This book releases this month:
Benjamin L. Merkle. Ephesians. Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2016.
My endorsement:
Merkle is a clear, concise, and informed guide to refer to when exegeting Ephesians, especially for tracing Paul’s argument and understanding his grammar and syntax. [Read more…] about Ben Merkle on Ephesians
Paul L. Maier (b. 1930) is a Lutheran scholar on the history of Christianity. He is Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, where he taught for 53 years (1958–2011). I highly recommend his work. Here are some of his more accessible works.
Pontius Pilate: A Novel. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2014. This “documentary novel” depicts the New Testament world in a relatively entertaining way. Reading this genre engages a different part of your brain and encourages you to envision the world of the New Testament more vividly. It makes you think and feel in ways that are virtually impossible by reading only encyclopedia-type summaries of the New Testament’s historical-cultural context. This book is so valuable that I require students to read it for a graduate course I teach called “New Testament Background and Message.” Maier writes from Pontius Pilate’s vantage point, starting with Pilate’s political life in Rome and appointment as prefect in Judea (AD 26) and continuing through the murder of Jesus (which Maier calculates as 33), the death of Tiberius (37), the assassination of Caligula (41), and the beginning of the reign of Claudius (41–54). The overall plot and every proper name in the book are historically accurate, and Maier fills in this factual skeleton with colorful fictional details. He reconstructs many events from the Gospels and Acts from the viewpoint of an educated, unbelieving Roman prefect. [Read more…] about 15 Accessible Books by Historian Paul Maier
I just caught up listening to all the Ask Pastor John episodes (900+ now). John Piper and the host, Tony Reinke, serve us well. I benefit especially from the well-reasoned rubber-meets-the-road practical theology.
Here’s a sampling of 13 episodes that stand out:
https://vimeo.com/168993041
Doug Wilson explains why in “An Open Letter to an Angry Husband.” Spot on.
Related:
That’s question 4 in this book:
John S. Hammett. 40 Questions about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. 40 Questions. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2015.
(I love the 40 Questions series. It’s clear, concise, and thoughtful.)
So it is proper to baptize a child in, say, a bathtub in a family’s private home? Or to observe the Lord’s Supper when hanging out with a few Christian friends at the beach? Or for a Christian school to practice baptism or the Lord’s Supper in chapel? Here’s how Hammett concludes his answer to the question “Are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper Only for Churches?” (p. 44, formatting added): [Read more…] about Are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper Only for Churches?
Crossway recently released this book’s third edition:
Andreas J. Köstenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner, eds. Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15. 3rd ed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.
In 2009 I reviewed the book’s second edition. [Read more…] about Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15
One of my wife’s best friends calls this her favorite book on marriage:
Elisabeth D. Dodds. Marriage to a Difficult Man: The Uncommon Union of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards. Laurel, MN: Audubon, 2003. [Read more…] about The Uncommon Union of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards
Below is an insightful excerpt from Mark Dever, Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus, 9Marks (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 101–3. I bolded the most punchy paragraph and underlined the sentence that made me laugh out loud. So true.
7. Encourage Godly Authority [Read more…] about When people are skittish over complementarianism, apologizing for it, I know they are probably thinking about authority in a wrong way.