Monday, March 26, 2012

Revelation, by James Hamilton, Jr.

The book of Revelation is a difficult book to tackle.  Many pastors stay away from it because it is difficult.  They don’t preach from it, they don’t read it, they don’t really want to talk about it much because it is difficult.
So, if it is difficult for Pastors just think of how difficult it is for lay people.  My College Age students asked me to teach to them from the book of Revelation one summer.  I did not feel up to the task.  But I found a resource and started into the book.  How I wish that I could have had Hamilton’s commentary that summer.  It would have given me much insight.
Hamilton grapples with the big picture of Revelation and all of the little pieces that come with it.  He then presents to us a very readable and understandable commentary on the book.
The “Preaching the Word” series of commentaries are not deep, dig into original language, talk about all the nuances and all the Theological controveries about the book in question.  No, these commentaries are written by men who “preach” the word of God on a weekly basis.  So, they grapple with the truth of the text and how it is to be applied to our culture today.
As such Hamilton gives us a great commentary that will give you enough insight to understand some of the deep issues in Revelation, but he will keep it simple enough that you will walk away with many practical insights and applications for your life.
The Chapters are not lengthy and lend themselves as a way for a small group to be able to daily read a chapter and then come together and discuss them later on.
This book would be useful for the lay person and lay pastor who want to get a ‘big picture’ overview of the book of Revelation and be able to discuss the applications to their lives.  For the lay pastor and professional pastor who want a lengthy dialogue about all the theology behind the word pictures you probably will be disappointed with this book.  BUT, you will find it encouraging to read and it WILL give you many good things to think about in regards to the book of Revelation.
Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Leading in Prayer; by Hughes Oliphant Old

Some people think that it is easy to lead a congregation in prayer, you just get up and pray. But that is not really true. A fellow pastor encouraged me that this book would be a good tool for helping me to understand the importance of how to lead a congregation in prayer. There are different times of prayer in the service, different types of prayers, different interaction for the person praying as well as the congregant members who are listening. God loves to hear His children pray, but He loves it more when His servants do a good job of leading a congregation to His throne in a true act of worship through prayer.

Hughes Oliphant Old gives wonderful teaching on the different aspects of prayer and how they fit into the liturgy of the worship service. He then gives hundreds of examples of good prayers for invocation, confession, pardon and petition. His written prayers are wonderful. They will help each of grow in our walk with Christ just by praying these prayers on our own and then also within the context of a worship service.

As you begin your ministry of public prayer this book will be indispensable in giving you well written prayers to begin that ministry. As time goes on and you become more and more familiar with the aspects of prayer you will be able to write your own prayers better than you use to. You will find how scripture will be able to guide you in your prayer preparation and also you will find that many of the Psalms are just perfect to be used as prayers in your worship times. But to be effective in prayer you will need three things;

1. You will need to know your scriptures well
2. You will need to know your congregation well
3. You will need to have a good and effective personal prayer life so that your public prayer life will flow naturally.

This is a great book. It has been around for a long time, but for me I just was introduced to it and am so happy that my friend brought this book to my attention.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Wednesday's were pretty normal, by Michael Kelly

What would you do if your toddler was diagnosed with Leukemia, especially since you are a young couple, fairly newly married, the world has been going great, good things have happened, a wedding, the honeymoon, a child, work, etc. Then your world crashes down. Your child who looks healthy, acts healthy and is happy is sick, not just a minor cold sick, but a deadly cancer sick. Your next half a year to year will be spent in hospital wards, waiting rooms, emergency rooms, etc. Your child will scream with pain, be unable to sleep comfortably and not even be able to have a bowel movement without excruitiating pain.

What parent could handle this? Maybe a seasoned parent, one who has had six kids and knows what to do. But that isn't what happens here. This family is new to this process, new to raising a child, new to family life. But the one thing they are not new to is a faith in God. A trust in the Almighty. A solid hope that God may not be handling things the way the parents would, but God is handling things and there is hope that His name will eventually receive the honor and glory that it deserves.

Wednesday's were pretty normal is a well written account of this families journey through a terrible struggle. They honestly share their anger at God, their anger at circumstance, their frustration with not knowing what to do and with compassion for a child that they love dearly. You will find yourself learning good life lessons along with this family as they learn them. You will not be left wondering how they dealt with their issues, they will honestly tell you.

I appreciated how well this book relates the true feelings, emotions, concerns, hopes, grief, etc. of life. You are not given a sugar coated, "everything works out for the best" type of account of their walk through this trial. Instead you will relate to how a family has the head knowledge to know that things "can" work out, but the heart knowledge that their child is hurting and it is "unfair."

You will gain insights into this families faith, into how scripture can speak into a situation and how a family learns difficult lessons that will change them forever.

I won't tell you to "enjoy" this book, but I will tell you that you will be strengthened and encouraged by what you read.