Buzzard Blog

ESV Study Bible...It's Coming Soon

2 Lines for Falling Asleep & Waking Up

The past two days I've been helped by meditating on Psalm 46. I've been repeating to myself the two lines that repeat in the psalm (verse 7 & 11):

The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Last week my son's anesthesiologist told me that the way someone falls asleep under anesthesia is generally the way someone wakes up from anesthesia. So, several months ago when my son went under anesthesia for a CT scan, that day's anesthesiologist wanted to move things along quickly. He gave my son an intense dosage of anesthetic that knocked him out quickly...45 seconds tops, but he went down kicking and screaming. An hour later, Cru woke from the anesthesia in the same spirit--troubled and screaming.

This last Thursday for my son's MRI, we dealt with a different anesthesiologist who moved things along more slowly. He gave my son a less intense dosage of anesthesia. It took about 3 or 4 minutes for my son to konk out. This time there was no kicking or screaming, just a gentle drifting off to sleep. And, sure enough, my son came out of the anesthesia in the same fashion--a slow, gentle waking up.

This got me to thinking: is this how normal sleep works? When I fall asleep troubled do I tend to wake up troubled? When I fall asleep at peace do I tend to wake up at peace? Is the attitude and disposition I take to bed at night the attitude and disposition I wake up with in the morning?

So far my experimentation shows that everyday going to sleep & waking up is much like the nature of anesthesia: how we fall asleep is how we wake up.

I want to work on going to sleep and waking under the comforting words of Psalm 46. These are the lines I'll be repeating/praying as I go to bed tonight:

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

If the theory holds, I ought to find these words somewhere near my lips in the morning...

Jesus for Beat-up People

This Sunday I begin a sermon series on Hebrews, Jesus for Beat-up People.

Hebrews was written to 1st century urban Christians who were beat-up by life, discouraged and afraid, uncertain of their future--people who felt like their world was falling apart and were tempted to give up, people in desperate need of a fresh vision of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.

This is a book for our times.

(image on left is of the San Francisco Peninsula)

A Wordle of the New Testament

I found this interesting, a "Wordle" of the New Testament. Justin Taylor explains...

The World's Best Study Bible...

Let Phil Ryken tell you more about what he's calling, "the world's best complete single-volume resource for reading, studying, and teaching the Bible."

Personal Bible Reading

Mark Dever on personal Bible reading...

Daniel 10:19

I've been soaking in the book of Daniel this week. Yesterday morning I was greatly helped by meditating on the heavenly messenger's words to a confused, troubled, and exhausted Daniel:

"And he said, 'O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.' And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, 'Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.'" -Daniel 10:19

Like Daniel, we are to find fresh strength in God's words to us. And God's ancient words to Daniel are words for us. This side of the cross we can read Daniel 10:19 knowing that, like Daniel, we too are so "greatly loved" that God sent his Son to live and die in our place. Whatever we're facing, we too can obey the charge to "fear not" and "be strong and of good courage" because God has sent his Spirit into our lives, enabling us to obey him and walk in faith, rather than fear.

Be Strengthened

A few mornings ago I was filled with fresh strength by meditating on 2 Timothy 2:1

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus...

This verse led me to think about the infinite, always-in-stock grace warehouse that we have in Christ Jesus. Jesus has extended to me great grace in the past. He is extending great grace to me this very day. And he is loaded with future grace that he has promised to send my way when I need it.

God is the Subject of the First Sentence of the Bible

Today, in my research and writing of my study guide on Genesis, I came across this excellent quote by Derek Kidner, commenting on Genesis chapter 1:

It is no accident that God is the subject of the first sentence of the Bible, for this word dominates the whole chapter and catches the eye at every point of the page: it is used some thirty-five times in as many verses of the story. The passage, indeed the Book, is about him first of all; to read it with any other primary interest (which is all too possible) is to misread it.

You're Not Biblical Enough...

"The sad fact is that many of us are simply not biblical in the way we use the Bible! Being biblical does not mean merely quoting words from within its pages. Being truly biblical means that my counsel reflects what the entire Bible is about. The Bible is a narrative, a story of redemption, and its chief character is Jesus Christ."

-Paul David Tripp, Instruments In The Redeemer's Hands, p. 27

Passion Week Geography

From Justin Taylor's blog:

Here is something you might find fruitful while contemplating the events leading up to our Savior's death and resurrection: an attempt in Google Earth to show the locations of the major events (to the best of our knowledge) along with descriptions and biblical passages describing those events:

Genesis Study Guide Outline

This is the outline I've drawn up for the study guide I'm writing on Genesis:

Study 1    Creation 1:1-2:3
Study 2    Creation: Man, Woman, & Marriage 2:4-25
Study 3    Creation: Work, Culture, & Rest 1:26-2:25
Study 4    Paradise Lost, Part 1 3:1-8
Study 5    Paradise Lost, Part 2 3:7-24
Study 6    Family Sin; Family Grace 4-5
Study 7    Flood 6:1-8:19
Study 8    Creation Renewed 8:20-9:19
Study 9    City 9:20-11:26
Study 10    Abram’s Call 11:27-12:20
Study 11    Abram & Lot 13:1-14:24
Study 12    Abram’s Covenant 15
Study 13    The God Who Sees 16
Study 14    Abram’s New Name 17
Study 15    Sodom 18-19
Study 16    Isaac & Ishmael 20-21
Study 17    The Son, The Sacrifice, & The Substitute 22
Study 18    Abraham’s Heir 23-25:18
Study 19    Jacob & Esau 25:19-26:33
Study 20    Jacob’s Blessing 26:34-28:9
Study 21    Jacob’s Dream 28:10-22
Study 22    Jacob’s New Family 29-31
Study 23    Jacob Wrestles with God 32-33
Study 24    Jacob’s Daughter; Jacob’s Sons; Jacob’s Journey 34-37:1
Study 25    Joseph: The Dream & The Nightmare 37:2-39:23
Study 26    Joseph’s Rise in Egypt 40-41
Study 27    Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt 42-47
Study 28    Joseph’s Promise & Judah’s Blessing 48-50

Bruce Waltke, An Old Testament Theology

I'm slowly working my way through Bruce Waltke's, An Old Testament Theology. A few weeks ago I underlined these sentences from page 10:

The Bible explores and answers with authority the most fundamental issues facing human beings: Who are we? What is the world and our place in it? How can we find happiness in this conflicted world? How do we deal with choices that confront us, and what happens as a result? This is the stuff of great literature, and the Bible is the greatest expression of it.

Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative

The Art of Biblical Narrative is a brilliant book. Originally published in 1981, it remains a seminal text on biblical narrative. Though it's author, Robert Alter, is not a follower of Jesus, but a Jew who rejects Jesus as Messiah and handles Scripture accordingly, Alter's 189 pages on the art of Old Testament narrative are pure treasure.

If you'd like to better understand how biblical narrative works, if you'd like to better savor the artistry of the authors of Scripture, if you'd like to have the biblical stories come to new life, read Alter.

I read this book concurrently with 1 Samuel and found the narratives of 1 Samuel charged with new insights and delight through the narrative world that Alter introduced me to.

Genesis

I'm preparing to write a study guide on Genesis which, Lord willing, will be ready for use in our church this next fall. I plan on covering the 50 chapters in 25 studies. I've assembled most of my books. So far, here's my bibliography:

• Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative (Basic Books, 1981)
• Alter, Robert. Genesis, Translation and Commentary (W.W. Norton & Company, 1996)
• Blocher, Henri. In the Beginning: The Opening Chapters of Genesis (IVP, 1984)
• Collins, C. John. Genesis 1–4: a linguistic, literary, and theological commentary (P&R Publishing, 2006)
• Duguid, Iain. Living in the Gap Between Promise and Reality: The Gospel According to Abraham (P&R, 1999)
• Duguid, Iain. Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace: The Gospel in the Lives of Isaac and Jacob (P&R, 2002)
• Fesko, John V. Last Things First (Christian Focus: 2007)
• Greidanus, Sydney. Preaching Christ from Genesis: foundations for expository sermons (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007)
• Jolley, Reed. Studies in Genesis (Santa Barbara Community Church, 1998)
• Keller, Timothy J. What were we put in the world to do? (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2006)
• Kidner, Derek. Genesis, The Tyndale Old Testament Commentary Series (Inter-Varsity Press, 1967)
• Longman, Tremper. How to read Genesis (InterVarsity Press, 2005)
• Ross, Allen. Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Baker, 1988)
• Sarna, Nahum. Understanding Genesis (Schocken, 1966)
• Waltke, Bruce K. An Old Testament Theology (Zondervan, 2007)
• Waltke, Bruce K. Genesis, A Commentary (Zondervan, 2001)
• Williams, Michael E. Genesis, A Storyteller’s companion to the Bible; v1(Abingdon Press, 1991)

Studying, Praying, and Hunting for Fresh Joy in the Lord

I aim to spend the first hour of each morning meeting with my Father: studying/meditating on the Word, praying, and hunting for fresh joy in the Lord. Lately I've also been reading a sermon or two a week from Martyn Llyod Jones in the morning. I've found a collection of MLJ's early evangelistic sermons, Evangelistic Sermons at Aberavon, to be immensely edifying.

This morning, three passages/truths especially struck my heart and caused me to pause, pray, and rejoice:

First,

"He [the righteous man] is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord" Psalm 112:7

Second,

"It is Christ alone that can overcome our doubts and fears and evil forebodings. The devil tells me that I have sinned to deeply to ever be forgiven, and I tend to agree. But Christ tells me the story of the prodigal son and I know that all is well." -MLJ, Sermon on Mark 5:22ff, "Jairus-Complete Salvation."

Third,

The terrors of law and of God
With me can have nothing to do;
My Savior's obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions from view
-Toplady hymn, quoted by MLJ

Friends, may the bad news that comes your way today not shake you--believe the gospel and trust the Lord.

Friends, when Satan strikes you with sentences of condemnation, fear not--let Christ re-tell you the story of the prodigal sons.

Friends, may you truly believe, deep in your heart, that your Savior's obedience and blood has hidden all your transgressions from view.

Leland Ryken, The Bible as Literature

A few days ago I listened to a very helpful lecture by Leland Ryken titled, The Bible as Literature. My favorite sentence from the lecture:

"History describes what happened. Literature describes what happens."

Ryken's lecture provides great insight into how to read your Bible as a piece of literature, as a book that describes "what happens"--the unchanging nature of the human heart and human dynamics.

Consider giving this lecture a listen: Download the_bible_as_literature.mp3

Customized Bible Reading Plans for 2008

I operate on a September-August Bible reading schedule. After writing this post in September, a number of you joined me in my September to August Bible reading schedule, adopting one of the five reading plans listed in that same post. Best I can tell, four months in, most of you are still on board with the plan--still reading and enjoying your Bible along with me.

Many of you function better on a January-December Bible reading schedule. To help you in setting up a workable joy-fueling, God-glorifying, sin-killing, others-loving, prayer-producing, gospel-remembering Bible reading plan for 2008, I'd encourage you to adopt a customized Bible reading plan that excites you and fits you. To get you started, here's six different Bible reading plans to choose from and to, if necessary, customize to better suit you:

Download bible_reading_calendar.pdf

Download bible_reading_chart.DOC

Download Biblereadingrecord.doc

Download DailyBibleReading.pdf

Download GNT_reading_program.pdf

Download year_classic_single_letter.pdf

You might also want to read how I've customized my Bible reading schedule/how I go about soaking in the Bible on a daily basis and download the corresponding reading plan that my friend Steve created:

Download buzzhart_ntplan.doc

Martin Luther: The Word Did It All

Last night, in our study of Hebrews 4, I used this quote from Martin Luther, reflecting on the fuel behind the reformation:

I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word: otherwise, I did nothing. And when, while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my Philip and my Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a Prince or Emperor inflicted such damage upon it, I did nothing. The Word did it all.

George Mueller: To Have My Soul Happy in The Lord

"I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished...I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it."

-George Mueller

Dan Wallace & The Center for The Study of New Testament Manuscripts

I had the privilege of spending a good portion of my day with Dan Wallace, professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, Senior New Testament Editor of the NET Bible, and connoisseur of strong, bold coffee. I can verify that Dan is worthy of his many credentials in the arenas of textual criticism, Koine Greek, and New Testament studies, but I now strongly suspect his java expertise since it wasn't until our conversation today that Dan learned of the best deep-roasted coffee on the planet, Peet's Coffee (the only coffee allowed in the Buzzard home).

Dan spent the morning preaching at CPC, delivering a message entitled, "Is What We Have Now What They Wrote Then?" Dan's message was a tremendous, clear, and witty treatment of the reliability of our New Testament documents. I encourage you to listen to Dan's message which, by tomorrow afternoon, should be available here. Take note, however, that the more technical portions of Dan's message were accompanied by a number of helpful Power Point slides which, of course, you'll not receive on the audio.

After our morning services a small handful of us from the church spent a few hours huddled around a table with Dan, sipping coffee and asking him questions. This was a delight. Dan is a great guy and a lot of fun to be around. Dan fielded scores of questions from us related to textual criticism, new manuscript discovery, contemporary challenges to the authority of the NT, and translation theory (when I asked Dan his opinion of modern English translations I was happy to hear his hearty, enthusiastic endorsement of the ESV).

I actually need to repent over some of how I handled my interaction with Dan. I think it was because I was sitting the closest to him, because I asked him to sign my Diglot before we sat down, and because he knew I was the only seminary graduate present, that Dan mistakenly thought I was smart. And so whenever Dan was quoting a lesser known author, referencing a little known moment in church history, or discussing the intricacies of Greek grammar, he looked over at me and would say something like, "Justin, you know about so and so, or such and such, right?"  70% of the time I was tracking with Dan, but 30% of the time I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. And what did I do in those moments? Yep, I nodded my head up and down as if I understood every word, as if I was in the know. I repent.

When I wasn't telling non-verbal lies, most of our discussion centered around the excellent and exciting work that Dan is doing with the Center for The Study of New Testament Manuscripts which is aggressively working to better preserve ancient manuscripts of the Greek New Testament and which has, in the last four years, discovered more biblical manuscripts than any other institute in the world. Presently, CSNTM has leads on more than 200 previously unknown manuscripts. From Dan's CSNTM website, here's a fuller explanation of what the Center for The Study of New Testament Manuscripts is all about:

1. To make digital photographs of extant Greek New Testament manuscripts so that such images can be preserved, duplicated without deterioration, and accessed by scholars doing textual research

2. To utilize developing technologies (OCR, MSI, etc.) to read these manuscripts and create exhaustive collations

3. To analyze individual scribal habits in order to better predict scribal tendencies in any given textual problem

4. To publish on various facets of New Testament textual criticism

5. To develop electronic tools for the examination and analysis of New Testament manuscripts

6. To cooperate with other institutes in the great and noble task of determining the wording of the autographa of the New Testament.

As Dan shared with us around the table, God is significantly blessing the efforts of Dan's institute. Yet a great deal of work is left to be done, a great deal of money is yet to be raised, and a great deal of prayers are needed. Let me persuade you to peruse the CSNTM website, to pray for the work of Dan and CSNTM, and to consider donating to CSNTM. 

Bible Reading: Are You Making It to The Cross?

In your regular reading of God's Word, are you regularly making it to the cross?

Today, whether you read a few chapters in Leviticus or Luke, Ezekiel or Ephesians, Proverbs or Philippians, you must make it to the cross. If you don't make it to the cross, if you don't see the connection between a chapter in Proverbs and what Jesus accomplished on the cross, you'll miss the whole point of your regular Bible reading. The whole point of reading through your Bible on a regular basis is to begin to see and celebrate that the whole Bible is about the cross--about the gospel, about the good news of what Jesus has done for you.

Make it to the cross.

If you don't make it to the cross, if you read a few verses in Proverbs and a paragraph of commands in Philippians without detecting how these sentences connect to the blood-stained beam of wood where, "For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21), then consequences will follow.

If you don't make it to the cross, you'll make your Bible reading and your relationship with God about your performance rather than about Jesus' performance. You'll gravitate away from the gospel and towards religion. Anxiety and fear will take the place of confidence, joy, and rest. Legalism will replace freedom. If your eyes don't catch a glimpse of the cross as you turn the pages of Scripture, you're likely to spend much of your day staring at yourself, wallowing in endless introspection, rather than staring at your Savior, delighting in his costly love.

Cultivate the habit of making it to the cross every time you read your Bible.

If you need help with this habit, if, like me, you're prone to forget the wonder of the cross, you may want to establish for yourself some drastic reminders of the cross. You probably don't need to do anything as drastic as this former cross-forgetting Pharisee did. Eight years ago I tattooed a cross on my inside wrist (see pic above) so that every time I looked down at my open hands I'd be reminded of the outstretched hands of Jesus. When I read my Bible this morning, as I scanned the sentences in Psalm 40, I also looked down at the cross on my wrist which served as but one simple reminder for me of how the statements of deliverance in Psalm 40 point forward to the ultimate deliverance that Christ purchased for sinners on the cross.

You probably don't need a tattoo, but you probably do need to set up some sort of reminder that will help you make it to the cross in your Bible reading. Find your reminder, make it to the cross, and then you'll find that your Bible reading becomes a part of your day that you look forward to, that you can't do without. As you make it to the cross your Bible reading will become a time of great gladness, gratitude,  and refreshment. 

Today, I think for the first time, I'm praying for all of you who read this blog. I'm praying that you'll make it to the cross, find fresh joy in your Bible reading, and give God glory as you survey and savor the good news of the gospel.

Prodigal Son Slideshow

Go here and here to learn more about the upcoming Art of Forgiveness exhibit, centered on the story of the Prodigal Son.

Go here to listen to my two sermons on this parable.

Hebrews Study Guide

The front cover design for my study guide on Hebrews has been completed. For those of you who don't live out this way, the background image is of the San Francisco Peninsula. CPC will finish publishing this study guide this week and twenties@cpc will begin, this Thursday, spending a year working through this material on Hebrews. I've taken my title , "Consider Jesus," from  Hebrews 3:1.

A number of my friends have suggested that I attempt to publish this work through a major Christian publisher. I'm not sure if there's currently a market for this type of a study guide, if my work is of the appropriate caliber, if people who are not my friends would have similar publication counsel, or of how to even go about such a process. A number of you from around the country have written me asking to purchase copies of the study guide I wrote on Philippians, so perhaps this type of a study guide could be of broader use, beyond my local church. Time and feedback will tell. 

NT Bible Reading Plan

A few months back I wrote a post describing how, exactly, I approach my Bible reading each morning. Recently my church planting buddy, Steve Hart, slightly adapted this post and appended it to a New Testament Bible reading plan for his church to use this fall/winter. If you didn't join up with the 20 or so of us who are on the year long OT & NT Bible reading plan, you may want to get on board with this shorter, NT only plan.

Download buzzhart_ntplan.doc

Him Who Has Given Me Strength

Over twenty of you have now joined up with our September 1st 2007-September 2008 read through the Bible in a year plan. This is exciting.

These last two mornings I've been reading through 1 Timothy. One phrase, one description of Christ, from 1 Timothy has been seeping its way into me these last two days. In 1 Timothy 1:12 Paul describes Christ Jesus our Lord as:

"him who has given me strength"

This description of Christ is of tremendous encouragement to me as I stare down a load of unfinished work and responsibility. I don't have the strength to do all that I'm presently asked to do. The good news is that someone else has that strength. Jesus has the strength. I can rest in "him who has given me strength" and who will give me strength.

These last two days I've been coming back to this Scriptural phrase about once an hour, thinking about this truth, praising God for this truth, and using this truth to jumpstart my prayers.

My hope is that for those of you who are also staring down a load of unfinished work, feeling the weight of responsibility, or bending under fear or worry, that you'd find fresh strength as you look to the strength-giver of 1 Timothy 1:12.

(pic: My buddy Dan and I looking over the edge at Taft Point, staring 3,000 feet down to Yosemite Valley this last weekend)

Teaching & Tears: Two Pastoral Paths

In response to this post from last week, over ten of you are joining me in reading through the Bible in a year (if you still want to join up with us, it's not too late, you're only four days behind). I've begun my reading for the year in the Gospel of John. This morning I read chapters 9-11, especially treasuring what I learned about Jesus and his care of people in chapter 11.

Here's what I noticed this morning. Chapter 11 is the famous event in which Jesus raises his friend Lazarus from the dead. What struck me this morning was how Jesus, prior to raising Lazarus, offered tremendous care for Lazarus' two sisters, Martha and Mary, yet the care/shepherding/counseling that Jesus offered Martha was quite distinct from what he offered to Mary.

When Jesus enters the town of Bethany, where Lazarus is entombed, it's Martha who first approaches Jesus. It's not until a little while later that Mary approaches Jesus. And though the sisters come to Jesus at two different times, their first words to him are the same: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (v. 21 [Martha], v. 32 [Mary]).

Though these two sisters greet Jesus with the exact same statement, he greets them with two quite different responses: Martha receives teaching, Mary receives tears. The assumption that underlies the text is that Jesus knew his friends Martha and Mary quite well, he knew that he needed to speak into Martha's grief and weep into Mary's grief.

Immediately upon hearing Martha's statement, Jesus begins to teach. He teaches about the resurrection and about his identity as the true resurrection, the Messiah. Presumably, at that moment Jesus knew that Martha needed the care of teaching/theology.

Immediately upon hearing Mary's exact same statement, Jesus begins to weep. Presumably, at that moment Jesus knew that Mary needed the care of tears.

We have much to learn from this chapter, first in what it teaches us about Jesus as our Savior and second in what it teaches us about Jesus as our Example.

First, we have a Savior who knows all things, and that includes knowing each of our intricacies intimately. As our Good Shepherd (John 10) continues to shepherd our lives from his throne in heaven, he know each of us as thoroughly as he knew Martha and Mary and he cares for us in the manner that we need to be cared for, giving teaching or tears, toughness or tenderness, as needed (note: the care we need is not the same as the care we want).

Second, in this narrative we're presented with an instructive example for how we go about caring for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. If we're true students of our Christian family members, we'll steadily grow in discerning how to best care for those whom God has put in our path. Sometimes we'll need to teach people, to eclipse their fears and reorient their thinking by presenting a theology that's truly biblical and provides true hope in the face of difficulty (Martha needed to hear Jesus teach: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live"). Other times we'll need to skip the teaching and simply use our tears. We'll need to weep with people, knowing that the tender ministry of tears is used of God in powerful ways  (Mary needed to see Jesus  "deeply moved," "greatly troubled," and weeping).

Starting Tomorrow: Reading Through the Bible in A Year--Anyone Want to Join Me?

Below is an excerpt from an email I sent to the twenties group at my church yesterday. I'd like to open this up to any of you who read this blog and would like to join the journey, beginning tomorrow morning (September 1st).  If you're game, pick one of the several Bible reading plans below and leave a comment or shoot me an email and throughout the year we can chat here and there on this blog about our reading.

"In two days it's September 1st. Traditionally I use September 1st as my marker for starting up a new year of Bible reading. I know of three people within the twenties group who one month ago started together a plan to read through the Bible in one year. I'd like to spread the love. Beginning this September 1st I'm going to start my 5th or 6th year of following a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year-plan.

"This year I'd love to do this along with some of you. Below I've attached a folder with a variety of different plans I've used through the years. I'd love it if some of you also chose one of these plans and began, on September 1st, a quest to read through the Bible in a year. This isn't that hard to do. It averages out to just over 3 chapters a day--you could do that in 15 minutes a day. For those of you who choose to do this along with me what I'm thinking is that we can just chat together throughout the year, a minute here or there when we see each other on Thursdays and Sundays, and talk about how our reading is going and how God is teaching us and transforming us through our reading. If you're game, email me and let me know."

Download bible_reading_calendar.pdf

Download bible_reading_chart.DOC

Download Biblereadingrecord.doc

Download DailyBibleReading.pdf  

Download year_classic_single_letter.pdf

J.I. Packer & The ESV--"The Most Important Thing I Have Ever Done For The Kingdom"

Here's a quote from an audio clip of what J.I. Packer said about the ESV last year at the International Christian Retail show:

I was privileged to act as General Editor of the English Standard
Version, and now that I look back on what we did in producing that
version, I find myself suspecting very strongly that this was the most
important thing that I have ever done for the Kingdom, and that the
product of our labors is perhaps the biggest milestone in Bible
translation in certainly this last 50 years, and perhaps more. Perhaps
I ought to be saying 100 years—I think I should, actually—because it
was almost 100 years ago that the paraphrase renderings of the Bible
began to present themselves, as they did, as the version that you ought
to read if you want to understand the Word of God. I think that,
while in the short term it was not false entirely, did set the world of
Bible translation and distribution off on what long-term was going to
prove a false trail.

Tim Woodruff, A Distant Presence: The Story Behind Paul's Letter to the Philippians

I recently finished reading Tim Woodruff's excellent book, A Distant Presence: The Story Behind Paul's Letter to the Philippians. In 400 or so pages Woodruff tells a great story that colors in the background behind the epistle to the Philippians.

A few months back Eric Simmons told me that since I was preaching and teaching through Philippians, I had to get this book. Eric was right. My only wish is that I'd learned about this book sooner.

Woodruff is an excellent story teller and a careful exegete. Reading this book will add a rich layer to your understanding of Philippians. However, it might be hard for you to track this book down. For some silly reason NavPress has let it go out of print. Two months ago I got this book through a second hand seller on Amazon.com. It looks like there's still some available through a few second hand sellers.

ESV (Especially Selling Version)

The ESV (English Standard Version) is doing quite well in sales.

Six Months In Philippi

Last night our twenties ministry wrapped up six months of studying Philippians, the apostle Paul's 1st century letter to a diverse community of Christians living in the bustling, pagan city of Philippi. After reviewing Acts 16, the moving story of how Paul planted the church in Philippi with three transformed lives, I taught an overview of Philippians, a review of our six month soak in this gospel-centered, Christ-exalting, humility-producing, and joy-infusing epistle.

• We celebrated how the epistle begins and ends in grace, 1:2 & 4:23.

• We reviewed the precious promises of Philippians, such as 1:6 and 4:19.

• We marveled over Paul's life transforming model of living for the advancement of the gospel and finding joy and contentment in any circumstance, even if that means imprisonment under Emperor Nero.

• We paused and contemplated the stirring sacrifice and achievement of our Savior, slowly re-reading 2:6-11.

• We pondered afresh the rich commands of the epistle, most of which center on rejoicing in the Lord, shedding worry and finding peace in the Lord through prayer, living in community in humility, shining as lights for Christ in the midst of a twisted world, and living in line with the gospel.

• And we soaked afresh in the gospel, the good news, ever-transforming message that stands at the center of the epistle to the Philippians, 1:27 being, in many ways, paradigmatic for the entire letter.

After I gave this re-cap of the letter, for about forty minutes we had member after member of the twenties group share how they've experienced transformation from spending six months with this slice of the Bible. It was deeply moving to listen to all of these stories. I was beyond encouraged to see evidence upon evidence of ways God's grace has been at work in this twenties group these last six months, and over this entire last year.

And a sweet surprise from the evening came when, with meaningful words that cut to my heart, the guys in the group expressed their appreciation for my first year serving as Twenties Pastor at CPC and presented me with this book that I've been wanting, complete with their notes of encouragement and gratitude. I was moved by this unexpected act of kindness.

My friends, let me bear witness to the fact that Philippians is a slice of the Bible that is worthy of your deep study and that pays rich dividends as it's studied in community. I've had the six month privilege of watching the Holy Spirit use this book among sixty or so of us twentysomethings, to center us on the gospel, lift our eyes off of ourselves and onto our great Savior, infect us with increased humility, stir up fresh repentance, increase our joy, draw us into greater love for and engagement with the hundreds of thousands of lost people here on the San Francisco Peninsula, and fill us with gratitude for our glorious God and his wise providence. 

So, if you're at a loss for what to study next, either privately or (even better) in a small group or in your church, consider Philippians.

My Bible Reading Plan/How I Go About Meeting With My Father In The Morning

For the last 8 years or so I've been reading through the entire Bible 1x per year.  I've used a variety of different reading plans along the way. This year I've adopted an extremely flexible reading plan that's been a joy to use. This is what I do:

#1. Wake up early and make coffee

#2. Sip strong, dark coffee at a slow, steady pace

#3. Read 2-4 chapters of the Bible, choosing which chapters to read based on my curiosity

#4. Read the first few of my daily chapters fairly rapidly

#5. Somewhere along the way, when I come upon a chapter, paragraph, or verse that especially grips me, pause and engage my heart with that portion of the text--meditate on the text in such a way as to, as George Muller says, "have my soul happy in the Lord," and let this lead into a time of prayer

#6. Cross off my 2-4 chapters on my Bible Reading Record

If this plan sounds interesting to you, you can download the Bible Reading Record I use for tracking my reading progress: Download Bible Reading Record.doc

G.C.H. Ch. 18: The Gospel And Contextualization

"To be true to our biblical-theological method, we should begin by noting that the preeminent act of contextualization is God's adaptation to our humanness in the incarnation."

"The gospel, then, is the ultimate paradigm shift..."

The 2nd half of this chapter is full of Graeme's defense of formal equivalence (as opposed to dynamic equivalence) Bible translations as a more faithful form of contextualizing the word of God. Amen! There's not space here to quote all the good stuff G.G. says on this matter.

G.C.H. Ch. 16: The Gospel And The Theological Dimension (I): The Two Testaments And Typology

This is a great chapter, one that settles much confusion for those who have a fragmented understanding of the Bible's storyline. The final quotation I provide here offers some key Scripture references that are well worth your reflection.

"There has been a tendency to treat the two Testaments as if they were independent of each other."

"It is clear that the New Testament refuses to abandon the Old Testament. If all the Old Testament references and allusions were removed from the New Testament, it would not make much sense. Counts vary, but one estimate is that there are some 1,600 citations and allusions to the Old Testament in the New Testament."

"Many Christians are nervous about the idea of typology, because it is often confused with allegory and other kinds of fanciful spiritualizing interpretation."

"...we can say that any person, fact, or event in the Old Testament is a type of Christ to the degree that its theological function foreshadows that of Christ."

"The centrality of Christ for understanding the Bible and, for that matter, the whole of reality can be seen in many parts in the New Testament. A few key passages illustrate what I mean:

• Acts 13:32-33: the bodily resurrection of Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT promises, which include those relating to the renewal of all things.
• Romans 8:19-23: the work of Christ affects the redemption of the whole creation.
• 1 Corinthians 1-2: Christ in his gospel is the wisdom of God, which links him to the Old Testament perspective on God's wisdom as the principle of order in creation.
• 2 Corinthians 1:20: all God's promises, which must include those of a new creation, are affirmed in Christ.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17: Christ is the locus of the new creation.
• Ephesians 1:10: God's plan is, in the fullness of time, to sum up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. As with Galatians 4:4, the fullness of time is the time of the gospel event.
• Ephesians 2:13-22: Christ as the new temple fulfills all the expectations of the new temple in the Old Testament, which is closely related to the renewal of the whole earth; the restored temple in Ezekiel 40-47 is the center of the new Eden.
• Colossians 1:15-20: Christ is the reason for the creation and is the firstborn of all creation. All things hold together in him. He reconciles the whole of the created order to God.
• Colossians 2:2-3: Christ contains all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
• 1 Peter 3:1-13: Christians wait for the new heavens and the new earth to be revealed at the coming of Christ.
• Revelation 21-22: the goal of the biblical story is the new heavens and the new earth; the final rule of God and his Christ.

G.C.H. Ch. 15: The Gospel And The Historical Dimension

Oh man, this chapter is full of some great comments on understanding the Bible as history and (especially) interpreting biblical narrative in light of the gospel.

"The teachings of Jesus, far from being mere moral guidance, are the definitive interpretation of history..."

"Some, by diluting the biblical sense of God's sovereignty over history, reduce the gospel to a first-aid measure."

"If we take the gospel as our motive and starting point for biblical theology, then we have some basis for assessing the historical content of the biblical narrative as a whole. On this basis, a biblical theology of history turns out to be a from salvation history.  It is a coherent sequence of events that is interpreted as having saving significance. Moreover, a part of that interpretation is that God is Lord over space and time, and that he has made us capable of receiving his word of revelation. This is implied by the fact that God makes covenant with people and speaks to them. The biblical story is a story of events in space and time involving the saving activity of God in a specific and chosen part of the history of the created order."

"The resurrection is the Father's acceptance of the perfectly lived human history of Jesus."

"...a frequent failing of preaching programmes or study curricula is the fragmentation of the biblical story, so that events and characters become isolated from the big picture and the goal of the gospel."

Red Letter Bibles?

What's your position on Red Letter Bibles? What do you think about reading the words of Jesus in red letters? I'll chime in a bit later.