose of helping believers in Christ, as well as those curious about God, evaluate their relationship with God. The most important priority and assurance in life is knowing God! Because God is a trinity of persons–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–who have loved one another in full and perfect relationship from eternity and is thus relational, we who are made in his image can actually know him personally and walk in loving relationship with him. God is not impersonal; he is love. Loving God is why we are created. Using the three domains of the heart–know, feel, do–the reader is encouraged to take a personal look into what he believes about Christ, how he loves others and how he seeks purity of life. Assurance of a relationship with God is gained through proper doctrinal belief, passionate spirituality, and godly obedience. These three tests of assurance are evidence that one loves God. God is a God of grace. Do I Love God? will help the reader explore the depth of God’s grace and his love!