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Translation and Exposition of the Epistle of Jude
George L. Lawlor
Commentary on Jude
Dates of Service
1959-1974
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The Theology of John Smyth: Puritan, Separatist, Baptist, Mennonite
Jason K. Lee
The first English Baptist, John Smyth created controversy with his radical thought and actions. During his writing career of only ten years, Smyth successively produced works of Puritan, Separatist, Baptist, and Mennonite thought. After accepting Mennonite beliefs, Smyth and a majority of his congregation petitioned to join the Waterlander Mennonites in Amsterdam. However, before the union could be achieved, Smyth died of tuberculosis. Under Thomas Helwys’s leadership, the portion of Smyth’s congregation that did not join the Waterlanders returned to England and established the first General Baptist Church. Most studies of Smyth and his successors have approached the material with predominantly historical concerns. While the historical facts about Smyth are important, they should be coupled with his theology, which motivated his actions. Jason K. Lee is the first scholar to investigate Smyth’s theology in this context. First, Lee identifies the historical and theological environment that shaped Smyth’s thought, examining Puritan, Separatist, and Mennonite backgrounds in order. Smyth often found himself isolated from former associates as he continued his pursuit of truth. Second, Lee provides an analysis of Smyth’s theology including his understanding of Scripture, covenant, atonement, Christology, and Church-state relations. This book makes an important contribution to the understanding of both the origins of Baptists and to Christianity in the seventeenth century.
Dates of Service
2013-
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Ecology Is for the Birds.... and All of God's Outdoors
Joy Mackay
A camp how-to book. Ecology projects for camp, VBS, and any outdoor activity. Explore the world: a wealth of ideas for nature studies. Explore the Word: most of these ecology ideas are individually tied in with Scripture.
Dates of Service
1962-1971
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Martin Luther on Reading the Bible as Christian Scripture: The Messiah in Luther's Biblical Hermeneutic and Theology
William M. Marsh
Above all else that the sixteenth-century German Reformer was known for, Martin Luther was a Doctor of the Holy Scriptures. One of the most characteristic features of Luther's approach to Scripture was his resolved christological interpretation of the Bible. Many of the Reformer's interpreters have looked back upon Luther's "Christ-centered" exposition of the Scriptures with sentimentality but have often labeled it as "Christianization" particularly in regards to Luther's approach of the Old Testament, dismissing his relevance for today's faithful readers of God's Word. This study revisits this assessment of Luther's christological interpretation of Scripture by way of critical analysis of the Reformer's "prefaces to the Bible" that he wrote for his translation of the Scriptures into the German vernacular. This work contends that Luther foremost believes Jesus Christ to be the sensus literalis of Scripture on the basis of the Bible's messianic promise, not enforcing a dogmatic principle onto the scriptural text and its biblical authors that would be otherwise foreign to them. This study asserts that Luther's exegesis of the Bible's "letter" (i.e. his engagement with the biblical text) is primarily responsible for his conviction that Christ is Holy Scripture's literal sense.
Dates of Service
2013-
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Engage the Bible
William M. Marsh and Dan DeWitt
The book you’re holding could change your life. Not because it’s powerful in itself. It’s not. It’s designed to serve as a resource to help you Engage the Bible, the most important book, all year ‘round.
Take note, this devotional and Bible reading plan is pretty unique. It’s developed to give you a thirty-thousand-foot tour of the entire Bible from beginning to end. It explains and unpacks the major themes of the Old Testament and demonstrates how they all point to Christ, to a new covenant, and a new creation. Each week builds on the previous one, so you’ll want to go in order. And if you’re a youth pastor or pastor, this 52 week layout offers a great lesson plan for small group material.
The format for this devotional and Scripture reading plan and journal is simple. There’s a devotion for you to read at the beginning of each week with a simple prayer. There’s also a “Read the Bible Through” section that will give you passages to read and reflect on during the week. We’ve included a section in each spread for you to write down your thoughts and comments as you study God’s Word. The devotions and readings will take you from selected passages in Genesis through Revelation giving you an overview of the big story of the Bible.Dates of Service
2013-
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Rooted: Theology for Growing Christians
J. A. Medders and Brandon Smith
The word "theology," at its most basic definition, means "words about God." We are all theologians since we all talk about God. We all have a theology, and it's either good or bad. Good theology is the system of roots that keeps our tree of faith vibrant and alive. It keeps us grounded, centered, and yet growing. And when we are rooted, we won’t remain stagnant. In Rooted, Medders and Smith make theology practical for Christians who want to grow in their faith. Rooted covers the most basic and crucial areas of theology: the Trinity, Scripture, redemption in Christ, and eternity. The authors bring the deeper things of God to light, but without the complexities often associated with theological works. Whether you read this book on your own or with a group with friends, you will have a better understanding of theology and why it matters for your life.
Dates of Service
2019-
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As It Was in the Beginning: An Intertextual Analysis of New Creation in Galatians, 2 Corinthians, and Ephesians
Mark D. Owens
Paul's comments regarding the new creation in 2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 6:15 have tended to be understood somewhat myopically. Some argue the phrase "new creation" solely refers to the inward transformation believers have experienced through faith in Jesus Christ. Others argue this phrase should be understood cosmologically and linked with Isaiah's "new heavens and new earth" Still others advocate an ecclesiological interpretation of this phrase that views Paul referring to the new community formed around Jesus Christ. In As It Was in the Beginning, Mark Owens argues that the concept of "new creation" should be understood (like the gospel) within the realm of Paul's anthropology, cosmology, and ecclesiology. At the same time, he also argues that Paul's understanding of new creation belongs within an Urzeit-Endzeit typological framework, especially within 2 Cor 5-6 and Eph 1-2. This reading of new creation attempts to give due weight to the use of Isaianic traditions in 2 Cor 5:17 and Eph 2:13, 17. Owens demonstrates that the vision of new creation in 2 Corinthians and Galatians is starkly similar to that of Ephesians.
Dates of Service
2016-
