Thine Is My Heart by John Calvin

With the approach of Calvin's 500th birthday and the books being published about him to commemorate this event, I'd like to point out an older book of devotional readings—Thine Is My Heart. This book of 366 daily devotions was edited from Calvin's writings by Dr. John H. Kromminga, who was president of Calvin Seminary in 1958 when Zondervan published this collection. Dr. Kromminga gives his own introduction to Calvin and his writings:

As anyone who reads his writings must come to recognize, there is a strong devotional strain in John Calvin. This devotional spirit stands out clearly in his many Sermons, a number of which are represented in these selections. Here Calvin is seen as the true pastor, bringing the full message of the Word of God with a genuine concern for the needs of his hearers. The spirit of devotion is strongly present also in his Commentaries, especially in the practical applications of the truths he expounds. Somewhat more surprising, however, are the brilliant flashes of devotional insight which are present in Calvin's major doctrinal work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. Christian doctrine was not for him a mere intellectual exercise, but a pathway to the presence of God. And devotion is also clearly present in the tender concern, the Scriptural consolation, and the brotherly reproof which abound in Calvin's extensive Correspondence.

Among students of John Calvin it is common knowledge that the Reformer has been a badly misunderstood man. The perverted conception of his character, which is of long standing and continues to the present day, pictures him as a cold, impractical, one-track theologian.

That this popular picture is untrue is evidenced by the selections contained in this volume. It is a manly Christianity which is reflected in these writings. The practical application of Christian truth is never far from Calvin's mind. The Reformer exhibits everywhere a deep consciousness of the sovereignty of God. He engages in searching examinations of human frailties, speaking plainly and without compromise about the depravity of man. But throughout he manifests also a sturdy confidence in the grace of God which overcomes human sin.

. . .[I]t is especially desired and expected that the use of this book will bring the reader into the presence of the living God. This is most in keeping with the purpose of the man whose motto included this truly devotional element: "My heart I offer to Thee, O Lord."

This book is meatier than most daily devotionals I've seen. If you're unfamiliar with the writings of John Calvin, Thine Is My Heart is a good starting-point.

Hardback and paperback copies are available from Amazon.

Early Arrival: The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament

Yesterday afternoon, the UPS man stopped in front of the house with a package. To my delight is was an early copy of The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum and Charles L. Quarles (B&H Academic, August 2009). I would like to thank Jim Baird, VP of Marketing and Sales, for giving me the opportunity to announce and review this title for our readers.

While I give it a closer look, I recommend that you read through, or at least, browse through the sample chapter.

Download a Sample Chapter (PDF)

"An all-new comprehensive introduction to the New Testament,
paying close attention to the historical, literary, and theological
dimensions of the biblical text."

I also recommend watching the three video interviews posted on the B&H Academic website (here).

Release Date: August 1, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-8054-4365-3
Retail Price: $59.99
Format: Printed hardcover
Page Count: 960
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Spine Width: 2”
Weight: 4.1 lbs

Douglas Sweeney's Jonathan Edwards and the Ministry of the Word

I am making good headway on my summer reading, but the pile keeps getting larger anyway. No complaints here!!! A new title I've added to my must read pile is Douglas Sweeney's Jonathan Edwards and the Ministry of the Word. This volume is courtesy of IVP Academic. Jonathan Edwards continues to be an inspiration to pastors and ministerial students to this day. I am convinced that it is a direct result of God's sovereign hand upon his life and his humble submission to Christ and the Scriptures.

Douglas Sweeney is worth listening to especially when it comes to Jonathan Edwards. He teaches Church History at TEDS and has written extensively on New England Theology and Jonathan Edwards. Read his faculty bio posted on the TEDS website:

Douglas A. Sweeney is Professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought and Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Dr. Sweeney came to Trinity in 1997 from Yale University, where he edited The Works of Jonathan Edwards and served as a lecturer in church history and historical theology. Sweeney has also served as an adjunct professor at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee, and a visiting professor for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sweeney received the Doctor of Philosophy and the Master of Arts in Religion from Vanderbilt University, the Master of Arts in the History of Christian Thought from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and the Bachelor of Arts in History from Wheaton College. His areas of expertise include the history of theology, history of Christianity, and American church history. He belongs to numerous professional organizations, including the American Society of Church History, which he serves as a member of the Committee on Research. He is currently President of the Conference on Faith and History. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Jonathan Edwards Research Fellowship, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Dr. Sweeney has written numerous books and articles about religious history and the American theologian, Jonathan Edwards. He is the coeditor of The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader (Yale University Press); the author of Nathaniel Taylor, New Haven Theology, and the Legacy of Jonathan Edwards (Oxford University Press); the editor of Jonathan Edwards's "Miscellanies" Nos. 1153-1360, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 23 (Yale University Press); the co-editor of Jonathan Edwards at Home and Abroad: Historical Memories, Cultural Movements, Global Horizons (University of South Carolina Press); the author of The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement (Baker Academic); the co-editor of The New England Theology: From Jonathan Edwards to Edwards Amasa Park (Baker Academic); and the author of Jonathan Edwards and the Ministry of the Word (InterVarsity Press, [2009]).

The endorsements listed for this volume are numerous and compelling. Read for yourself:

"Doug Sweeney has written a fine introduction to Jonathan Edwards' life and theology. Accessible and accurate, this introduction is a good place to start in trying to understand Edwards as a man, a Christian, a theologian and a pastor."

—Mark Dever, senior pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.

"I love this book! Doug Sweeney not only demonstrates the central role of Scripture in the theology and pastoral ministry of Jonathan Edwards but also provides us with a vibrant portrayal of his life and the many brilliant insights that have rightly contributed to his global reputation. Combining clarity and ease of style with a remarkable breadth of research, Sweeney has given us a treatment of Edwards that may well prove to be the standard against which all future contributions are judged. I highly recommend it!"

—Sam Storms, Ph.D., senior pastor, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

"Doug Sweeney gives us a nourishing and tasty introduction to the real Edwards, and focuses in this brief but substantial volume on Edwards' ministry of the Word. He provides a fascinating entrance to the life and career of Edwards, and then zeroes in on Edwards' multifaceted understanding of Scripture. Sweeney gives us enough detail to stimulate new insights into Edwards, "Scripture and its Author. But his writing is not so technical that the general reader would not be abundantly rewarded by perusing this slim but informative and illuminating volume."

—Gerald McDermott, professor of religion, Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia

"Douglas Sweeney has written an admirable 'Jonathan Edwards for Christians.' It is at once authoritative and addressed to the practical concerns of evangelicals in the pews."

—George Marsden, author of Jonathan Edwards: A Life and A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards

"With the exception of George Marsden and Kenneth Minkema, it is hard to find someone more knowledgeable about Jonathan Edwards than Douglas Sweeney. In focusing his book on Edwards as minister, Sweeney offers academic and clerical readers a treasure trove of insight and elegant prose. If not Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, the inclusion of seven 'theses' for discussion at the end is a stroke of genius and will certainly enhance the reading experience for church groups of all levels. For anyone interested in getting to know America's greatest theologian in greater detail, this masterful analysis is must-reading."

—Harry S. Stout, Jonathan Edwards Professor of American Religious History, Yale University

"A lively, intimate portrait of a man many have found distant and intimidating. Douglas Sweeney reveals Jonathan Edwards to be the flesh-and-blood Christian we should have suspected he was, in a way that neither patronizes nor idealizes him. As importantly, we have here for the first time an account of Edwards' life that rightly places the Bible at the center of his intellectual and pastoral genius."

—Robert E. Brown, assistant professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion, James Madison University, and author of Jonathan Edwards and the Bible

"Strangely, it has taken nearly three centuries for us to realize the obvious: that Jonathan Edwards had a lifelong love affair with the Bible. Doug Sweeney has been at the forefront of elucidating Edwards the exegete and the biblical foundations of his theology. In this new work, Sweeney shows the vital, reflective and informed connections between Edwards' Biblicism and his calling as a 'faithful minister of the Word.' Even more, Sweeney points out the extent to which Edwards' more formal theological formulations arose directly out of his local pastoral experience. This study will be a blessing to pastors, preachers and spiritual leaders, who can learn from Edwards' faith, thought and experience."

—Dr. Kenneth P. Minkema, executive director, Jonathan Edwards Center, and adjunct assistant professor of American religious history, Yale University

About the Book (from IVP)

Jonathan Edwards has been recognized as the most influential evangelical theologian of all time. Before his death at the age of fifty-four, he had sparked a new movement of Reformed evangelicals who played a major role in fueling the rise of modern missions, preaching revivals far and wide, and wielding the cutting edge of American theology. He has never gone out of print, and Christians today continue to flock to seminars and conferences on him.

In this biography of the great preacher and teacher, historian Douglas Sweeney locates for us the core and key to Edwards' enduring impact. Sweeney finds that Edwards' profound and meticulous study of the Bible securely anchored his powerful preaching, his lively theological passions and his discerning pastoral work. Beyond introducing you to Edwards' life and times, this book will provide you with a model of Christian faith, thought and ministry.

Book Excerpts

Preface

Introduction: The Word in Edwards' World

Forthcoming: A Reader's Hebrew and Greek Bible

Browsing Christian Book Distributor's website I found that Zondervan is planning a combined Hebrew & Greek Reader's Bible. We have highlighted these tools under the Biblical Languages category. Here are some details about this forthcoming volume from Zondervan's website. It's going to be BIG but possibly lighter (see specs below)!

A Reader's Hebrew and Greek Bible
Coming April 2010

By: A. Philip Brown II, Bryan W. Smith, Richard J. Goodrich, Albert L. Lukaszewski

Format: Bonded Leather, Black
List Price: $74.99 (USD)
ISBN: 0310325897, ISBN-13: 9780310325895

Description:
Based on customer feedback, Zondervan is pleased to offer this fine-grain black European leather Bible, which combines the widely-used A Reader’s Greek New Testament and A Reader’s Hebrew Bible. Ideal for students, pastors, and instructors familiar with the biblical languages, A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible saves time and effort in studying the Bible. Definitions for Greek and Hebrew words that occur less frequently appear as footnotes on every page, allowing the user to read the text quickly and to focus on parsing and grammatical issues (rather than paging through lexicons!).

Features include:

• Beautiful fine-grain black European leather with gold gilded edges and 2 marker ribbons
• Complete text of the Hebrew and Aramaic Bible using the Leningrad Codex (minus critical apparatus)
• Greek text underlying Today’s New International Version (with footnotes comparing wherever this text is different from the UBS4 text)
• Footnoted definitions of all Hebrew words occurring 100 times or less (twenty-five or less for Aramaic words) with context-specific glosses
• Shaded Hebrew names that occur less than 100 times
• Footnoted definitions of all Greek words occurring 30 times or less
• Lexicons of all Hebrew words occurring more than 100 times and Greek words occurring more than 30 times
• 8 pages of full-color maps separate the OT and NT sections

Book & Bible Cover Size: Large
Page Count: 2256

Paper Edge Description: Gold Gild
Weight: 1 lb | 453 gms (Amazing! I've got to see this to believe it!

Both of these volumes are tremendously helpful. I have enjoyed my two Readers. Check it out!

Top Commentary Rec's from Ligonier Ministries: Excellent!

I have been following this series and am delighted that it is completed. Here is an index published this morning by Ligonier Ministries.

Top Commentaries on Every Book of the Bible

from Ligonier Ministries Blog

Over the course of several months, Keith Mathison put together a list of his top 5 commentaries for each book of the Bible. With his recommendations of commentaries for Malachi and Revelation, he has now completed both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Here is a round-up of the complete series.

OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 & 2 Samuel 1 & 2 Kings 1 & 2 Chronicles Ezra & Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

NEW TESTAMENT: The Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Luke The Gospel of John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians & Philemon 1 & 2 Thessalonians The Pastoral Epistles Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter & Jude The Epistles of John Revelation

*****

For more recommendations, see our Recommended Reading List.

I have not yet added these recommendations into the TheoSource list, but will do so in the near future. In the meantime,here is the link to the TheoSource Top Recommended Commentaries.

Mea Culpa: Calvin on Cheap Grace

Calvin admonished those who thought it was good enough to go to church and who thought that grace was cheap. Some seemed to think that if there was forgiveness, there was no need to concern oneself with living a careful life. "The people want to make a little pact with God. They think they are square with him if they simply say mea culpa." As Calvin saw it, such things had nothing to do with being a Christian. Apart from inward examination and the experience and confession of one's guilt and lost state, the Christian life had not even begun.

Herman J. Selderhuis, John Calvin: A Pilgrim's Life (InterVarsity Press, March 2009), p. 164.

Purchase:

Read my introduction and recommendation here.

Book Excerpts

Introduction »
1. Orphan (1509-1533) »

New from B&H Academic: Tough-Minded Christianity: Honoring the Legacy of John Warwick Montgomery

A couple of days ago I received the following very large book in the mail courtesy of Jim Baird at B&H Academic:

Tough-Minded Christianity: Honoring the Legacy of John Warwick Montgomery, edited by William Dembski and Thomas Schirrmacher (Foreword by Paige Patterson). Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2009. 800 pages.

I must admit that I am not at all familiar with John Warwick Montgomery (JWM personal website), but I'm convinced that this book should give me an excellent introduction to a man that appears to have been highly influential among conservative evangelicals. A quick survey of the Table of Contents noting the chapter titles and the names of the contributors, has lead me to believe that this just might be an important volume for those studying modern apologetics. This is no less than a massive anthology of essays from a particularly conservative, evangelical perspective collected in honor of Montgomery.

Yesterday evening I spent some time reading and browsing through this massive tome. Having been planned and produced by a Southern Baptist publisher, it is fitting that one of the SBC's highly conservative leaders, Paige Patterson, was asked to write the forward and explain some Montgomery's impact on the denomination. Montgomery was a Lutheran and many of the contributors to this volume are also non-SBC members which makes this volume even more fascinating to me. A couple contributors not mentioned below that caught my eye are Harold O. J. Brown, Roger Nicole, I. Howard Johnson, Edwin Yamauchi, Michael Horton, and Robert Culver.

From the Publisher:

Tough Minded Christianity is a collection of essays about the great work of John Warwick Montgomery (1931), a living legend in the field of Christian apologetics who has earned eleven degrees in philosophy, theology, law, and librarianship, debated historic atheists including Madalyn Murray O’Hair, and influenced the work of bestselling authors such as Josh McDowell.

Contributors to this volume include J. I. Packer, Ravi Zacharias, John Ankerberg, Erwin Lutzer, Vernon Grounds, Gary Habermas, and among others Paige
Patterson who writes in the foreword that John Warwick Montgomery did the “intellectual heavy lifting” that undergirded the conservative renewal of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Download a Sample Chapter | Download the Table of Contents

ISBN: 9780805447835

Trim Size: 9.00 x 6.00 x 1.65 in

Weight: 2.10lb
Binding: Trade Paper
Publication Date: March 2009

Expositors' Conference 2009 (Mobile, AL)

This afternoon my wife reminded me about this conference. We want to attend, Lord willing. Please let me know if any of you are planning to attend, too. Here are some details:

Steven Lawson

Dr. Steven J. Lawson is the Senior Pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, having served as a pastor in Arkansas and Alabama for 28 years. He is the author of fifteen books, including The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards, The Expository Genius of John Calvin, and Foundations of Grace. His books have been translated into Russian, Portugese, Spanish, German, Albanian, Korean, and Indonesian.

Dr. Lawson's pulpit ministry takes him around the world, preaching in Russia, the Ukraine, Wales, England, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, and throughout the United States.

Dr. Lawson is president of New Reformation Ministries, designed to bring about biblical reformation in the church today. He serves on the Executive Board of The Master's Seminary and College and serves on the Advisory Council for Samara Preachers' Institute and Theological Seminary in Samara, Russia.

Dr. Lawson and his wife, Anne, have three sons, Andrew, James, and John, and a daughter, Grace Anne.

Joel Beeke

Dr. Joel Beeke serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology, Church History, and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the ministry since 1978, and has served as a pastor of his current church (HNRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan) since 1986.

Dr. Beeke is editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored,or edited sixty books, and contributed over 1500 articles to reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias.

Dr. Beeke holds a Ph.D (1988) from Westminster Theological Seminary. He is frequently called upon to lecture at reformed seminaries and to speak at conferences around the world. C

opyright 2009 . All Rights Reserved.

Sunday September 27, 2009 Pre-Conference schedule coming soon!
9:00 A.M.	Dr. Joel Beeke
10:30 A.M.	Dr. Joel Beeke
6:00 P.M.	Dr. Joel Beeke

Monday September 28, 2009
4:00 P.M.	Conference Registration Begins
5:00 P.M.	Dinner
6:30 P.M.	The Preaching of the Reformers: Martin Luther and John Calvin Dr. Steven Lawson
8:00 P.M.	The Preaching of the Puritans (I) Dr. Joel Beeke

Tuesday September 29, 2009
7:30 A.M.	Breakfast
9:00 A.M.	The Preaching of the Puritans (II) Dr. Joel Beeke
10:30 A.M.	The Preaching of the Great Awakening: Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield Dr. Steven Lawson
12:00 P.M.	Lunch
1:30 P.M.	The Preaching of the 19th Century: Archibald Alexander and Charles H. Spurgeon Dr. Steven Lawson
3:30 P.M.	Questions & Answers (Steven Lawson & Joel Beeke)
5:00 P.M.	Dinner
6:30 P.M.	The Preaching of the 20th Century: Martyn Lloyd Jones and James Montgomery Boice Dr. Steven Lawson

Information & Registration

Can Christians Have Heroes?

Iain Murray says we can. In the Foreword to his new book Heroes he acknowledges that "we are all affected by examples, especially when we are young; and figures from the past, rediscovered in their biographies, may influence us deeply" (p. ix). However, a more cynical view of biography has taken hold in our culture, a view that practically disallows presenting people from the past as role models. Murray explains this modern tendency of presenting biographical subjects "warts and all," as though these people were not worthy of emulation. Even in some Christian circles if the biographer doesn't take his subject down a notch, he is suspected of hagiography, "a strange word to use in a pejorative sense" (Murray, p. x).

The Bible frequently refers to believers as "saints." As you may know, the word comes from the Greek word hagios (holy, consecrated to God). Murray comments:

Every Christian believes, with the apostle Paul, that, 'In me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing' (Rom. 7:18). But Paul had not forgotten that confession when he also wrote, 'Be followers [imitators] of me' (1 Cor. 4:16; Phil. 3:17). He knew the grace of Christ was in him, and making him all that he was: 'I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not wrought by me' (Rom. 15:18). This is the focus when examples are held up for us in Scripture, and we see it in Luke's account of Paul. It does not mean that significant faults are to be hidden; but it is the outworking of what Henry Scougal called 'the life of God in the soul' that qualifies chiefly for record and for imitation.... Christ is the author and the finisher of the life of the believer. The faith given, the talents allocated, the spiritual ambition, and the measure of usefulness are all from him. This should rule out any adulation. To recognize heroes is not the same as 'hero-worship'....

That there is a danger of thinking and writing too highly of men I do not deny. It is all because of Christ that 'the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.' True Christian biography should therefore concentrate on what is edifying and for the praise of Christ. (Murray, pp. x-xi)

I agree with Murray. True Christian biography is edifying to us and honoring to Christ. So, do you have heroes? Which ones have been the most helpful to you?

Iain H. Murray. Heroes (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2009)

Jewish Publication Society and the Tagged Tanakh

I just read this news flash and found the comments about the Tagged Tanakh to be very interesting.

Jewish Publication Society Head Stepping Down

By Marcia Z. Nelson -- Publishers Weekly, 6/18/2009 9:59:00 AM


Ellen Frankel, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Jewish Publication Society, is stepping down from her position Aug. 1. Frankel will remain as a consultant and editor emerita to JPS; COO and publishing director Carol Hupping will serve as interim CEO.

“I love what I do at JPS and I also love to write, and I’ve found that I cannot keep up the pace,” said Frankel, 58, whose ninth book, The Jewish Publication Society Illustrated Children’s Bible, will be published in August. Frankel has been editor-in-chief since 1991 and CEO since 1998. Under her leadership, JPS produced the 1999 Hebrew-English Tanakh, with a JPS translation, and The Commentators’ Bible, an English-language edition of a rabbinic classic. JPS’ Bible program is now being expanded through the Tagged Tanakh, an innovative and collaborative learning platform. “Content delivery is changing,” Frankel said. “The Jewish Publication Society is not going to be a publisher anymore but a knowledge business.”

“Ellen has upheld the mantle of a great tradition in scholarship as well as leading us to the next phase of JPS’ mission to bring our content to new audiences online,” David Lerman, president of the JPS Board of Trustees, said in a statement. JPS is a nonprofit, multi-denominational Philadelphia-based publisher of Jewish works written in English.

Frankel, who has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Princeton University, is a scholar of Jewish folklore. She has a number of projects ready to pursue. “I have so many writing projects on the back burner, I’m not sure which one I’ll tackle first, but I have a long list,” she said. (emphasis mine)

From the JPS website, I found the following description of this project:

The Tagged Tanakh is an online resource that encourages conversations around the Hebrew and English translation of the Bible. By blending curated content and user-generated tags and commentary, the Tagged Tanakh will make ideas and values embedded in this ancient text more accessible to wider audiences.

and

The Tagged Tanakh is the next step in the evolution of Torah. From scroll, to codex, to print, and now to a digital format, the Tagged Tanakh opens the door to previously unimagined possibilities. Programmers and JPS staff are currently building this state-of-the-art platform for interactively engaging with Torah.

This looks very interesting. It still appears to be in production. I'll have to poke around a bit more this weekend to see what this is all about.

As a Christian, I am deeply interested in Jewish students of the Bible, especially how they read and interpret the Scriptures. They often bring to the table a perspective that I would not have considered on my own. While in Charleston, I took the opportunity to visit the Jewish Studies Center on the campus of the College of Charleston. Although we didn't see eye to eye on critical matters of faith, they opened my eyes to the world of Jewish thought that has remained with me and has been a help to me as I read the Bible to this day. I'd like to find a local center here in Montgomery, but until I do this may be another avenue to consider.